SlideShare uma empresa Scribd logo
1 de 3
Baixar para ler offline
GETTING THE MOST OUT OF WORKING WITH
STAFFING FIRMS AND RECRUITERS
To help you get the most benefit from using a staffing firm or independent recruiter as a job search resource, which is free
to you, you need to understand exactly what they can – and can't – do for you, and how to make your relationship
mutually beneficial. In this document, we’re referring to recruiters who are independent or who work for staffing firms or
agencies, not corporate HR recruiters.
Staffing firms give you access to opportunities you can’t find on your own.
They have helped thousands of companies, from Fortune 100 corporations to start-up businesses, hire people with
certain skill sets to handle a specific contract (freelance) assignment or to fill a full-time position. Sometimes these
freelance projects are special jobs that their regular employees don’t have the expertise to do. Sometimes the hiring
company simply needs someone to take up the slack for a missing employee for a day, a week or longer. More commonly
these days, contract employees might be the only kind a company can hire because of a corporate hiring freeze or fear
the economy will tumble. Whatever the reason a company turns to a staffing firm, their main function is to solve that
company’s immediate staffing problem.
Since most of their contract employment opportunities are unplanned and unexpected, and because companies
sometimes don’t publicly post their job openings, you would probably have no way of learning about them in time to take
advantage of them. Nor could you possibly contact, let alone interview with, all of the companies a staffing firm serves. So
registering with a staffing firms instantly expands your potential for freelance – and also full time – employment.
Do they guarantee you’ll get a job? No. Do they take your resume and then pound the pavement trying to find a company
willing to hire you? Nope. Instead, they’re just one helpful tool that a job seeker should use in his/her search.
They are not job-finders. They are people-finders.
A common misconception about staffing firms is that they exist to find you a job of your choice. Sorry, not true. You don’t
pay them anything, so how long would they be in business if you were their customer? Instead, their customers are the
companies who pay them to find the specific Talent they need. Recruiters find people for jobs; they don’t find jobs for
people.
Another thing to keep in mind is that staffing firm clients are often very demanding about a candidate’s skills and
experience, and rightfully so since they are paying the recruiter to find the perfect candidate. For example, they may only
want to see resumes of people who have worked for a minimum of 3 years at one of the major advertising agencies. Or
they may only want to see someone who has graduated from a particular university. Or they only want to hire people with
bubbly, outgoing personalities.
Recruiters don't list all of their clients’ demands in their job postings, but that’s what they screen for when they consider
your application. If they present your resume to their client and you don’t meet these requirements, they’re wasting their
clients’ time, and yours. So while you may be perfectly capable of doing a particular job, and may have done it before, you
still have to meet all their client's other criteria.
That’s why recruiters are constantly sourcing, screening, interviewing, and checking references of new people to add to
their ‘looking for work' pool. Then when a job comes in, they review the backgrounds of all of the people they’ve already
talked to or interviewed to find 3 or 4 candidates whose skills, experience and employment preferences are the best
match for their client. If you fit their client’s criteria for a contract assignment, they’ll certainly present you after they speak
to you about it. But if you don’t, then it just makes common sense to wait for a job that’s a better fit for you. So you may
see your staffing firm post a job opening that, on the surface, seems to fit you, and you wonder why they haven’t called
you about it. Now you know!
They may be able to help you get freelance work or a full-time job.
The vast majority of the jobs staffing firms get from their clients are for temporary (contract) workers, but some firms also
recruit people for full-time jobs, or a temp-to-hire arrangement. With temp-to-hire, if you proceed through their client’s
interview process successfully, you will start work with that company on a probationary basis, and the staffing firm pays
you as their employee while their client evaluates you and you evaluate them. After the probationary period, if you and
they both decide it's a good fit, they will hire you. This has become an increasingly favorite way to make strategic hires –
that stick – in today's business world and downturned economy.
Because of the solid relationship they have with their clients, companies also turn to outside recruiters when they need to
hire permanent full-time staff, often called 'direct hire.' The recruiter will assist you with preparations for your interviews
and offer guidance on how you can be most successful. They will also assist you with salary negotiations and give you a
fair and honest appraisal of what they think you can realistically command in today's marketplace, and how you measure
up against the other candidates.
Most staffing firms will ask you to sign an industry-standard agreement that you will not accept work from the companies
they present your resume to, or for whom you contract with through them, for a period of 12 months after that
presentation or work assignment. This does not hinder in any way your ability to work for any other companies or for your
own clients. And the contract should not prohibit you from working with multiple staffing firms. If it does, don’t sign it.
Three ways to increase the likelihood of their calling you about a job.
First, be as flexible as possible, easy to get a hold of, and responsive. If you’re willing to work in the suburbs as well as
the city (or vice versa), will consider short as well as long term freelance assignments, are negotiable about hourly rate,
work hours and types of working environments, you’ll expand the number of opportunities they can consider you for. (For
example, if you’ve told them you prefer to only work downtown, they won’t call you about a job in the suburbs even if you
have the right experience and skill set.)
Second, expand and deepen your skills. For some jobs, the more software programs you know and the better you are at
them, the more likely they are to call you. Hiring managers, especially those using temporary staffing companies, often
are looking for people who can do several things well without a lot of instruction. So going back to school to learn new
skills or improving on those you already have, may make you more marketable – and employable.
Third, if you’re a Creative you should have an online portfolio, but the truly savvy job seeker also has one or more PDF
portfolios to share via email. Staffing firm recruiters like this because many of their clients want them to email such
portfolios to along with your resume. Speaking of resumes, make sure you give your recruiter any updated versions that
you create. And if you really want to make your recruiter love you, take the time to remove all contact info, except your
name, from your resume and PDF portfolio before you send it to him/her.
Fourth, be honest and transparent with your recruiter. If you are interviewing at 3 other companies, tell her. If you’ve
received an offer but aren’t sure whether to accept it, tell him. If the recruiter tells you about a great job at company X,
and you interviewed with them last year, then tell the recruiter. The more upfront you are, the better then can help you.
Lastly, develop a reputation for being a great worker. Recruiters check in with their clients as well as their talent to find out
how things are going shortly after every placement, and continue to do so as long as you are on the job. The workers they
tend to place again and again are those who seem to fit in well with diverse groups and who make themselves likable to
everyone they work with. In short, playing well with others pays off (and you’ll make your Mom proud). What you do and
say while you're on a job always manages to find its way back to the recruiter, the bad things often more frequently than
the good.
How to make sure you don’t get lost in the system.
Let’s face it. You’re not the only great candidate on their roster. That’s why clients love working with staffing firms;
because they have so many pre-screened candidates to choose from.
Of course, not all of the people in the pool will be considered for the same job you might be right for, but still, getting
yourself firmly entrenched in a recruiter’s top-of-mind after you’ve interviewed with them is always a good idea.
Here are some tips on how to keep in touch with your recruiter so they think of you first for jobs fitting your skill set:
 Make sure you update your contact information regularly in their system. If you’ve moved, changed your phone number
or e-mail address since you first talked to or interviewed with them, let them know immediately. Otherwise, they may
call or e-mail and be unable to reach you.
 Let them know what your availability is every other week if you want to be considered for freelance gigs. Emails,
Tweets, Facebook messages, instant messages and phone calls all work.
 Send your recruiter periodic career updates when appropriate. For example, if you publish a book or blog, learn a new
software program, win an award, write or design a project for a new industry, etc., that news may be enough to make
you eligible for more jobs, and it puts you in front of the recruiter again.
 Let them know when you go ‘off the market’ and then update them again when you are ready for freelance work or
employment.
You have rights.
Most recruiters love their job and are in this line of work because they like to help people. But some recruiters or staffing
firms have gotten a bad reputation. This usually happens because a job seeker’s expectations of what they will do for
them (i.e., find them a job), and the reality of what they can actually do, haven’t been discussed in detail. That’s why we
created this document; so there will be no misunderstandings.
But there are some recruiters who are, well, a tad bit too eager to make a job placement, and they do things that give
other recruiters a black eye. You have rights when you deal with recruiters or staffing firms! Insist on them. Here they are:
 You have the right to be treated respectfully and courteously. If you aren’t, don’t work with that recruiter.
 You have the right to insist that recruiters never send your resume to a company as a candidate for a specific job
until they’ve talked to you about it first. After all, it might be a company you’ve already worked for, or a company
you would never want to work for, or a company where an employee knows your current boss and tells her you’re
looking for a new job!
 If a recruiter or staffing firm who you’ve never talked to calls you and says their client wants to interview or hire
you, be wary! They probably pulled your resume from an online site and sent it around to their clients without
your permission. Don’t work with someone who does this.
 You have the right to know where you stand in comparison to other people with backgrounds similar to yours –
they are the people you’re competing against for a job. Just ask your recruiter how you stack up.
 You have the right to negotiate any contract or agreement the staffing firm asks you to sign – and be sure to read
such documents carefully.
 You have the right to register with as many other staffing agencies as you want. If you do, then just remember
that it’s the first recruiter to call or email you about a job opening who gets to present you to that company. This is
important to know since a company may have as many as 10 staffing firms all recruiting people for the same job,
and so you may be contacted multiple times by different recruiters. To make sure that multiple recruiters don't try
to submit your resume to the same job/company, you have the right to know the name of the company when a
recruiter calls you about an opening. You should insist on knowing that.
 You have the right to say ‘no thanks’ when they call you about a contract job, without them feeling slighted or
making you feel bad.
 You have the right to know that for contract jobs, recruiters mark-up the hourly rate they pay you anywhere from
50 to 75% and that is what their client pays them. The difference in the pay and bill rate is what they use to pay
their staff, rent, utilities and other bills, and hopefully make some profit and stay in business.
 You have the right to know that if a recruiter places you in a full-time job, the hiring company pays the recruiter a
fee that is a percentage of your salary, usually from 15 to 25%.
 Once you’ve started working a contract job through a staffing firm, you have the right to change your mind and
quit, as long as you give the staffing firm two weeks’ notice just as you would give to any other employer.
www.wunderlandgroup.com
San Francisco | Chicago | New York

Mais conteúdo relacionado

Último

Cybersecurity Workshop #1.pptx
Cybersecurity Workshop #1.pptxCybersecurity Workshop #1.pptx
Cybersecurity Workshop #1.pptxGDSC PJATK
 
20230202 - Introduction to tis-py
20230202 - Introduction to tis-py20230202 - Introduction to tis-py
20230202 - Introduction to tis-pyJamie (Taka) Wang
 
Introduction to Matsuo Laboratory (ENG).pptx
Introduction to Matsuo Laboratory (ENG).pptxIntroduction to Matsuo Laboratory (ENG).pptx
Introduction to Matsuo Laboratory (ENG).pptxMatsuo Lab
 
COMPUTER 10: Lesson 7 - File Storage and Online Collaboration
COMPUTER 10: Lesson 7 - File Storage and Online CollaborationCOMPUTER 10: Lesson 7 - File Storage and Online Collaboration
COMPUTER 10: Lesson 7 - File Storage and Online Collaborationbruanjhuli
 
UiPath Solutions Management Preview - Northern CA Chapter - March 22.pdf
UiPath Solutions Management Preview - Northern CA Chapter - March 22.pdfUiPath Solutions Management Preview - Northern CA Chapter - March 22.pdf
UiPath Solutions Management Preview - Northern CA Chapter - March 22.pdfDianaGray10
 
OpenShift Commons Paris - Choose Your Own Observability Adventure
OpenShift Commons Paris - Choose Your Own Observability AdventureOpenShift Commons Paris - Choose Your Own Observability Adventure
OpenShift Commons Paris - Choose Your Own Observability AdventureEric D. Schabell
 
Comparing Sidecar-less Service Mesh from Cilium and Istio
Comparing Sidecar-less Service Mesh from Cilium and IstioComparing Sidecar-less Service Mesh from Cilium and Istio
Comparing Sidecar-less Service Mesh from Cilium and IstioChristian Posta
 
UiPath Community: AI for UiPath Automation Developers
UiPath Community: AI for UiPath Automation DevelopersUiPath Community: AI for UiPath Automation Developers
UiPath Community: AI for UiPath Automation DevelopersUiPathCommunity
 
UiPath Studio Web workshop series - Day 8
UiPath Studio Web workshop series - Day 8UiPath Studio Web workshop series - Day 8
UiPath Studio Web workshop series - Day 8DianaGray10
 
Meet the new FSP 3000 M-Flex800™
Meet the new FSP 3000 M-Flex800™Meet the new FSP 3000 M-Flex800™
Meet the new FSP 3000 M-Flex800™Adtran
 
activity_diagram_combine_v4_20190827.pdfactivity_diagram_combine_v4_20190827.pdf
activity_diagram_combine_v4_20190827.pdfactivity_diagram_combine_v4_20190827.pdfactivity_diagram_combine_v4_20190827.pdfactivity_diagram_combine_v4_20190827.pdf
activity_diagram_combine_v4_20190827.pdfactivity_diagram_combine_v4_20190827.pdfJamie (Taka) Wang
 
Anypoint Code Builder , Google Pub sub connector and MuleSoft RPA
Anypoint Code Builder , Google Pub sub connector and MuleSoft RPAAnypoint Code Builder , Google Pub sub connector and MuleSoft RPA
Anypoint Code Builder , Google Pub sub connector and MuleSoft RPAshyamraj55
 
IESVE Software for Florida Code Compliance Using ASHRAE 90.1-2019
IESVE Software for Florida Code Compliance Using ASHRAE 90.1-2019IESVE Software for Florida Code Compliance Using ASHRAE 90.1-2019
IESVE Software for Florida Code Compliance Using ASHRAE 90.1-2019IES VE
 
Nanopower In Semiconductor Industry.pdf
Nanopower  In Semiconductor Industry.pdfNanopower  In Semiconductor Industry.pdf
Nanopower In Semiconductor Industry.pdfPedro Manuel
 
Igniting Next Level Productivity with AI-Infused Data Integration Workflows
Igniting Next Level Productivity with AI-Infused Data Integration WorkflowsIgniting Next Level Productivity with AI-Infused Data Integration Workflows
Igniting Next Level Productivity with AI-Infused Data Integration WorkflowsSafe Software
 
UiPath Studio Web workshop series - Day 6
UiPath Studio Web workshop series - Day 6UiPath Studio Web workshop series - Day 6
UiPath Studio Web workshop series - Day 6DianaGray10
 
Basic Building Blocks of Internet of Things.
Basic Building Blocks of Internet of Things.Basic Building Blocks of Internet of Things.
Basic Building Blocks of Internet of Things.YounusS2
 
Connector Corner: Extending LLM automation use cases with UiPath GenAI connec...
Connector Corner: Extending LLM automation use cases with UiPath GenAI connec...Connector Corner: Extending LLM automation use cases with UiPath GenAI connec...
Connector Corner: Extending LLM automation use cases with UiPath GenAI connec...DianaGray10
 
Artificial Intelligence & SEO Trends for 2024
Artificial Intelligence & SEO Trends for 2024Artificial Intelligence & SEO Trends for 2024
Artificial Intelligence & SEO Trends for 2024D Cloud Solutions
 

Último (20)

Cybersecurity Workshop #1.pptx
Cybersecurity Workshop #1.pptxCybersecurity Workshop #1.pptx
Cybersecurity Workshop #1.pptx
 
20230202 - Introduction to tis-py
20230202 - Introduction to tis-py20230202 - Introduction to tis-py
20230202 - Introduction to tis-py
 
Introduction to Matsuo Laboratory (ENG).pptx
Introduction to Matsuo Laboratory (ENG).pptxIntroduction to Matsuo Laboratory (ENG).pptx
Introduction to Matsuo Laboratory (ENG).pptx
 
201610817 - edge part1
201610817 - edge part1201610817 - edge part1
201610817 - edge part1
 
COMPUTER 10: Lesson 7 - File Storage and Online Collaboration
COMPUTER 10: Lesson 7 - File Storage and Online CollaborationCOMPUTER 10: Lesson 7 - File Storage and Online Collaboration
COMPUTER 10: Lesson 7 - File Storage and Online Collaboration
 
UiPath Solutions Management Preview - Northern CA Chapter - March 22.pdf
UiPath Solutions Management Preview - Northern CA Chapter - March 22.pdfUiPath Solutions Management Preview - Northern CA Chapter - March 22.pdf
UiPath Solutions Management Preview - Northern CA Chapter - March 22.pdf
 
OpenShift Commons Paris - Choose Your Own Observability Adventure
OpenShift Commons Paris - Choose Your Own Observability AdventureOpenShift Commons Paris - Choose Your Own Observability Adventure
OpenShift Commons Paris - Choose Your Own Observability Adventure
 
Comparing Sidecar-less Service Mesh from Cilium and Istio
Comparing Sidecar-less Service Mesh from Cilium and IstioComparing Sidecar-less Service Mesh from Cilium and Istio
Comparing Sidecar-less Service Mesh from Cilium and Istio
 
UiPath Community: AI for UiPath Automation Developers
UiPath Community: AI for UiPath Automation DevelopersUiPath Community: AI for UiPath Automation Developers
UiPath Community: AI for UiPath Automation Developers
 
UiPath Studio Web workshop series - Day 8
UiPath Studio Web workshop series - Day 8UiPath Studio Web workshop series - Day 8
UiPath Studio Web workshop series - Day 8
 
Meet the new FSP 3000 M-Flex800™
Meet the new FSP 3000 M-Flex800™Meet the new FSP 3000 M-Flex800™
Meet the new FSP 3000 M-Flex800™
 
activity_diagram_combine_v4_20190827.pdfactivity_diagram_combine_v4_20190827.pdf
activity_diagram_combine_v4_20190827.pdfactivity_diagram_combine_v4_20190827.pdfactivity_diagram_combine_v4_20190827.pdfactivity_diagram_combine_v4_20190827.pdf
activity_diagram_combine_v4_20190827.pdfactivity_diagram_combine_v4_20190827.pdf
 
Anypoint Code Builder , Google Pub sub connector and MuleSoft RPA
Anypoint Code Builder , Google Pub sub connector and MuleSoft RPAAnypoint Code Builder , Google Pub sub connector and MuleSoft RPA
Anypoint Code Builder , Google Pub sub connector and MuleSoft RPA
 
IESVE Software for Florida Code Compliance Using ASHRAE 90.1-2019
IESVE Software for Florida Code Compliance Using ASHRAE 90.1-2019IESVE Software for Florida Code Compliance Using ASHRAE 90.1-2019
IESVE Software for Florida Code Compliance Using ASHRAE 90.1-2019
 
Nanopower In Semiconductor Industry.pdf
Nanopower  In Semiconductor Industry.pdfNanopower  In Semiconductor Industry.pdf
Nanopower In Semiconductor Industry.pdf
 
Igniting Next Level Productivity with AI-Infused Data Integration Workflows
Igniting Next Level Productivity with AI-Infused Data Integration WorkflowsIgniting Next Level Productivity with AI-Infused Data Integration Workflows
Igniting Next Level Productivity with AI-Infused Data Integration Workflows
 
UiPath Studio Web workshop series - Day 6
UiPath Studio Web workshop series - Day 6UiPath Studio Web workshop series - Day 6
UiPath Studio Web workshop series - Day 6
 
Basic Building Blocks of Internet of Things.
Basic Building Blocks of Internet of Things.Basic Building Blocks of Internet of Things.
Basic Building Blocks of Internet of Things.
 
Connector Corner: Extending LLM automation use cases with UiPath GenAI connec...
Connector Corner: Extending LLM automation use cases with UiPath GenAI connec...Connector Corner: Extending LLM automation use cases with UiPath GenAI connec...
Connector Corner: Extending LLM automation use cases with UiPath GenAI connec...
 
Artificial Intelligence & SEO Trends for 2024
Artificial Intelligence & SEO Trends for 2024Artificial Intelligence & SEO Trends for 2024
Artificial Intelligence & SEO Trends for 2024
 

Handout working with staffing firms

  • 1. GETTING THE MOST OUT OF WORKING WITH STAFFING FIRMS AND RECRUITERS To help you get the most benefit from using a staffing firm or independent recruiter as a job search resource, which is free to you, you need to understand exactly what they can – and can't – do for you, and how to make your relationship mutually beneficial. In this document, we’re referring to recruiters who are independent or who work for staffing firms or agencies, not corporate HR recruiters. Staffing firms give you access to opportunities you can’t find on your own. They have helped thousands of companies, from Fortune 100 corporations to start-up businesses, hire people with certain skill sets to handle a specific contract (freelance) assignment or to fill a full-time position. Sometimes these freelance projects are special jobs that their regular employees don’t have the expertise to do. Sometimes the hiring company simply needs someone to take up the slack for a missing employee for a day, a week or longer. More commonly these days, contract employees might be the only kind a company can hire because of a corporate hiring freeze or fear the economy will tumble. Whatever the reason a company turns to a staffing firm, their main function is to solve that company’s immediate staffing problem. Since most of their contract employment opportunities are unplanned and unexpected, and because companies sometimes don’t publicly post their job openings, you would probably have no way of learning about them in time to take advantage of them. Nor could you possibly contact, let alone interview with, all of the companies a staffing firm serves. So registering with a staffing firms instantly expands your potential for freelance – and also full time – employment. Do they guarantee you’ll get a job? No. Do they take your resume and then pound the pavement trying to find a company willing to hire you? Nope. Instead, they’re just one helpful tool that a job seeker should use in his/her search. They are not job-finders. They are people-finders. A common misconception about staffing firms is that they exist to find you a job of your choice. Sorry, not true. You don’t pay them anything, so how long would they be in business if you were their customer? Instead, their customers are the companies who pay them to find the specific Talent they need. Recruiters find people for jobs; they don’t find jobs for people. Another thing to keep in mind is that staffing firm clients are often very demanding about a candidate’s skills and experience, and rightfully so since they are paying the recruiter to find the perfect candidate. For example, they may only want to see resumes of people who have worked for a minimum of 3 years at one of the major advertising agencies. Or they may only want to see someone who has graduated from a particular university. Or they only want to hire people with bubbly, outgoing personalities. Recruiters don't list all of their clients’ demands in their job postings, but that’s what they screen for when they consider your application. If they present your resume to their client and you don’t meet these requirements, they’re wasting their clients’ time, and yours. So while you may be perfectly capable of doing a particular job, and may have done it before, you still have to meet all their client's other criteria. That’s why recruiters are constantly sourcing, screening, interviewing, and checking references of new people to add to their ‘looking for work' pool. Then when a job comes in, they review the backgrounds of all of the people they’ve already talked to or interviewed to find 3 or 4 candidates whose skills, experience and employment preferences are the best match for their client. If you fit their client’s criteria for a contract assignment, they’ll certainly present you after they speak to you about it. But if you don’t, then it just makes common sense to wait for a job that’s a better fit for you. So you may see your staffing firm post a job opening that, on the surface, seems to fit you, and you wonder why they haven’t called you about it. Now you know! They may be able to help you get freelance work or a full-time job. The vast majority of the jobs staffing firms get from their clients are for temporary (contract) workers, but some firms also recruit people for full-time jobs, or a temp-to-hire arrangement. With temp-to-hire, if you proceed through their client’s
  • 2. interview process successfully, you will start work with that company on a probationary basis, and the staffing firm pays you as their employee while their client evaluates you and you evaluate them. After the probationary period, if you and they both decide it's a good fit, they will hire you. This has become an increasingly favorite way to make strategic hires – that stick – in today's business world and downturned economy. Because of the solid relationship they have with their clients, companies also turn to outside recruiters when they need to hire permanent full-time staff, often called 'direct hire.' The recruiter will assist you with preparations for your interviews and offer guidance on how you can be most successful. They will also assist you with salary negotiations and give you a fair and honest appraisal of what they think you can realistically command in today's marketplace, and how you measure up against the other candidates. Most staffing firms will ask you to sign an industry-standard agreement that you will not accept work from the companies they present your resume to, or for whom you contract with through them, for a period of 12 months after that presentation or work assignment. This does not hinder in any way your ability to work for any other companies or for your own clients. And the contract should not prohibit you from working with multiple staffing firms. If it does, don’t sign it. Three ways to increase the likelihood of their calling you about a job. First, be as flexible as possible, easy to get a hold of, and responsive. If you’re willing to work in the suburbs as well as the city (or vice versa), will consider short as well as long term freelance assignments, are negotiable about hourly rate, work hours and types of working environments, you’ll expand the number of opportunities they can consider you for. (For example, if you’ve told them you prefer to only work downtown, they won’t call you about a job in the suburbs even if you have the right experience and skill set.) Second, expand and deepen your skills. For some jobs, the more software programs you know and the better you are at them, the more likely they are to call you. Hiring managers, especially those using temporary staffing companies, often are looking for people who can do several things well without a lot of instruction. So going back to school to learn new skills or improving on those you already have, may make you more marketable – and employable. Third, if you’re a Creative you should have an online portfolio, but the truly savvy job seeker also has one or more PDF portfolios to share via email. Staffing firm recruiters like this because many of their clients want them to email such portfolios to along with your resume. Speaking of resumes, make sure you give your recruiter any updated versions that you create. And if you really want to make your recruiter love you, take the time to remove all contact info, except your name, from your resume and PDF portfolio before you send it to him/her. Fourth, be honest and transparent with your recruiter. If you are interviewing at 3 other companies, tell her. If you’ve received an offer but aren’t sure whether to accept it, tell him. If the recruiter tells you about a great job at company X, and you interviewed with them last year, then tell the recruiter. The more upfront you are, the better then can help you. Lastly, develop a reputation for being a great worker. Recruiters check in with their clients as well as their talent to find out how things are going shortly after every placement, and continue to do so as long as you are on the job. The workers they tend to place again and again are those who seem to fit in well with diverse groups and who make themselves likable to everyone they work with. In short, playing well with others pays off (and you’ll make your Mom proud). What you do and say while you're on a job always manages to find its way back to the recruiter, the bad things often more frequently than the good. How to make sure you don’t get lost in the system. Let’s face it. You’re not the only great candidate on their roster. That’s why clients love working with staffing firms; because they have so many pre-screened candidates to choose from. Of course, not all of the people in the pool will be considered for the same job you might be right for, but still, getting yourself firmly entrenched in a recruiter’s top-of-mind after you’ve interviewed with them is always a good idea. Here are some tips on how to keep in touch with your recruiter so they think of you first for jobs fitting your skill set:  Make sure you update your contact information regularly in their system. If you’ve moved, changed your phone number or e-mail address since you first talked to or interviewed with them, let them know immediately. Otherwise, they may call or e-mail and be unable to reach you.
  • 3.  Let them know what your availability is every other week if you want to be considered for freelance gigs. Emails, Tweets, Facebook messages, instant messages and phone calls all work.  Send your recruiter periodic career updates when appropriate. For example, if you publish a book or blog, learn a new software program, win an award, write or design a project for a new industry, etc., that news may be enough to make you eligible for more jobs, and it puts you in front of the recruiter again.  Let them know when you go ‘off the market’ and then update them again when you are ready for freelance work or employment. You have rights. Most recruiters love their job and are in this line of work because they like to help people. But some recruiters or staffing firms have gotten a bad reputation. This usually happens because a job seeker’s expectations of what they will do for them (i.e., find them a job), and the reality of what they can actually do, haven’t been discussed in detail. That’s why we created this document; so there will be no misunderstandings. But there are some recruiters who are, well, a tad bit too eager to make a job placement, and they do things that give other recruiters a black eye. You have rights when you deal with recruiters or staffing firms! Insist on them. Here they are:  You have the right to be treated respectfully and courteously. If you aren’t, don’t work with that recruiter.  You have the right to insist that recruiters never send your resume to a company as a candidate for a specific job until they’ve talked to you about it first. After all, it might be a company you’ve already worked for, or a company you would never want to work for, or a company where an employee knows your current boss and tells her you’re looking for a new job!  If a recruiter or staffing firm who you’ve never talked to calls you and says their client wants to interview or hire you, be wary! They probably pulled your resume from an online site and sent it around to their clients without your permission. Don’t work with someone who does this.  You have the right to know where you stand in comparison to other people with backgrounds similar to yours – they are the people you’re competing against for a job. Just ask your recruiter how you stack up.  You have the right to negotiate any contract or agreement the staffing firm asks you to sign – and be sure to read such documents carefully.  You have the right to register with as many other staffing agencies as you want. If you do, then just remember that it’s the first recruiter to call or email you about a job opening who gets to present you to that company. This is important to know since a company may have as many as 10 staffing firms all recruiting people for the same job, and so you may be contacted multiple times by different recruiters. To make sure that multiple recruiters don't try to submit your resume to the same job/company, you have the right to know the name of the company when a recruiter calls you about an opening. You should insist on knowing that.  You have the right to say ‘no thanks’ when they call you about a contract job, without them feeling slighted or making you feel bad.  You have the right to know that for contract jobs, recruiters mark-up the hourly rate they pay you anywhere from 50 to 75% and that is what their client pays them. The difference in the pay and bill rate is what they use to pay their staff, rent, utilities and other bills, and hopefully make some profit and stay in business.  You have the right to know that if a recruiter places you in a full-time job, the hiring company pays the recruiter a fee that is a percentage of your salary, usually from 15 to 25%.  Once you’ve started working a contract job through a staffing firm, you have the right to change your mind and quit, as long as you give the staffing firm two weeks’ notice just as you would give to any other employer. www.wunderlandgroup.com San Francisco | Chicago | New York