Recruitment Firms
The very first internship I ever had was at a recruiting
firm last summer! A recruitment firm is an agency who help source and screen
candidates for open positions on behalf of a client. Each recruiter focused on
a different industry and had a wealth of knowledge about their specific
industry. Many people I've talked to really don't know why an organization
would use a recruiting firm and how the recruiting firm makes money.
To keep it simple, organizations will reach out to a
recruiting firm and say "I need an account executive in the medical device
industry in Seattle, WA". Okay, it really isn't that simple, there is a
lot more too it. It is a long process that usually takes months. Basically, the
recruiter for that position will source and screen candidates based on the
clients specs, and present their A player candidates to the hiring manager.
From there, the hiring manager will pick and choose which candidates they think
would be a good fit and interview them for the position. Because the recruiting
firm found the organization that candidate, they make money. But, something
that I always wondered is how do you know if you should use a recruiting firm
or not? I did a lot of research on why many companies choose to use recruiters,
and there are many good reasons!
1. Maybe the HR department in your organization is
completely swamped. They simply do not have time to go out and source, screen
and interview candidates.
2. Your HR department has been working on filling this
position for months, and they're struggling. They need assistance from experts!
Recruiters do this for a living. They have a lot of connections within your
industry. Let them help if you think you need it!
3. Many organizations outsource their HR department, so
there really isn't anyone within the organization who can go out and find the
perfect candidate. People aren't going to have time to do their normal job and
try to be a recruiter on top of it as well.
4. The turnover rate for a specific position is really high,
and the organization struggles to keep someone in the role. Recruiting firms
can seek out someone who is an A player, not a job hopper and someone who will
fit really well within your organization.
I spent about a year as a sourcer for this recruiting firm,
and I know how much patience, detail, time and effort it takes to find that
perfect candidate. Sometimes when I would be doing searches, I would narrow it
down to thousands of people using LinkedIn, Monster or CareerBuilder. I would
then have to sort through those thousands of people and pick out the A players.
It required strong attention to detail and a lot of focus. It is often
difficult to really gauge a person simply based off their LinkedIn profile.
Even after you find those ideal candidates though, what are the odds they are
unhappy and want to switch careers? Usually pretty slim. Or, you'll go through
the entire process, and the organization will be doing final interviews with
their top candidates, and end up not choosing any of them. Then, the whole
process of sourcing and screening needs to start over! The process takes many
months, and it is understandable why. I strongly believe the process is well
worth it for high quality candidates.
If you're facing problems or issues with finding the right
candidate for a job, consider hiring a recruiting firm that specializes in your
industry! From my experience, they are highly trained professionals who know
your industry like the back of their hand. They find top candidates for
positions for a living, and know where to find them. Also, because they spend a
lot of time getting to know your industry and organization's culture, they will
find A player candidates who will not just fit the position well, but the
company culture as well. If you ever decide to partner with a recruiting firm,
my guess is you'll probably be in pretty good hands! Visit www.latinrecruit.com
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