Should you treat recruiters and employers differently when looking for a job?

Question

Earlier I asked this question about how forth coming you should be your career development plans.

Now moving forward, I notice that a lot of IT jobs are advertised through recruiters. I'm considering ringing them and telling them straight up 'I'm really looking for some objected oriented programming experience', in hope that they can hook me up with the right role.

Is this is a situation where it's more appropriate to be a bit more forthcoming with what you're wanting, if it's a recruiter, than dealing with the employer directly?

Answer 1

I would treat head hunters like potential employers and disclose the same level of information to them. If it's a big agency you may want to stay in touch and add more information as the process advances and it becomes clear that the initial opportunity won't fit for you.

There's the other side of the recruitment market though which is job agents looking for jobs that specifically fit you. If you find and want to work with one of those, by all means, drown them in information about your skills, ideas and plans, professional as well as personal.

Take a look at this question and answer which are related to your question here.

Answer 2

Generally speaking, being up-front and honest about what you're looking for increases your chances of actually finding it.

Whether they are an internal recruiter or someone working for a recruitment agency, if you describe to them exactly what you're looking for, they will be better able to help you.

An internal recruiter will be able to tell you either "Yes, that sounds like us, I think you'd be suited to role X" or "That doesn't sound like us, I wish you lots of luck finding a new job".

A recruitment agency will be able to tell you either "It sounds like you'd be suited for some of the opportunities we have, for instance role X at company Y, or ..." or "Nothing immediately comes to mind, but let me take down your details so I can contact you if something comes up".

Remember that work is a two-way street: you're looking for a job that suits you, employers (in this case through recruiters) are looking to find people who can fill the job openings they have.

Naturally, the way you phrase what you're looking for is important no matter who you're talking to. Saying you're looking for a role where you can 'just do what you're told to do without thinking about it too much' won't go over nearly as well as "I'm looking for a with a clear and well defined scope".

Answer 3

I think you should “treat head hunters like potential employers” because of they has a powerful network and if you could tell the head hunter what you want clearly you are on the right track. We are know small and big specialized agencies who are mostly working on IT related roles such as OOP joint opportunities.

If you find the right guy who has deep network and skills you could receive several offer from different kind of employers from variant countries as well. In a nutshell I spur you to get in touch with well trained recruiters and they will help you. Let use social and technical forums\blogs\sites and other platforms to find these guys.

Answer 4

It depends who you would talking to at the company.

In my experience, the first thing a recruiter does when engaged by a company is to go through their own database and see if there are any suitable candidates they have been in touch with. If you call a recruiter and describe what you are looking for then they will probably be more than happy to add you to that database, since they stand to profit if they successfully place you.

Talking to an in-house recruiter at a company is much the same, they are happy to know who is out there and what they are looking for. A hiring manager however tends to be more specifically interested in the position they are hiring for, and may just discount you if you present an incompatible set of aspirations.