The barrier to entry in the recruiting industry is low, i.e. a cellphone, an internet connection and some available time.
It beats trying to sell real-estate for those "in transition" because you can do it in your pajamas or pretend to be a career coach.
They're so clueless because most recruiters just search the web for jobs you could have found yourself, and then try to work their way into getting a cut. Therefore a typical recruiter reduces a person's chance for a job.
There are some good one's out there. But they're few and far between. Because they have done their research prior to contacting you, their emails will be short, to the point, and designed to screen for deal breakers, "Would you be interested in a job in St. Louis?"
>The barrier to entry in the recruiting industry is low, i.e. a cellphone, an internet connection and some available time.
There is something more to it than that. I've tried to become a recruiter several times, and I've gotten shot down every time I tried, even though I can demonstrate a history of hiring good people.
I've got at least one example where I offered a person I knew was good to a company that had hired me in the past. He was rejected without an interview. Being as I couldn't help the guy, I recommended him to an agency that worked with that company, and he got the job. Everyone seemed pretty happy with the deal, the guy stayed on for several years and finally left because the agency involved was incredibly sketchy.
Of course, I didn't get a commission out of the deal. I mean, I'm not complaining too much; when I recommended the guy to the agency, I knew from that point forward that I had zero chance of earning anything from the deal. Maybe that's how it should be? I don't know.
My point is that recruiting goes way beyond just finding good people. Honestly, I'm not sure exactly what the rest of the value you need to provide is, but I do know that I can provide good people, and that simply is not enough.
Strong outgoing sales like personality. This role is mostly a sales position over the phone, with varying degree's of research for the best candidates. EG: finding a Sr Director of Technology in the SEO space for a $10M firm in the Valley; sourcing other firms with similar technical stacks; headhunting other Directors; selling the company; selling the hiring manager on the candidate; hopefully magic occurs.
But, many times its just X number of candidates results in X number of interviews and X number of offers. Some companies are more interested in volume, and some are more interested in placements (results) only.
A good list of candidates is a starting point, but it is still necessary to sell employers.
Most recruiters don't do either. They swing for the fences using spam as in the article. Some prey on desperation and slide towards 419 territory with career coaching and similar services.
It beats trying to sell real-estate for those "in transition" because you can do it in your pajamas or pretend to be a career coach.
They're so clueless because most recruiters just search the web for jobs you could have found yourself, and then try to work their way into getting a cut. Therefore a typical recruiter reduces a person's chance for a job.
There are some good one's out there. But they're few and far between. Because they have done their research prior to contacting you, their emails will be short, to the point, and designed to screen for deal breakers, "Would you be interested in a job in St. Louis?"