Work with just one recruiter (and make it Harvey John)

So, for whatever reason, you’ve decided the time is right to start looking for a new job and search for the opportunities that are available to you. You’ve decided that the best way to find a new job is with the assistance of a specialist recruiter.

If you’re a highly skilled professional with a desirable profile, you may have received a lot of attention from recruiters already, even before you started looking for a new job. Now that you’re actively searching, it may feel tempting to open the floodgates to them all. I mean, what could be better than a dozen recruiters all trying to find you a new job? However, it could be beneficial to work with just one great recruiter. Here’s why…

A Trusted Advisor

Recruitment can be a highly lucrative career.  For better or worse, a lot of people are attracted to jobs in recruitment by the allure of making money. So they may not have your best interests at heart. A lot of recruiters are instead motivated by meeting their targets, or getting their boss off their back. This self-motivated behaviour can then manifest itself in numerous negative ways for you. This type of recruiter may mislead you about a job or may pressure you into applying for the wrong job. This could be either to fill their quotas or they haven’t taken the time to learn what kind of job you’re looking for.

It’s important, therefore, to take the time to find a recruiter who does care about you. Get a recommendation from a friend or colleague, look at LinkedIn testimonials, meet someone at a networking event (or save time and use Harvey John)! Have a conversation before you agree to work with them; make sure they listen to you and understand the jobs you’re interested in. The best recruiters care about helping you, and they want to build a trusting relationship with you. By finding that recruiter, you can be sure that any role they bring to you will meet your wants and needs. This is how we operate at Harvey John.

Professional Representation

Crucially, you must remember that any recruiter who puts you forward to a prospective employer is your representative to them. You want to be represented professionally and appropriately,  not by somebody who is going to provide a poor impression of you. Equally, be sure your representative knows you, knows what makes you great and can sell you effectively to their clients. At Harvey John, we’re professional in our conduct, and passionate about you.

The introduction of GDPR strengthening data rights has helped somewhat to curb the trend, a technique often employed by self-motivated recruiters is to submit your CV to a client without your permission (view our ‘Ask a recruiter’ blog on the issue here). If another recruiter you’re working with has also submitted it, but with your permission, this can lead to a messy, confusing, and ultimately unprofessional situation that reflects badly on everyone. It’s far simpler to work with one recruiter you can trust, who won’t ever send you forward for a role without discussing it with you first. And if you do end up in this unfortunate situation, a trusted recruiter can still help you out of it. We’ll always provide you with all the information we can about an employer and job. We will also obtain your explicit permission before sending your details. If your CV is duplicated by a client, then the blame does not lie with us.

Good Connections

In the age of the internet, almost any recruiter can put you forward for almost any role. A quick Google search can find the contact details for almost any head of department or decision maker. It’s important to find a recruiter who will put you forward for the right jobs, with permission, and will represent you. But it can also be very useful to choose a recruiter who has cultivated their connections.

Just as we do with our candidates, at Harvey John, we’ve spent years nurturing relationships with our clients. They trust us just as we hope you will. When they receive an email or phone call from us, they want to take it. We know whose nose to put your information under and how to make them take notice.

While it may seem easier to let every recruiter under the sun try to find you a new job. However, taking the time to find a single trustworthy, professional, and well-connected recruiter can make your search more successful. We think that each of us at Harvey John embodies this mentality.

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David Waddell is Managing Director at Harvey John.

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