Using Job Recruiters - Part One: The Downside

Job recruiter, also known as headhunter and job search consultant, is defined as someone who “can work on his/her own or through an agency and acts as an independent contact between their client companies and the candidates they recruit for a position.” The decision to use a professional job recruiter is a personal one, but here is some information about them to guide you in your search for the perfect job.

There are two types of recruiters: “retained recruiters” are secured by and work directly for employers and receive a salary for their work with or without placement results while “contingency recruiters” are independent from employers and are paid per referred candidate. There are also executive or niche recruiters, which also fall into one of the above categories, who usually focus on high-level positions that are rarely publicized.

Although there are many upsides to using a recruiter, there are some negative aspects as well. For instance, contingency recruiters are paid commission for each successfully placed candidate. Their commission is usually between 20 and 30 percent of a candidate’s starting salary. In these cases, candidates may get short-changed with a starting salary. Cost-conscious employers will be looking to reduce their recruitment fees by paying the headhunter a lower commission, which will, in turn, result in a lower starting salary.

Additionally, job recruiters often have many qualified candidates with whom they are working. In the effort to make money, they will concentrate on the best resumes first. Less qualified or poorly written resumes may end up at the bottom of a recruiter’s stack, which leaves a job seeker right back where he/she started before they employed a recruiter.

Since money and placement are motivating factors for recruiters, many of them pressure candidates into positions that are a less than perfect fit. If a candidate’s resume is spruced up to land a job, then that person may end up in a position for which he/she is not fully qualified. Frustration will ensue and it is all downhill from there. In order to avoid these mishaps, make sure an honest, ethical and trustworthy recruiter is employed.