No, I Don’t Get People Jobs – I’m a Recruiter.

People are constantly asking me to “get them a job”. Just yesterday I got a text from someone who heard I was recruiting for openings in Chicago. It literally read “Sh!t! Get me a job!” (stay classy, ex-husband).

But wait, you say. You’re a recruiter. Your whole professional existence revolves around getting people jobs… right?

Not exactly. A very smart boss once put it to me this way. “I know you care a lot about getting people jobs. That’s admirable. But the reality is you’re the recruiter. You facilitate the introduction. The hiring manager gives someone a job”.

Wait… really?

Yes. So if I’m not getting people jobs… just what exactly DO I do all day?

Read the hiring manager’s mind. We all know that job descriptions have little, if anything, to do with what the job actually entails. I have to get inside the head a bit of the person who actually does the job giving – what problem are they trying to solve? What skills and abilities does a candidate need to possess to adequately solve that problem?

Find people. We call that sourcing. Some recruiters still do the old post and pray, some tweet, some inmail, some search resume databases, some even actually pick up the phone.

Probe and influence. Ok, I’ve got the people. Now I have to read their minds. What would make them consider an opportunity with my company? Where’s their salary threshold? Do they have what it takes to be successful in this circus? At the same time, I have to influence my hiring managers to give my (qualified) people an interview.

Close, close, close. Move the hiring manager towards an offer. Close them high. Move the candidate towards offer acceptance and resignation of their current job. Close them low. Meet in the middle and make everyone happy. Then make sure the candidate not only shows up on day 1 but that his new boss has arranged for a desk for him to sit at.

At the end of the day, I don’t “get” anyone a job. I set the stage for job getting. I bring the players together, ideally for the end result of an accepted job offer. Candidate, you still have to interview for it and Hiring Manager, you still have to make it worthwhile. But if you’re expecting your recruiter to wrap up a job like a birthday gift and hand it to you, forget about it.

Comment by Bill Schultz on October 4, 2011 at 6:44pm: lol @ stay classy, ex-husband).

Comment by Amy Ala Miller on October 4, 2011 at 6:50pm: @Bill that is an absolutely true story - he really sent me that text, which is actually what spawned the idea for this blog. lol

Comment by Bill Schultz on October 4, 2011 at 6:58pm: hoist a little yellow tail that you're free of that one.

Comment by Amy Ala Miller on October 4, 2011 at 7:02pm: Oh Bill you have NO IDEA... lol a cautionary tale for another blog site ha!

Comment by Sandra McCartt on October 4, 2011 at 7:30pm: Text him back and tell him you have two options for him. He can take the job as a door stop in a cat house or he can take the one where he stands on the corner and passes out free condoms and goverment cheese. You think he would fit either one very well.

Comment by Amy Ala Miller on October 4, 2011 at 7:44pm: @Sandra that is priceless... now that he's retired from the military and our kids are getting ready to leave the nests I don't think he knows what to do with himself. When he bought himself a harley that's when I pretty much gave up and let wife #4 deal with him full time. :) We have a son and daughter together who THANK THE LORD are exactly like their mother in personality as well as looks.

Comment by Sandra McCartt on October 4, 2011 at 10:50pm: Horsesnit - Shakespit you didn't want to be in that play anyway. He reminds me of my spagetti sauce - fast, cheap and easy and anybody can make it.

Comment by Chantelle Legg on October 5, 2011 at 6:49am: I like this post, and my favourite line is Read the hiring manager’s mind. !

Comment by Tami Brittain on October 5, 2011 at 10:43am: I couldn't have said it more eloquently myself (re: ex-hubby).

I'm actually sharing this one on my personal FB page - people automatically assume that as a recruiter, it's my job to get them a job, which isn't the case at all! Thanks!