In this digital age there are multiple resources available to help you hire people in to your business. The wide usage of LinkedIn, Twitter, and even Facebook has made it easier for employers to connect with candidates online and reach people they otherwise wouldn’t have access to. So why on earth would you pay a middleman (or woman) to do this job for you?
On the flip side, as a candidate, why would you go to a recruiter when you have direct access to so many direct jobs online?
Here are a few of the reasons to use a (good) recruiter and how it applies if you’re a client or a candidate.
NETWORKS TAKE TIME
- Clients
Any recruiter worth their salt will have been in the same industry for a good few years, they will understand the world they work in, and will have naturally gained friends and contacts along the way. We love to see people moving through their careers, we keep in touch and we genuinely care about our candidates. Because of this our candidates then contact us for advice when they’re thinking about moving, to ask questions on how the job market is looking and chat off the record about what opportunities are out there. Any good recruiter will have access to pools of people who are untouchable by advertising and head hunting.
This takes time. Lots of time. At Truffle we interview between 5 and 25 people per week each, 48 weeks of the year. That’s between 240 – 1200 people per consultant, each year! We make ourselves available to offer help and advice to these candidates all year round, whenever they need us, free of charge. As a client you can make full use of these networks to find exactly the person you’re looking for.
NOTE: Networks don’t appear overnight, and they are not easily maintained. It’s a full time job meeting contacts and keeping in touch with people.
- Candidates
On the flip side, candidate’s can benefit from a good recruiters’ years in the business. We have long standing clients who have briefed us hundreds of times, we have filled hundreds of their roles and understand their business objectives, their budget restrictions, their processes, when their busy times are, etc. If we think you are “perfect” for one of our clients, we can simply pick up the phone and chat directly to the Creative Director / Head of Studio and tell them all about you. This is worth a million advert responses.
WIDER REACH
- Clients
Following on from the previous point, good recruiters also have the ability to reach people who may never have applied to your business directly due to things like location, reputation or the salary you are offering. Recruiters are the anonymous face of hiring and can attract candidates without having to shout about who the company is or where they are located. We have the opportunity to sell in your business on its merits, to people who may never of considered you before, or may of never heard of you.
NOTE: Spend time educating the recruiters you work with about “you”, your business, your culture and your values. We are the face of your business in the market place and your biggest advocates.
- Candidates
On the flip side, as a candidate on the job hunt you may not know where to start, which direction to go with your career or what opportunities are available to you. You may be undervaluing / over valuing yourself, or applying for jobs that simply are not suitable for you and wondering why you’re not hearing anything back. A good recruiter can help you to make yourself more competitive in the market place, they can review your CV and folio to make sure you’re selling yourself to the best of your abilities and help you to price yourself inline with your competition.
Recruiters can often introduce you to a range of businesses, start ups and agencies that you may not have come across before giving you more option and a deeper knowledge of the market place. Or perhaps you’ve heard negative reviews? Sometimes companies can get themselves bad reputations, however this could be based on an overbearing Creative Director who has now left or a crazy CEO who has now resigned and sold up to a larger more professional firm. In business, things change week on week and you should try not to base your opinions on hearsay as its often based on Chinese whispers. You could be sitting on a golden opportunity!
This is when having a recruitment consultant who knows the hiring manager (and is able to have a frank conversation with them) and can brief you thoroughly on what the job will entail (the good and the bad) will not only help you to find a job which fits with your own personality, but will give you insight and open your eyes to opportunities which you may never have considered.
NOTE: Use the resources you have available to you – recruitment consultants are totally free sources of information and advice!
VETTING PROCESS
- Candidates
It’s a full time job looking for a job. A good recruiter will “tell it like it is” and cut through the corporate jargon of a job spec. A good recruiter can vet jobs on your behalf, they will be able to give you a non-biased insight behind the scenes of a company and tell you what is really needed from this role. You will find out so much more this way to help you make an informed decision and ultimately help you to chose jobs that match your own preferences, saving time on interviews for unsuitable roles and wasted train fares (sorry TFL)!
- Clients
Clients can also benefit from this middle-man theory at vetting stages; we often see a different side to our candidates than you would at an overly formal interview stage. They can be themselves around us, we get to know a relaxed and calmer version – the real them. We can give you our thoughts, and offer a frank view of the candidate as a person. We can let you know if we think their personality and motivators are the right fit for your business / team which is so important in the creative world. By hiring people who fit with your business needs and culture you will not only save you time but money also.
WE KNOW HOW TO SELL
- Clients
Why is that important? Well we know how to represent your company in the best light possible. We are constantly talking to people out in the market and have a thorough understanding of what people are currently looking for. We know each individuals key motivations and therefore understand what information will be important to them, therefore we can often identify people that would not normally look at a role or a company but on reflection and with the right information their heads are turned
- Candidates
We know how to sell you! We know that you are more than a CV and a folio. Have spoken to you about what has driven you to make the decisions you have in your career. We can represent you in the best light and pull out the specific merits we know you have, that the individual clients are looking for.
Moral of the story: Good recruiters are awesome, bag yourself a good one and invest your time getting to know them. they’ll be there for you throughout your career and will be a valuable source of knowledge, information and advice.
