Myths About Recruiters

The Recruiter Myth

Recruiters are often perceived as mysterious and secretive by candidates, and, to some extent, that’s true. The sensitive nature of their work does require a level of discretion normally reserved for CIA agents. Being entrusted with helping shape a person’s career is a huge responsibility, and a responsibility recruiters take very seriously.

Here are a few common myths about recruiters in general:

MYTH 1: “It’s a recruiter’s job to help me find a new job”
No, their job is to fill a specific position – often with very narrow hiring criteria – for one of their client companies. Most recruiters are good people, and helping people is a big part of their job, but ultimately their job is to fill a very specific position. The end result is also helping someone advance their career.

MYTH 2: “Recruiters can help me switch careers”
The hiring criteria dictated by a recruiter’s client company almost always requires a specialized skill set, so someone switching careers will not qualify as a candidate. Their job is to find talented individuals who have previous experience in the field, not to be a career counselor.

MYTH 3: “Recruiters will talk you into changing jobs, even if it’s a bad career move for me.”
Good recruiters will not do this, and bad recruiters will try. Great recruiters are quite selective about which candidates they send to their clients. If the job represents a bad career move for a person, a good recruiter will not pursue. Bad recruiters may recommend candidates for jobs, without looking into them and whether or not they are a fit, just to try and get that commission.

MYTH 4: “I send recruiters my resume and I never hear from them.”
Recruiters can receive hundreds of unsolicited resumes and phone calls each week. Remember, the job of a recruiter is to fill a specific position that requires a very specialized skill set. If you don’t hear from them, it means your background does not fit the very narrow specialized hiring criteria in place on that assignment. If your background fits an active search, a recruiter will move heaven and earth to reach you

What misconceptions have you heard about recruiters?