There are more than a few misconceptions about how a staffing agency fits into the job search scenario. Some tech professionals don't realize it's a cost-free option for candidates, as companies looking to hire pay staffing agencies to find good talent.
Another misnomer is that candidates can't work with more than one agency at a time—they certainly can. And many job seekers erroneously believe agencies only recruit for temp or contract workers and so miss out on all the benefits an agency can provide as well as help in finding that next great role.
As Heidi Golledge describes it, an executive or staffing agency recruiter serves as a "sports agent" for the tech professional.
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"Many recruiting firms have technical recruiters who act like 'sports agents' putting the skills of the IT candidate in front of hiring managers. We also assist in the negotiation of salary, vacation and job details to ensure the candidate is compensated fairly," says the executive VP of
CyberCoders , an Irvine, California firm that launched as a software engineer recruiter and now specializes in various positions from technical, financial, engineering, to mortgage, construction and operational positions across all industries.
Another recruiter points out that a good portion of companies use staffing agencies exclusively in their quest for IT talent.
"The HR managers and recruiters within these organizations are already very busy and utilize services like ours as extensions of their HR department. We may be working positions that our customers haven't even tried to recruit for yet," explains Ray Brown, a senior technical/engineering recruiter for
Volt Technical Resources , a 56-year-old agency boasting recruitment efforts in every US state. "Working with a staffing agency broadens your network and allows you to access a larger number of available positions and companies."
And maybe most importantly, staffing agencies often have access to job opportunities that aren't publicly posted online or offline, says Chris Gibbons, president/IT staffing consultant with
Dunhill Professional Search of Wilmington NC , a search and staffing company with offices throughout the continental United States, Hawaii and Canada.
"Staffing companies often have relationships with companies that do not advertise or their advertising is very limited so job seekers would not find these positions through other means. Also, staffing companies frequently work with companies that prefer a contract-to-hire arrangement where they can "try before they buy" to ensure that the individual fits into their organization and can truly handle the work," he explains.
The Benefits
There are quite a few tangible benefits partnering with a staffing agency, says Gibbons. The recruiter can serve as a voice for the candidate, selling the candidate to a company on points beyond the resume.
"A good recruiter will prep their candidate and give them an idea of what to expect in the interview and how to prepare," he explains.
Brown notes that "working with an agency also expands your search efforts, while giving your resume more visibility."
While just avoiding the sticky issue of salary negotiation is a valuable benefit, another big advantage, notes Holledge, is that a recruiter "will work diligently to find you a job that is worth changing jobs for, saving you from spending all of your free time searching job ads."
Recruiters also provide job coaching services and can help candidates boost interviewing skills, prepare for specific interview questions, help them research the hiring company beforehand, and of course improve the resume presentation.
Dunhill's Gibbons relates how he receives an email intermittently that states a "a contract recruiter is the lowest form of life and a blood-sucking leech that makes money off of other people's hard work."
"Candidates don't realize that companies know there is an expense to hiring quality talent whether they do it themselves or through a recruiter and they accept that cost. A good recruiter will work to get their candidate the most money that they can while knowing a company's limits. My goal is ultimately to end up in a win-win situation with both of my clients, the candidate and the company, happy," he says.
Dunhill calls its recruiters "consultants," adds Gibbons, "because that's really what we are. We act as consultants both to our client companies and candidates."
Picking The Right Agency
Though job candidates can work with several staffing agencies and aren't locked into one recruiting firm, there are some good reasons why you should limit the agencies to at most three, adds Gibbons.
"You want to make sure no one will submit your credentials to a company without contacting you first. The last thing that you want is for your resume to be presented multiple times to a company so make sure you keep track of where you have been presented/submitted," he advises.
The best way to find a good agency is start with online research, searching under keywords relevant to the job title of interest.
In considering agencies, Volt's Brown says the best approach is the direct approach.
"I think candidates can determine which agency to work with simply by speaking with a recruiter in that agency. Find out what kinds of companies each agency works with and what types of positions they regularly fill," says Brown, adding that some staffing agencies have different divisions, i.e. technical and non-technical so candidates should make sure they're working with the subject matter expert who deals with a job seeker's niche specialization.
And of course, as Gibbons suggests, reach out to colleagues and ask about recruiters they've worked with.
"This will also let them know that you're keeping your options open so if they happen to hear of something, they'll let you know. We frequently call or send out emails to candidates that we've worked with in the past to see if they know of anyone with similar skills who may be looking."
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