Should a Job Seeker Pay a Recruiter?
In effort to score a better job--or, in many cases, any job at all--a job seeker will turn to a professional recruiter. This recruiter is generally hired by one or more companies to fill positions for the firm. Because the recruiter is compensated by the company, he is not paid by the client.
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Features
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Many companies, particularly those with many positions to fill or in need of candidates for positions with qualifications that are difficult to meet, may turn to a recruiter, sometimes known as a headhunter. This recruiter may work for the company permanently or be hired on a freelance basis as the need arises. The recruiter may be compensated with a salary or when the position is hired.
Considerations
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Legitimate recruiters do not take payment in any form from job applicants. Because the recruiter's job is to find as many qualified candidates as possible for an open position, he should act in the interests of his employer, not in the people approaching him for positions. To accept payment from a job seeker would present a conflict of interest.
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Benefits
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Recruiters provide a number of benefits, both to the companies that have hired them to find employees and the people approaching them for positions. Recruitment agencies are in essence a match-making service, one that attempts to place as many appropriately qualified candidate in as many open positions as possible. This helps make the labor market more efficient, increasing overall productivity.
Career Counselors
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Although a recruiter will not charge you a fee, a career counselor might. A career counselor, who sometimes works as a public service and sometimes for a profit, offers clients advice on what line of work to seek. Most counselors are primarily responsible for counseling their clients about how to apply for jobs and what positions to seek. They do not generally have any special information about what jobs are available.
Expert Insight
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According to Skip Freeman, an experienced recruiter based in Atlanta, Georgia, although recruiters can be helpful in placing people in appropriate positions, job seekers should not expect to find jobs through recruiters. Freeman notes that approaching recruiters, along with job fairs and Internet job boards, are among the least effective methods of landing a position. He notes that the most effective methods are networking, direct mail and phone calls.
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