If recruiters are so helpful in finding people jobs, why do they get such a bad rap sometimes? Weve all heard the stories: a candidates resume ended up on his bosss desk, or the current company was called for a reference without the persons permission. The recruiter misrepresented the candidate to the company or vice versa and wasted everyones time.

Too often candidates arent any more selective about the recruiters with whom they work than they are about the companies with which they interview. Thats understandable considering candidates often buy into the myth that all recruiters are omniscient and omnipotent. When you dont know how a recruiter works, its easy to assume they know what theyre doing until you find out differently.

So how do you tell if a recruiter is adept at their profession? Heres a hint: dont bother asking how long theyve been a recruiter. Its irrelevant. Instead ask a few questions about the position theyre representing. If the only thing they know is the salary range - and they tell it to you proceed at your own risk.

If a recruiter fails to take an in-depth search assignment from a client, how does the recruiter know what the client is looking for? More than that, how will the recruiter know if they come across that person? Without a detailed profile of the position, the company, and the hiring authority, all the recruiter is doing is faxing resumes and hoping something will work. Its tantamount to shooting arrows at a target in a dark closet.

Furthermore, if a recruiter is deficient in that area, hell also be deficient in other areas. Its likely hell have little to no influence in subtle decisions that are made, because his input carries no weight. He wont be acting as a hiring consultant to the company because he hasnt set himself up that way from the beginning. What does this mean to you? Youll learn nothing about where you stand in the process. Youll be kept waiting until the employer feels like getting back with the recruiter. You may learn little more than they liked you or they didnt like you.

Granted, you cant get hired if you arent in front of the hiring authority. So in that sense, even a bad recruiter has some use. However, if that happens, probably the only service the recruiter provided to you was to send your resume to the company.

With a thorough and experienced recruiter, you can expect a multitude of questions, and a lot of them are very personal. If theyre to present you to a client, they need a total picture of you: career, family, salary history, job search strategy, what youve done, what skills you have, what you want, and where you envision your career going.

So when one approaches you with a position and you show interest, do they dig deeper to learn who you are? Or do they just get your resume and pass it on to the employer? Do they grasp over time what youre suited for? Or do they continue to run things by you that have no appeal at all? Is it about your career or their commission?

There are subtleties to the business that too many recruiters miss. The most basic is that every company is unique, and every individual is unique. The good ones understand this. The others think that if they just throw out enough lines, theyll eventually catch a fish, Theyve completely missed the point of why a recruiter exists. They rarely make a placement, except by accident. They function more as a resume service and less as a recruiter. Their fees are likely to be very low or negotiated.

Unfortunately, because of the internet, the number of these recruiters is increasing. Any contingency recruiter can call an employer and join the race in the first resume to the finish line. They find your paperwork posted on a job board, and you who are more likely passive than active in your search and havent carefully thought out your requirements for your perfect job are easy picking. Off to the interview you go, possibly with unsatisfying results for everyone involved. The internet means a recruiter doesnt actually have to work at recruiting.

An effective recruiter can make a difference in your search by fully understanding the depth of whats involved in bringing a company and an individual together long-term. These recruiters are in it for the long haul. Their rewards are repeat business with client companies, referrals from relationships theyve developed with individuals, and the joy of a candidate whos ecstatic about the new opportunity.

Its your career. When youre looking to further it, shrewd discernment will always bring you closer to what you want, while universal optimism will often result in discouragement.

Judi Perkins
http://www.findtheperfectjob.com