Written by someone who has to pick the ball up from the back of the other team’s netIt is a candidate-led market across most industries at the moment, and many candidates will carefully consider how they choose to apply for their next role, and specifically, if they decide to work with a recruitment professional or go solo and make their approach directly to a prospective employer.
It is becoming more common for people to change jobs more frequently, so the whole recruitment process is under scrutiny to be positive and effective.
Why would a candidate have doubts or concerns about working with a recruiter in the hiring process?
It is a widely discussed topic and of course, can often depend on personal experience. In the days of social media and online review sites, it can also be off-putting to read negative reviews or comments from bad experiences of working with a recruiter.
Ulterior motive?
Many misconceptions include potential arguments that recruiters are only in it for themselves, that they don’t have the interest of the candidates in mind and that recruiters will try to squeeze square pegs in round holes by suggesting roles that are not suitable for a candidate’s requirements. Overall, the key argument is that the only thing the recruiter cares about is the placement fee.
The good, the bad and the ugly
The recruitment industry is so hugely competitive at the moment that the quality and value will vary dramatically. A quick search online or via LinkedIn will offer numerous recruiter options based on location, seniority, industry, specialism or size of agency. Anyone can set up as an independent recruitment agency and offer recruitment services, so the good work of those that do provide value to clients and candidates can often be tarnished by a bad experience.
It could be argued that some of the major high street agencies that hold the biggest clout in the industry, with numerous recruitment agreements with attractive companies and expensive CRM, marketing spend and facilities have not adapted in line with the changes in the job market, or at least not at the same pace. Many candidates argue that they have often not been provided with the best possible candidate experience.
The benefits that shouldn’t be forgotten
Regardless of the above issues to overcome for recruiters, many candidates admit that without the support of recruiters in the hiring process, they would not have had access to the role, would not have had as much support with interview preparation, hard to source background information, and vitally, the intermediary support during offer and negotiation stage.
Are clients concerned?
It is clear that many major companies have invested in in-house recruitment teams to ensure accountability and improved value. Negative reviews from a candidate will always have a knock-on effect on the employer, so the need to meet those all-important service level agreements and provide the best possible service to both parties is now more important than ever.
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