[jjm1181]

I have made contact with a recruiter regarding new job opportunities in the near future. I went and met with her, told her what I am looking for, blah blah blah. I currently get daily updates from indeed.com regarding accounting positions available in my area. I’m not actively seeking new employment, but I like to know what’s out there. It just so happens that the recruiter then sends me two job opportunities that have “come across her desk” and after further research, these are the same positions posted by the companies that I saw through Indeed.com. It seems to me that I don’t really need a recruiter if they are bringing me opportunities available to the general public…correct?

So here are my questions…

1. What’s stopping me from contacting the company directly and seeking an interview? Can I? Or does that break some sacred trust?

2. Can I work with more than one recruiting firm? Or is that a no-no?

3. Am I better off just continuing to search on my own or is the recruiter worth it?

4. Can the recruiter really get my foot in the door of places that I couldn’t do on my own?

B 79
A 75
R 78
F 85

[Mayo]

1. Nothing is stopping you. Just realize your recruiter will obviously be pissed, since they get paid on commission.

2. I would stick to one you feel comfortable with once you get serious about finding another position. However for now, I'd say go ahead and have as many as you'd like.

If they get upset about that just ask “How many other people have you pitched this company to?” If the answer is none, they're either lying to you or are not a very good recruiter. But the concept is the same for recruiters or recruits.

Having only one is beneficial later, so you don't look flaky when the company hears about the same person from three or four different recruiters.

3. I think the recruiter is worth it. Yah searching on your own is nice, but who has the time? Besides, having a recruiter means you can customize your search to what you're looking for. Also, the recruiters work directly with the hiring managers. That's something you don't get with searching online.

4. Yes. Remember that the company might never post the job opening online. I once had a boss of mine explain how she looked for vacant positions. It followed this order:

1. She contacted her colleagues in accounting for recommendations.

2. She contacted a recruiter or multiple recruiters.

3. She'd have HR post it online.

Mayo, BBA, Macc

[The Dingo]

@jjm1181

Recruiters have a tough time, with Indeed, Monster, etc. out there, and for the most part the recruiters you encounter won't have an exclusive relationship with a company, thus the position will be on Monster and when the company posts a position on their HR site, it gets picked-up by Robert Half, Accountants Intl, etc….

An advantage with the recruiter is that if they send your resume over, you're “pre-screened” to an extent, and the recruiter likely only will send a handful of resumes, compared to the zillion that hits the HR site. The recruiter also may have had a conversation with the HR person and have some details on the company's “hot buttons,” which may be more important that what's listed on a position description:

Sometimes specific attributes are more important than others:

Industry

Experience with a specific GL package

“CPA required”

“Big 4 experience” required

Experience auditing (fixed assets, payroll, forex transactions, etc.)

Ask those kinds of questions as well, it will help you align your resume to the particulars the hiring manger is seeking. Sometimes the outside search firm has placed candidates with an employer in the past, and that relationship can be a real benefit to you.

On the other hand…many times recruiting firms are a bunch of weenies, esp. the large brand names. Their personnel are required to make X number of contacts daily, have X number of interviews and they will toss you a description for a “confidential search” that doesn't really exist…Because they have to keep their rolodex full of potential candidates when a client comes calling.

Also DO NOT link to those guys on Linked in, they will only spam your other contacts. Your linked in should be for your professional network…You only dilute that with all the bottom feeders. Keep your network your professional network.

[Author]

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