Hi HR/Corporate Recruiter! It's Me, the "Different Agency Recruiter"?

Hello again, everyone! Since the last discusson was very informative, I want to pick the brains of corporate recruiters now. Since I am an agency recruiter and new to client development, I want to know the opinions of recruiters on "the other side" of the game.

I know HR and corporate recruiters are tired of being approached by one agency after another saying that they are "different" and can provide some sort of magical recruiting service that the rest cannot. When I call HR and corporate recruiters, they shrug me off as "just like everyone else" or "they are happy with the agencies they use." It's a lot harder than I thought. How can I get someone to see the value of giving me a try?

Despite what a lot of agency recruiters say, I really do screen all of my candidates, am NOT a resume pusher, love my job as a recruiter, and would work hard to make my clients happy.

Any feedback would help. Thank you!

Comment by Amy Ala Miller on May 24, 2013 at 12:18pm: Love that Amber... when a TPR actually tries to build a professional bond with me, it's huge. I am the biggest advocate for the few TPRs that have done so and readily recommend them to other corp HR or recruiting when they are looking. That's another point - we do talk to each other. If a recruiter says they have a great relationship with this company or that company I'll call and see... you'd be amazed how many times your "great client" has never heard of you or says that they think you might be on the vendor list LOL.

Comment by Derdiver on May 24, 2013 at 12:55pm: Simple for me at least. KNOW who I am and what my company does!! Do the research. Watch my jobs board. What has been open for a long time? Why is that? Come to me with a resume and say would you be interested in this person? What could you or be willing to pay for this person? Simple.

Comment by Katy on May 29, 2013 at 2:39pm: I'm the internal HR and recruiter for a small company and coming to me with a couple of solid resumes and a clear plan of action on how we can work together and I would be open. I agree that simple and direct is the best way to get my attention and doing your research is definitely key. I have so many agency recruiters approach me with these big sales pitches and then they either don't produce candidates or they don't listen to me and send candidates without the needed experience, out of our price range, etc. If you demonstrate that you've done your homework and have at least one active candidate that might be a good fit for my open positions I would talk to you.

Comment by Dane Anar on May 29, 2013 at 6:34pm: Usually free lunches to Red Robin and Golf outings are what coax me into talking to an Agency recruiter.

...but that's just me :)

Comment by Amy Ala Miller on May 30, 2013 at 12:32am: oh Dane... lol you are aware of Red Robin's proximity to my former employer, yes? I have eaten there many times on agency dimes. :)

Comment by Dane Anar on May 30, 2013 at 10:10am: Which dirty bird location are we talking about here? Doesn't matter, their burgers are still amazing.

Real advice: Take the "let's just talk" approach. Get them to agree to free food, or coffee and just have a genuine, amazing, mentally stimulating conversation about why they should work with you. At the very end, don't be afraid to ask for their business.

Comment by Seth Lidren on May 30, 2013 at 11:45am: Ah...the joys of coming from the dark side to Corporate. I am absolutely bombarded with agency calls, I've instituted gatekeeper processes, however, you pesky people still get through (I hate the fact that if you have a name, the switchboard patches them right through to me). I have a select group of agencies that we work with--and for good reason. Coming from being the person selling on the other end to the person being sold to, I've noticed several things that can be done better (at least from my angle):

1. Know the business that you are calling. One of the things that gets me off the phone quicker is when I'm told that you have experience recruiting in rural areas (or experience in Alaska in general). First, big damn state with a lot of variety. Just because you've recruited in the two to three metropolitan areas in our state, does not mean you will be successful where I'm at. Second, are you sure you have experience in area's like mine? You're based in Dallas, yet you're telling me you are an expert at recruiting to a place completely off a road system, gas is $7/gal, 2/3 of the town is not on running, piped water and you can only get here from the nearest city (400 miles away) by plane (oh, and not to mention the 8 months of winter and 50 below wind-chill). Please tell me your expertise in rural (Alaskan) recruitment.

2. Build the rapport. I second Dane's suggestion. Build the rapport.

3. For the love of God, STOP SELLING. Seriously a major turn-off when an agency is selling the entire time we're talking. We're customers: we like to buy, but hate to be sold.

4. Don't be shady. Seriously, disguising your voice to get past my gatekeeper? Next time, try disguising yourself as the same sex, rather than the opposite.

5. Learn the contracting process. I control your shi**...understand that. Ask what the typical process is like.

6. Don't assume you know the person on the other line. A lot of companies make the right move and bring agency recruiters into their employ. Don't assume I'm just another HR dude that doesn't know what you do or the game that you spit.

7. Just because you name drop the HM, or former management that you worked with like 7 years ago, does not automatically get you a pass. The HM said you should call me, huh? And they suggested we get a contract together? Hmm...if it was such a desire to use you, they'll reach out to me. I've slapped them down enough with the process, they know who holds the keys. And 7 years ago? Please...

8. Befriend HR. Seriously, if a company's HR department is worth a salt, this is money. "But daddy, why?" you ask. Well, because we will either be your advocate or not. Understand that HR should and has authority to shut-it-down. If you get on HR's good side, you are most likely in like Flynn.

My two cents for what it's worth.

Comment by Dane Anar on May 30, 2013 at 11:58am: To add onto Seth's 2 cents (we can make it 3 cents!):

Let's say you finally do get someone to agree to lunch with you, awesome! Chances are, their not the person you really want to butter up because they're the gate keeper. They're the person that you should butter up anyway, so that they can go back to the person in charge and say, "yep, she was pretty awesome and spat a good game" or will say, "she's just like the rest of them. next!".

Comment by Amy Ala Miller on May 30, 2013 at 12:36pm: I'll throw in another nickel! :) Seth - the SuperMall location of course...

I think the worst mistake you can make is assuming that "we" are against "you" and in the way. Think how you would treat your own service providers. The best comparison I can make is my husband, who is in construction. We're getting ready to lay some tile in our entry way, which is his profession. We are NOT calling a professional for help. That said - if we were planning on doing the entire house, we would likely call in some help. We will call people we know and have worked with. You know, people my husband has developed a relationship with. We're also looking to have our hardwood floors stripped and refinished. Could he do it? Sure. But it's not his specific area of expertise so he's thinking about getting referrals from his construction buddies on someone we can hire to do it for us. This is often how internal recruiters will work with you. There will be (most) reqs that we can handle just fine and won't need your help. There will be other one-offs OR just sheer volume that allows us to call in help. We will call the people who've developed a rapport with us and/or come recommended.