We recently received this question…
In today’s market, why would an employer want to pay recruiter fees with the supply of skilled people being so high?
Here was our answer…
Employers may be experts in their niche, but many are not experts at recruiting or finding great employees. Unemployment nationwide is around 5.5%, so it is still difficult for employers to find great employees.
Recruiting requires dedicated people, software, processes, unique tools, and constant training. Most employers are not sophisticated or forward thinking when it comes to recruiting. Therefore, they hire outside or third party recruiters.
While you are searching for great employers, find out if they use outside recruiters or have a dedicated recruiting staff as outlined above. If they do, I would consider them a progressive employer that is strategic thinking and prepared to compete. Otherwise, they will have limited capabilities to recruit and screen-out under-performers. This is important because you will not want to work for an employer with bad leadership and under-performing peers. The result for you will be looking for another job in a year or two.
Read it again. Understanding an employers recruiting methods should be used as a screening mechanism for you to find great employers. It is very important for you to know that you will be working with great people.
Here are more reasons employers use recruiters in ANY economy.
- Employers lack the dedicated resources to have an ongoing recruiting campaign (candidate pipeline), whether they are hiring or not.
- Recruiters provide unbiased third-party input.
- Some employers want confidentiality because they are replacing an employee.
- Most of the time recruiters can find great candidates faster because they are tapped into the marketplace.
- Recruiters may consult with an employer to help them fine-tune a job opening.
- Many employers like a recruiter to help with negotiating compensation.
- The investment may seem costly for an employer, but it is even more costly for an employer to settle for average performers.
Is you resume in the hands of hundreds of recruiters? Read this blog post on why you NEED to get your resume in front of as many recruiters as possible: http://www.resumespider.com/blog/2008/07/09/i-dont-want-to-use-recruiters-in-my-job-search/
Tags: finding great employers, Job Search, Resume Spider, ResumeSpider, Working with recruiters