In my experience as a recruiter, I have been told by managers, colleagues, and information from other staffing industry experts, that the easiest way to find candidates are referrals. I have been fortunate enough to form relationships with most candidates that I work with to where they feel comfortable giving me referrals. My question is to the few people that I run by that are so quick to say, “I’m not interested and NO I don’t know of anyone!”
Oh excuse me ma ’mm or sir, was I so out of line to think that an IT professional with 15 years of experience in the industry may know of a person or two, maybe that they worked with in the past, that would be interested in new opportunities?
I know the reason for most professionals reaction to recruiters is because at some point in their career they had a bad experience with one. It is sad that we resort to allowing one bad experience to taint our perspectives and outlook on certain situations in life. Please know that there are recruiters and people for that matter, who actually care about your best interests. I take pride in knowing that when I am working with an individual, I do everything I can to make sure the position we are working towards is truly a better opportunity then their current role. Just give it a shot and give a recruiter a chance. We are not all cut-throat individuals who are only concerned with how much we can make off of you or where you can go to work next. I can’t speak for the masses, but for myself and the other recruiters with Anchor Point Technology Resources, we believe in building relationships. Once a relationship is established, both parties can then work together to find a position that would best fit with the candidate’s needs.
With all that being said, I hope that the next time you are contacted by a recruiter for a position you take it as a compliment. Even if you are not interested, try to think of someone who may be. You are being contacted for a reason. Your resume or profile must look like a great fit or it seems like you have are deeply rooted in the local market. Oh yeah…. Let’s be honest with each other here...... Everyone knows a few people who are looking for work or fed up with their current place of employment!