“Dave” and expectations for your recruiter

It was Wednesday and I received a third email from an applicant who had first submitted his résumé on Monday.

He was angry that I hadn’t found work for him in two days.  After all, he argued, he had seen the movie “Dave” (starring Kevin Kline).  And he remembered Kline’s character, who ran an employment agency, saying, “It’s Wednesday!  Everybody works on Wednesday!”  And then “Dave” got busy, calling and pressuring his business associates so that the two people standing in his office could work that day.  So this individual was mad at me: it was Wednesday; he wanted to work; and he expected me to do for him what “Dave” had done in the movie.

I confess that the sarcastic side of me wanted to quote another movie to him.  “E.T.” came to mind.  Specifically, the scene where Elliott chastises his brother’s fantasies, saying, “This is reality, Greg!”  I resisted this temptation.

I’ve realized from this exchange and others that many applicants have unspoken and sometimes even unrealistic expectations about assistance from an employment agency.  So here are some reflections on the topic, for what they’re worth!

Did you find your recruiter via the Internet?  Yes?  You and LOTS of other people!

Expect that your recruiter may be working with thousands of applicants.  I work for a local agency handling only local searches.  And even for me, it’s common to have 2,500-3,000 active applicants at any given time.

If you calculate that a recruiter works about 2,000 hours per year (40 hours/week, 50 weeks/year), then that allows us an average of less than one hour of contact time with each applicant.  Granted, some applicants need less time and some need more.  But, for most staffing consultants, those 2,000 hours must also include time for marketing, advertising, contacting and visiting client companies, and networking with other staffing professionals.  OK, so now we’re down to maybe 30 minutes of total contact time per candidate!  Bottom line: please ask your recruiter how often you should be in touch and use those contacts judiciously.  Whatever contact you have, make good use of that time for your recruiter to get to know your skills, your expectations, and your employment search direction!

Also expect that your recruiter is likely to handle significantly fewer searches than they have candidates.  While I am likely to have 3,500-4,000 candidates per year, I am doing very well to place even three percent (yes, 3%) of those individuals.  That’s right: 97% of those who apply will not find their next job directly through me.  Of course, we also have other recruiters here.  But the same general patterns apply for them, too.  At a minimum, this means that you need to continue actively searching and networking on your own.  A recruiter can be one of your search tools (and sometimes a great one!), but shouldn’t be your only one.

Another step in your successful search!