As a recruiter, I am often asked why job seekers should use a recruiter to help them with their job hunting. Most job seekers go it alone and locate open positions through advertisements and online job boards. What can a recruiter do for me? This is the top question I hear in my profession.

Firstly, we’ve talked about time constraints in previous articles and about the advantage of gathering together your social and business network contacts to help you find gainful, satisfactory employment in the shortest amount of time possible.

A recruiter serves this function as well: She is a business network contact that works specifically to match you with the perfect company and the perfect position. A recruiter’s job is to match employer to employee and make both parties happy. Having someone on board your job hunting team whose sole aim is to find you the perfect position is the ideal situation for any job seeker.

Additionally, you don’t even have to be unemployed to seek the services of a recruiter. Looking for better pay, a different career or a different environment? A recruiter has the contacts you need to make the switch.

There is also what some experts refer to as a “hidden job market” that recruiters tap into. As a recruiter, employers contact me to find the perfect employee for their open positions. This happens for a variety of reasons:


    Employer time or personnel constraints
    Employer wishes to keep open positions confidential
    Employer lacks the technical resources needed for properly screening candidates

Mostly, with staff reductions occurring throughout the labour market, companies find it easier and less time consuming for them to outsource their screening and advertisement processes through a recruiter. My job then is to post the position and screen applicants for referral to the HR department or other managers in the company for interviews. As a recruiter, I can do several things that many companies cannot. For example, if a senior executive requires an administrative assistant that types 80 wpm, the company generally does not have the testing available in house to assess whether an applicant meets that requirement.

Many jobs are disappearing off company websites and online job boards for this reason. Companies come directly to recruiters without ever advertising their open positions, and recruiters then tap into their current client applicant pool first, before advertising any open positions. Many jobs come and go through this process, without the general public being any the wiser to what is going on.

By using a recruiter, you are by no means committing to obtaining a job solely through that person. You continue your normal job hunting as you would otherwise, but with the knowledge that a true professional is out there looking for the best job available specifically for you!