Get Engaged With Your Recruiter (More Than Just a Metaphor)

Ever heard the story about the couple where one was really committed to the other and the other kept playing the field, yet they stayed together for many, many years?

No? Yeah, us either.

It. Just. Doesn’t. Happen. In love…or recruiting. Let us explain.

For years, we’ve likened the work we do as recruiters to matchmakers. On one side we have companies that need team members. We get to know what they like, what they want, who will fit in with their culture. On the other we have people who crave career growth. Job moves. They’re looking for a new work partner.

Both sides are looking for each other, but don’t necessarily want to get caught up in the swipe right, swipe left world.

That’s where we come in.

But here’s the thing.

At some point, for relationships to work, people have to make a commitment. Couples have to make a commitment, employees have to make a commitment, and yes, even hiring managers have to make a commitment to recruiters to even get to that first date or interview.

We’re not saying we have to get married. Let’s just get engaged.

Stay with us on this continued metaphor. We’ll bring it back around.

In the recruiter world, there are two types of recruiters you can hire – the contingent recruiter (for those only interested in casual dating) and the engaged recruiter (for those who are serious and investing in their business for the long haul).

The contingent recruiter will tell you everything you want to hear. They can find people with a super niche skillset who are willing to work under market salary for a company with a poor reputation. And they’ll be willing to do it without getting a commitment to getting paid. They’ll do it on…contingency.

We’d venture to say 95% of recruiters out there are contingent recruiters. They say yes to any kind of hiring need you have. They don’t really ask you a lot of questions and they often just get a job description from you and tell you they’re “on it.”

Here’s the thing.

You’re not really committing to hiring because you’re not really putting anything on the line – a fee.

Neither will that contingent recruiter.

Sure, they might throw out a few bones to fill your open position. But what’s their motivation, especially knowing you could change your mind about hiring at any moment or could also be using multiple recruiters for the same position?

There is some belief out there that if one recruiter is good, then five recruiters are better. That couldn’t be further from the truth. There’s not some magical pool of talent out there.

Then there’s the engaged recruiter, which is like putting a ring on it by paying a portion of the search fee up front. To be clear, this isn’t an extra charge as the engagement fee is deducted from the final invoice once the search is complete. It shows you’re serious about hiring. You’re committing to them. They are committing to you.

Would you trust a real estate agent to work hard to sell your house if there wasn’t a contractual fee involved? How about a lawyer?

Why would you want to work with a recruiter in that way, then?

It is in our best interest to do this right – to find the right people for your team. It’s how each of us provides for our family. It’s how we do our own business. That’s why at Lee Group Search we choose an engaged relationship.