Why do companies use agency recruiters?
All companies hire differently. Some have an “in-house” recruitment team who are permanent employees dedicated to hiring. Others outsource hiring to a specialist agency recruiter to save time and resources. Often, if a vacancy is urgent, companies use a combination of both. Many will also engage with multiple agency recruiters at once.
How do agency recruiters make money?
Recruiters don’t charge candidates. Instead, when a company hires a candidate sourced by an agency recruiter, they pay them a fee. This is usually between 10% and 30% of the candidate’s first-year fixed salary. Then, when the candidate starts their new job, the recruiter receives a commission.
An agency recruiter’s job is to find, win, and fill vacancies. They need to split their time between business development (trying to find new companies to hire for) and sourcing candidates (trying to fill existing vacancies).
How do I work with an agency recruiter as a candidate?
More often than not, you don’t find an agency recruiter, they find you. If you’re “headhunted”, you’ll be contacted by a recruiter who thinks you could be a fit for one of their vacancies. Alternatively, you could apply to one of their job adverts and they’ll be in touch if you’re suitable.
An agency recruiter asked me for exclusivity - what does this mean?
Agency recruiters use different strategies to win new vacancies. One strategy is to send unsolicited, anonymised CVs to companies. The hope is that the company is impressed by the profile and decides to interview the candidate. So, when an agency recruiter asks for exclusivity, they’re asking to be the only recruiter who can submit your CV to companies.
If you’re actively seeking a new job, this can be a great strategy for you. You can tell the recruiter which companies you’d like to work for and they can approach them to gauge their interest. But, many agencies have a bad reputation with certain companies, so some doors may already be closed through no fault of your own. Be mindful - say if you apply for a different vacancy at the same company, they could reject you to avoid paying the recruiter’s fee. Recruiters often have 6 months 'ownership' when they represent you to a company.
If I work with an agency recruiter, is my process the same as candidates who applied directly?
No, there are differences - here are the main points when securing a job via an agency recruiter with pros and cons for each.
1. Introductory conversation & CV submission
After you have been either headhunted or applied to an advertised role, the recruiter will call you to learn more about your situation, experience, and what you’d like to do next (including your salary expectations). Then, they’ll discuss suitable vacancies with you and ask permission to submit your CV to the employer.
⭐ Recruiters spend 50% of their time speaking to candidates in your industry. If your career progression pathway and/or package isn’t on par with your peers, they’ll tell you.
⭐ If you choose to be submitted, the recruiter can maximise your chances of a first interview. They will present you in a way that appeals to the hiring manager.
🚩 Recruiters won’t tell you the name of the employer until they’re confident you’re a good fit. They want to avoid you applying directly. So you may be unable to research the employer until interviews start.
🚩 Recruiters are often targeted to send a certain number of CVs per week. They may try to persuade you to submit your CV to their vacancy even if it’s not aligned with your goals.
🚩 Recruiters work with multiple companies at once, so their priorities constantly change. You might send your CV for submission and then be ghosted while they focus on another vacancy with a bigger recruitment fee.
🚩 Once they’ve spoken to various candidates, the recruiter may choose to submit other candidates instead of you. They could deem them to be more qualified, more impressive, or they just have a shorter notice period.
2. Interview process
If the recruiter submits your CV and the employer’s impressed, the interview process begins! From now on, you won’t have any direct contact with the employer. All communication such as interview scheduling and delivering feedback go via the recruiter as a middle-man.
⭐ Your recruiter can offer support, advice, and feedback to help prepare you for interviews. They have a unique insight into the employer’s preferences. This can help you maximise your chances of success.
⭐ Sometimes, candidates are invited for another interview even if the employer has reservations. If you’re using an agency recruiter, they can share this to help you improve in the next stage.
🚩 Being honest with your recruiter could work against you. If you’re feeling unsure about the opportunity, they may encourage the employer to prioritise the other candidates they submitted who are less likely to withdraw from the process.
🚩 Delivering negative feedback is tough. So your recruiter may sugarcoat things that will hinder your long-term job search. Alternatively, they might ghost you to avoid a hard conversation.
3. Receiving an offer
If you reach the final interview, your recruiter will ask you what an offer needs to look like for you to say yes. If the employer wants to offer you the job, your recruiter will handle all negotiations before delivering you the final offer.
⭐ Your recruiter knows the employer’s maximum budget for the vacancy. They can help negotiate as high as possible = bigger salary for you and bigger fee for them!
⭐If negotiating isn’t a skill you’re comfortable with, it’s one less thing to worry about during your job search.
🚩If you don’t receive an offer after the final interview, it might not be your fault. When an employer has to choose between two equally qualified candidates and one was sourced by their in-house team, they might reject you to avoid a fee.
🚩Your recruiter could use your negotiation for their short-term gain rather than your long-term earning potential. Their fee is only based on fixed salary, so they may encourage the employer to substitute bonuses or equity for a higher fixed salary.
Conclusion
Agency recruiters can definitely add value to your job search through their market knowledge, connections, advice, and experience. But, it’s important to remember that it’s their job to help clients fill vacancies, not to help candidates find jobs. When it comes to the crunch, they’ll prioritise generating revenue over helping you.
This is one of the reasons why we founded Mahired, to play our part in evolving the recruitment process to put the focus on people, rather than profits.
Whichever job search strategy you choose, make sure that you’re represented fairly. Choose a new job that aligns with your interests and ambitions, not with an agency recruiter’s targets.