Agency Recruiters will always beat Internal Recruiters. Always.

Agency Recruiters will always beat Internal Recruiters. Always.

Even great internal recruiters can never do as good a job for candidates as great agency recruiters do.

Never. Ever.

And that’s simply because internal recruiters are at a significant disadvantage when it comes to supporting candidates in their job search.

Let’s examine the ways;

Internal recruiters, by definition, cannot operate as a ‘third-party broker’. It’s their job to entice the best talent to their employer. How can they possibly provide a candidate with balanced and unbiased advice? They can’t. Anything they say about the role under consideration is driven by self-interest.
Internal recruiters have a one-dimensional, or at best, severely restricted view of the overall market. Sure, they know their company better than most, but what insight do they have of market trends, comparable opportunities, salaries and benefits, and other vital market intelligence, that only recruiters dealing with multiple employers will know?
Internal recruiters, quite rightly, act in the interest of their employer, while a great agency recruiter will act in the interest of the candidate.
Not only that, there is a role that agency recruiters play for candidates that seldom gets acknowledged. They act as an advocate for a great candidate who may never even get to interview stage, based solely on their resume. That’s right. A great agency recruiter will use the trust and credibility they have with clients to convince them to see a good candidate who does not shine on paper. That is a service and an advantage that internal recruiters can never offer.

Don’t get me wrong. There is nothing wrong with the way most internal recruiters act. They are doing their job, and for the most part they do it well, and with extreme integrity. This is not about beating up on Internal Recruiters. I am stating the obvious really. Internal recruiters are hamstrung in terms of the role they can play in advising, coaching, and mentoring candidates in the job search.

Many agency recruiters do none of those things of course, we know that. There are hoards of agency people, driven totally by self-interest or without the skills to provide real value to the candidate. But the good ones, of which there are many more than the critics acknowledge, will bring their hard-earned market knowledge, and broad employer insights to bear, in order to assist a candidate make the right decision at a vulnerable time.

And that, as some advertising guy said elsewhere… is priceless!

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Comment by David Wells on November 13, 2013 at 4:36pm: @ Jackie. Right. So you spent your entire first comment slamming agency recruiters, but then close your final comment with the line below.

"Bottom line is we are all trying to make a living here and recruiting is our commonality so really slamming one vs. the other and fighting back and forth is dumb. Peace!"

Based on the used car salesman approach you highlighted in describing how you ran your business, I would hesitate to apply your specific experience to all agency recruiters. After all most professional people that do this for a while or at least longer than 18 months, don’t run their business the way you seemed to.

Cheers.

Comment by Jackie Hydock on November 13, 2013 at 6:22pm: Oh man David...another agency enemy, I'm like -4 now? What's wrong with my close again? :/ Not surprised obviously, dug myself into this one but this is becoming a fun waste of time. Anyone else?

I wouldn't exactly say that I slammed agency recruiters... ok, ok... the word weasel was harsh. I was more so defending internal recruiters because this post was written to bash us in a RECRUITING forum! (Yuck!?) I'll say it again... this slamming each other is dumb. My 3 years in an agency weren't ALL so car sales-ish (just more towards the end of the month...I might have gotten a little pushy... Hey, I didn't want to lose my top producer title!!) ;)

I'm certain the recruitment team you manage is measured by closing job orders and I'm glad it appears you care about the ethics surrounding each close...that's the only positive about your comment. I look forward to meeting more top agency professionals like you... Cheeeeeers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Comment by David Wells on November 13, 2013 at 6:37pm: "Another agency enemy" Not even close. If you read over your first comment you slammed agency recruiters (just read it again, you did multiple times) and you did that based on your limited experience.

I simply pointed out how your experience does not apply to all agency recruiters, didn't you do the same thing with Greg? Point out the flaws in his article and highlight why your experience was different? :)

Comment by Derdiver on November 13, 2013 at 8:04pm: @David, yes she did, however she was repentent in further posts and more improtantly she was funny and correct at the same time. Just my opinion.

Comment by David Wells on November 13, 2013 at 8:07pm: @ Derdiver, I totally get it. She took the time to slam agency side, and admittedly backtracked a little, so I just wanted to make a nice little defense. Moreover I do agree with all her comments, nor do I agree with all of Greg's comments so I just wanted to see exactly what she thought. And hey if she can offer a spirited defense of internal recruiters, then I should be allowed to speak up on agency side, no?

Comment by David Wells on November 13, 2013 at 8:16pm: Edit: "Moreover I do agree with all her comments", should say "moreover I do not agree with all her comments..."

Past five oclock I seem to be terrible at multitasking.

Comment by Steve Levy on November 16, 2013 at 1:45pm: Anyone remember the Cheech and Chong Cheborneck routine? http://youtu.be/eY7ZX6ngOSs

Comment by Keith D. Halperin on November 18, 2013 at 8:26pm: @ Jackie: In this column, you seemed to have alienated agency recruiters, and in anther column today you alienated contract recruiters. I'm impressed: it's hard even for ME to piss off so many people in such a short period of time.

Keep up the opinions- we need strong and vital ones, like yours....

Cheers,

Keith

Comment by Tiffany Branch on November 19, 2013 at 9:34am

I've found there are good and bad on both sides. Strong internal recruitment depts have metrics that the recruiters are held to (time to fill, cost per hire, hiring mgr satisfaction, etc.) I do take exception to the following:

Internal recruiters have a one-dimensional, or at best, severely restricted view of the overall market. Sure, they know their company better than most, but what insight do they have of market trends, comparable opportunities, salaries and benefits, and other vital market intelligence, that only recruiters dealing with multiple employers will know?

I know all of my competitors very well. I must in order to attract, recruit and retain talent. I review comp studies based upon my industry and the best hires in my current industry come from the industry. So I can learn even more by getting the inside scoop.

I've never worked on the agency side and as an internal recruiter it isn't my job to navigate the search of a candidate and help them make the best choice. My job is to hire the best candidate into MY job. So trying to compare that aspect of an external to an internal is apples to oranges.

Comment by Manish Aggarwal on November 20, 2013 at 1:58am: The discussion takes a one sided view- being a HR head and now running a recruitment business i can vouch that there are great internal recruiters and great agency recruiters .the point is a great internal recruiter will add more value than a mediocre agency recruiter and vice versa . It's not about agency or internal recruiter but how competent he or she is and the processes the organisation follows