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 Amy Ala Miller on October 13, 2011 at 5:44pm: thanks Mark - I sent you an e-mail

Comment by Aaron A. Lara on October 13, 2011 at 6:41pm: Thank you for the article, Amy! It does give me a new perspective as to what it is that I do all day! Should we call ourselves (unofficially) Recruicitators? (Recruiter + Facilitator) : )

Comment by Amy Ala Miller on October 14, 2011 at 10:35am: Aaron I'm ordering new business cards with that title. :) Personally I'm ok leaving the "job getting" to the gurus, career coaches, and other folks smarter than me who've apparently figured out a better way than what I outlined here. I've being doing it like this for over a decade and have managed to support 4 kids and my expensive shoe habit so I guess I'm doing ok. :)

Comment by Steven G. Davis on October 14, 2011 at 10:42am: Touche Amy..we must be doing something right!! Oh, wait, oh no we are just "lazy" as i was aptly called out by a twitterfile because I actually asked for a resume vs. "just use my LinkedIn profile", really can you imagine telling a hiring manager, "oh the candidate doesn't have a resume, just go to his/her LinkedIn profile..Oh the humanity of it all!!! Have a great day!

Comment by Amy Ala Miller on December 7, 2011 at 6:50pm: @Steven - may favorite is when you actually GET the resume and then wish you had never asked for it... :) I really need to build a nice rolodex of resume writers to refer some of these people to - God knows I don't have the time or the talent for the necessary re-writes!

Comment by Casie Luke on December 8, 2011 at 8:55am: This is the BEST: "But if you’re expecting your recruiter to wrap up a job like a birthday gift and hand it to you, forget about it." Thanks for the smiles this morning!