Your Relationship with the Recruiter

​Disturbingly, I learned from a colleague who posted online, that there are recruiters who send their candidates the response “only candidates that paid for our services will be submitted”; or the candidates are being redirected to expensive coaching or CV services under the guise “your CV is not good enough, please pay for a revamp”.
 
This is unethical behaviour on the recruiter’s part, and unfortunately gives the quality recruiters (and CV writers) a bad name.
 
Here are some do’s and don’ts when it comes to your relationship with your recruiter.

Don’t:

1. If you are ever asked to pay a cent for someone claiming to get you a job, DON’T! The recruiter is paid by their client for providing a service, and this commission (or however they have structured their invoice) covers all items such as police clearances, education checks, etc. 
2. DON’T assume all recruiters or CV writers are bad or out to make a quick buck. There are genuine, hard working recruiters out there that give of themselves to support their candidates. Such an example of phenomenal recruiters I work with include SciTech, Ellahi Consulting, JL Professional Placements, and Antal South Africa.   
3. I hate to add this point in, but it’s important that you DON’T have skewed expectations of what your recruiter needs to do for you. You are one of hundreds, possibly thousands of individuals on your recruiter’s database. They are not hired by you to find you a job; they are hired by their client who has a job spec, and they then match that to the talent on their database, or who they are able to find online. 
4. When applying for a job DON’T save your CV such as “Marzenna Almendro – CV”. Your CV needs to be saved in such a way that it supports a keyword search. You need to use your specialism, such as “Marzenna Almendro CV – Registered Psychometrist, Professional CV Writer and Licensed Coach”. Often recruiters will do a search in their inbox to see if anyone with the skills they are looking for has sent their CV. Saving your CV appropriately gets you ahead of the game. 
5. DON’T think it’s the recruiter’s job to find you a job. It’s not. You need to design your own job-hunting strategy which includes: ​

• Adding your CV to online job boards (generic and specialist), and once again, this is FREE
• Use LinkedIn to connect, engage and apply for jobs
• Contact a few recruiters to register with them
• Apply for jobs through other channels (for example, the company’s website, etc.)
• Join Facebook and Instagram groups that have been created to share job posts – following these pages may lead to an opportunity 

DO:
 

1. DO consider your action plan when it comes to hunting for a job. I’ve personally found the more niche you position yourself, and the more specific you are regarding what exactly you want to do, the more success you’ll have in finding a good job fit.  (Not sure on what career you should be pursuing? Contact us for a career assessment). 
2. As a departure from the above point, DO consider registering with smaller, unique, boutique style recruitment agencies. The reason for this is because the big agencies have THOUSANDS of CVs on their databases. With the smaller ones, you’ll possibly get to know the recruiter, and they’ll be important to you (just remember that there are some bad apples in the bunch, so don’t expect all recruiters to be the same). 
3. DO register with online job boards (in South Africa, the big ones include Pnet, Careers24 or Career Junction). If you are looking at moving overseas, Google “Job boards in [country name]”. Recruiters pay a subscription fee to use these job boards to look for talent.
4. DO set up job alerts on these job boards, including LinkedIn, so that you are privy to jobs as they are posted by the recruiter (or company). 
5. DO make personal contact. It’s a misconception to expect the recruiter to contact you directly after you’ve sent your CV in; they’ll only do so if they are able to match you to a job on their books. Especially if you see a job that you like, call the Agency, and try to find out which recruiter is managing the post. Speak to the recruiter, break the ice, and give a short intro of yourself. You’re likely to be more memorable. 
6. DO keep your CV up in the ranks. Some recruiters have access to data such as when you last logged onto the job board, updated your CV or applied for a job. You want to ensure you are still perceived as on the market, and if you are inactive, it may seem that you are no longer open. 
7. DO make sure your CV is in tip top condition. It should speak of your achievements (not just responsibilities), take out all personal pronouns, and keep it to two pages. As many recruiters convert your CV into their format, they will be thankful if you lighten their load! 

It’s important to remember that job-hunting is a full-time job itself. Now more than ever, clients can pick and choose their talent, given the current economic situation (not just in South Africa but abroad too, thanks to Covid).
 
Not all CV writers are trying to swindle you for cash. If you find a CV writer who is a graphic designer or wordsmith, it’s likely they have not worked in HR or recruitment. The CV writer should have a solid foundation in matching your skill set to a JD (job description). You are wholly competent to create your own CV, and we have made tons of free resources available to you to do just that.  But if you do require a professional’s assistance, check out our offering here.
 
Best of luck with your job-hunt!

Marzenna Almendro (Registered Psychometrist, Professional CV Writer, Licensed Coach, Author & Thought Leader)