Recruiters.....

2016 marks my sixteenth year in recruiting which means I’ve spent approximately 40,000 hours of my life helping thousands of people explore new career opportunities, and have placed hundreds of them in new careers. Malcolm Gladwell writes about the “10,000 Hour Rule” in his book Outliers. The rule states that if you spend 10,000 hours doing something correctly you’re going to build what Gladwell calls “world class expertise” in that field.

While I don’t claim to have “world class expertise,” I think my years in recruiting have taught me a thing or two about the business.

One of the things that I’ve learned is not all recruiters are equal. Some are exceptional professionals who know how to cultivate relationships and leverage connections to the benefit of all. Others care more about hitting metrics than they do about the candidate. Believe it or not, some of them will lie to your face to get what they’re after.

Good recruiters are a valuable asset in a job search & can be worth their weight in gold. Bad recruiters can put you into a bad situation. Be discerning.

Another thing I’ve learned is not all candidates are equal. Many are exceptional professionals who make my job fun and make me look great to my clients. A few don’t appreciate the value a good recruiter brings to the table and can be demanding, unreasonable, and downright nasty. Believe it or not, some of them will lie to my face to get what they’re after.

I’ve interviewed thousands of job seekers – you can bet I’m discerning.

You want relationships with a recruiters in your field. You don’t need to be BFF’s with everyone, but you do need a few who you can consider “trusted advisers.” Someone you can turn to when your company merges with another and your position is eliminated. Someone that can help you get out of a jam when they make the jerk two cubes down your boss.

I would not be shocked if you’ve had a bad experience with a recruiter. If you’ve had enough exposure to recruiters I’d be shocked if you haven’t had a bad experience. Don’t let that bad apple spoil the bunch. There’s lots of great recruiters out there – make sure you have a few to lean on in bad times.