Types of Recruiters - Continued

I've heard or seen rants about recruiters, from time to time, regarding issues like seemingly illegitimate postings, not posting complete info on job, etc.

I saw one rant recently where the candidate said that recruiters 'ought to be required' to be post company name, salary, complete contact info on all positions.

Frankly, I wish that I always could. It helps attract better candidates, and more of them, when you provide more info.

However, there are several reasons why recruiters don't always do that. I'm going to gloss over the convenience reasons; someone doesn't want to be bothered with phone calls from unqualified candidates, or the position is held by someone else they are trying replace, etc.

One of the major reasons is the nature of the recruiter's business relationship. If the recruiter is a company employee, full-time hourly or salaried contract, or on retainer, then there is one important thing that they don't have to worry too much about - getting paid. All 3 of those groups of recruiters get paid, at least partly, a guaranteed or up front compensation. Although they may also get bonuses, or in the case of a retained recruiter, get part of their compensation on completion. However, the retained recruiter theoretically doesn't have any competition, he/she has an exclusive on the search. This is why retained recruiters frequently, but not always, share information on the company they are working for, etc.

Contingency recruiters, on the other hand, (which make up the majority by the way), get paid only when they complete a search assignment and place someone. Most positions from staff level up to Director or higher are contingency, and many positions at VP and other executive levels can be contingency. The arrangement can be fairly exclusive, but often is not, and the company and other recruiters can be working on the assignment as well. In these instances, sharing too much information prematurely (job postings, etc) can result in candidates contacting the client directly, or other recruiters contacting the client with candidates to present. Either of which can result in the recruiter getting paid nothing, while having at least indirectly helped fill the position.

However, once you have initiated communications with a recruiter and established that you are a potentially viable candidate for a role, the recruiter should be willing to share more detailed information on the opportunity. How much info, how quickly, is based on trust, the fit of the candidate, and the depth of their relationship with the client.

Next we'll discuss how to assess your recruiter's relationship with the client, and how legitimate an opportunity they are presenting.