Afternoon!

I'm a relatively new recruiter--just about a year of experience under my belt. I'm starting to really branch out from the traditional "recruit from the job boards" style of recruiting because I have realized that the real superstar IT professionals aren't on there....they are on here!!! And other sites like it

I was wondering if any of you might have feedback or tips on how I can be a great recruiter for you! What do you like about recruiters? What is it you can't stand? Or are you simply indifferent? I'd love to get your feedback!!! I'm just a normal friendly young guy trying to be the best at my job, and your input would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!!!
Liam

wow, i don't know where to start

how can you be a great recruiter for me? find me a job that fits me

what do i like about recruiters? sometimes they have an "in" with the hiring company

what is it i can't stand? they don't understand what we do

what would i like you to do? find me a telecommuting gig

As roughly five nines worth of recruiters are interested only in their paycheck, the one thing that I find interesting in recruiters is if they are working to make a good fit. If they send me recruits that are unqualified, uninterested, or indifferent, then that recruiter is useless to me. I'm sure that the candidates feel the same way, for the same reason... Sending them to interview for positions that they'll never be happy with isn't going to score you any brownie points with them.

When I go to a show, and the recruiters brag about the size of their "stables", it turns me off... No one recruiter can handle 1000 candidates, and only a few can handle 500 on a personal basis. If all you can do is search a database to see what candidates you have that match a keyword or two, you aren't much more use to me than Monster is.

A good recruiter realizes that the ratio of one mouth to two ears isn't an accident. Either evolution or god meant that we should listen twice as much as we talk... More importantly, we should listen carefully before we say anything questionable, so we shouldn't give names or numbers without listening carefully to whoever that name or number belongs to... The last thing that I want is to have a dozen youngsters calling me (or another firm calling me) when there is no chance of a connection happening.

The fact that you've started this thread is a very good sign. It means that you've already recognized that recruiters are rarely worshiped in a technical environment. More often they are despised, and at best treated as a necessary evil. That alone puts you "head and shoulders" above most recruiters, and bodes well for you in general.

-PatP

I've never followed this advice. I have always been worried that the other party will think this too and the whole meeting would just be punctuated with awkward silences.

I worked in recruitment once too. Where I worked 1 years experience made you a serious contender for senior partner.

pootle flump ur codings are working excelent.

Pat,

I really appreciate your feedback. I've taken it and sent it to some other folks within my company so that future generations of our new recruiters will have an idea of what IT professionals like yourself think/expect. Being a recruiter at times does feel like an uphill battle to overcome negative stereotypes, but I've found that in most cases if I'm genuine, friendly, and willing to listen more than I speak, I tend to win some folks over

Thanks again for your reply. I greatly appreciate it.

Rudy,

You hail from my hometown of Canada. Thanks for your feedback. Perhaps you might be able to give me the low-down about "what you do." I've read about it, I've tried to understand it, and we always encourage new recruiters to google/wikipedia/whatitis.com technology terms, but how would you best describe your role to a person who isn't really tech-savvy, as most recruiters tend not to be?

my role? you mean me, personally? i'm an SQL consultant, which means my area of expertise is using SQL to extract information from relational databases effectively

that's one of my biggest beefs, that recruiters confuse SQL (the language) with SQL Server (the Microsoft product)

also, there's a huge difference between a database designer, a database developer, and a database administrator

Well I knew the difference between the SQL Language vs. SQL Server the MS Product. I understand the differences between database developers and DBAs, but not designers specifically.

You know, you could probably make a killing off of holding a "recruiter-tutorial" seminar once every six months or something. If I had a thorough understand of IT, I would definitely use that expertise to teach others. After all, no recruiter/recruiting professional can possibly understand the inner-workings of software/databases etc., than those who work with them every day. Just a thought

My piece of advice when recruiting for database positions would be to know the difference between a "DBA", and a "DBA". They are two different skillsets.

A "DBA" is a Database Administrator. Primarly focuses on keeping servers running, maintaining security, and optimizing existing databases.

Whereas, a "DBA" is a Database Architect. Primary focuses on designing databases and writing SQL code to support application development.

Most database professionals concentrate in one of these two areas, and have a passing understanding of the other.

So, make sure you understand whether a particular position calls for "DBA" skill, or "DBA" skills, and only send those database professionals to interview that are appropriate for that discipline.

let's not forget the DBA, the Data Base Analyst

this person downloads an extract from the main production database into his local desktop copy of Microsoft Access, and proceeds to run a series of forty-three queries each featuring SELECT INTO worktable, in order to produce a cross tab report, which of course they are not allowed to perform on the main production database because everyone knows that presentation belongs in the client layer

the "analysis" part of his job is where he figures out why his crosstab totals are different

Oh, my mistake for leaving out the "DBA"!

if you really want to differntiate yourselves form the crowd of it recruiters then I'd suggest learning honesty, integrity and dealing openly with your customers and your candidates. no one gains from sly dealings, dishonesty and plain dumbness.

its not for nothing that most it recruiters I have had dealings with over the years are classified in my contacts as pimps, most just want to hustle a body ionto the corntrafct ot start getting commission.

It doesn't matter that you don't know each and every detail of every IT job, it does matter that when asked questions by the candiate or customer that you cna answer failry, accurately and promptly any queries. YThe number of times I have started on a contract to find the customer is expecting someone else with a different skillset, the pimp in the middle assuiring the other parties that it was a good fit.

Let's not leave out the Database Arsonist, who calls you at 4:30 on a Friday afternoon to let you know that he just wiped out the customer table. Of course, I don't see many postings for such people, but they do seem to be awfully common.

OK, now THAT was funny.

my personal advice is to make sure you post the pay range. at least a window of 15k.

i freggin HATE wasting my time sending resumes and talking on the phone to find out that a position being ofered to me as a "great opportunity" will not even pay my bills. especially when it cost me money to find that out.

2 years ago i blew $1,200 in cell phone charges in 2 months plus my time to send out resumes to a shitload of jobs that never posted any pay ranges. i am not talking about a specific rate, that is negotiable. but i need a range to determine if it is worth my time to even bother to consider. all of these recruiters were fast on the phone to call me and talk my ear off. so much that it racked up to almsot $1,200. i ended finding a job myself on monster for a position that the pay rate was listed.

just recently.. i responded to an ad that said that they wanted Microsoft and cisco certified people to teach classes. i figured what the heck.. i applied. after 45 minutes on the phone and several emails back and forth, the "negotiator/pimp" at the other end "made me an offer" ........
of $25,000 a year to start plus incentives and bonuses. basically it would top out at about $33,000 a year if lucky.

talk about an insult. and 45 minutes blown on my peak minutes. man was i pissed.

listing the pay range will get you more respect because you are not viewed as trying to do "sly dealings" where you try to get the recruits for as cheap as possible and keep the difference.

pay ranges should me mandatory. pay rates are negotiable after an employee/recruit determines they can survive in the range.