Here's why job-seekers dislike job recruiters

OK, time for a little introspection from an executive recruiter.

A lot of job-seekers don't like my kind. It's understandable. After all, they come to us looking for a job - the right job, in the right place, at the right time, for the right money - and we almost never give it to them. They often have a hard time just getting our attention.

The story is largely the same across the staffing and executive search business: Job-seekers call, e-mail and write us asking for a job interview, a conversation, a meeting, some acknowledgment that the recruiting firm is more than a black hole that swallowed their resume and gave nothing back.

They assume the jobs are going to someone else who has an elusive "inside track" or knows how to "work the process."

Normal dynamics

This situation is not the result of shady recruiters with bad business practices (although there are some of those out there). It arises from the normal dynamics of our business. Unfortunately for job-seekers, the recruiting business is organized primarily to be of service to employers.

In business terms, the successful recruiter is one who finds her client - the hiring company - the right employee, in the right place, at the right time, for the right money. And each successful recruiting effort delivers a job to exactly one job-seeker, while disappointing several who interviewed, and many more who wanted an interview but didn't get one.

Casting director

I've had job-seekers ask if they can pay me to help them find a job. Unfortunately, that model only seems to work for entertainers and pro athletes.

In Hollywood terms, business recruiters are casting directors, not talent agents. We work for the movie.

Still, working with recruiters does not need to be so frustrating for job-seekers. There are things that both parties can do to make our working relationship better.

I believe recruiters have a responsibility to treat job-seekers with courtesy and respect. We need to do a better job explaining how we work and set reasonable expectations. We may not be able to be your personal agents delivering interviews and jobs on demand, but there is a different promise good recruiters can deliver on: that we will give you the tools and information to monitor our fast-changing inventory of job leads on an equal footing with other job-seekers, so that when you see the right job come along, you will have a fair shot at it.

Next month: more on how recruiters can provide the best service to job-seekers, and how job-seekers can get the most out of recruiting firms.

Peter Gray is the head of executive recruiting at QTI Professional Staffing in Madison.