Recruiting From the Outside, Looking In...

I can't say that Miss Lee's missive regarding Third Party Recruiters and retention has nothing to do with my post today. But hey, we're all here to make each other better at what we do and she inspired me, so let the opinions roll.

As a third party recruiter, it took me a great long while to figure out why no one liked me. I was like the ill-fated little match girl in Hans Christian Anderson's fable, staring through the window at the warmth that was, cold-call after cold-call, denied to me. It was a lonely place to be. I was befuddled that moi, a well-liked (except for that scary 7th grade year...) person in general, would incur so much wrath, simply for following in the family business.

What I quickly learned was what I suppose a lot of lawyers learn. One, that if your profession has a bad rap, be WORLDS better at it. Second, if you take people out for fancy meals and bill a high hourly rate, oddly that equates to respect in the business world. Hey, don't get mad, I don't make the rules.

Realizing, from a respected source, that an outside consultant often gets more respect than the in-house team, I set out to be the best third party recruiter I could be. I upped the ante for the folks in my hometown, read every article in my industry and the industry I recruit for, checked out the latest and greatest tools and asked every successful person who would give me the time of day what they would do in my shoes.

I'm not that smart (I actually AM, but I'm driving home a point here) what I do is WORK HARD. I'm a great 3PV because I make it my business to know what technologies are being implemented in target companies, because I pay attention to how long reqs stay open at competitors or targets, because I keep calling, even though the internal recruiter has lost interest (betcha the HM with the urgent need hasn't).

When I started, I thought all 3PVs were in it for the cash, and that's partially true. It is quite a lot of cash. But, the best recruiters see that and the scummy rep as motivating factors and then you know what?

They break the window and get the warmth.

Comments

[Jessica Lee]

dear maren,

happy birthday. it seems we are in the same boat, you and i. you're a stellar example of a 3PR. but not all 3PRs are like you, and there are many who give you a bad rap. it's no different from how i totally admit that there are tons of HR pros out there who make me feel ashamed that they share my profession. let's both make the world sexier. what do you say?

XO.

JLee

[Jennifer McClure]

Great post Maren! And I must say you're doing a great job to help change many people's perceptions of what a good recruiter is! One of the great things about being in a profession that has a bad reputation is that when you do handle yourself as you've described in your post, and really care about your clients and candidates, that's not the norm. Pretty simple stuff to just do the "right thing" and separate yourself from the pack as a recruiter that's "different". (In a good way!)

[Carol]

Yes, excellent post! It is very hard to overcome the challenges presented by being an "outsider".

[Mark J. Haluska]

Very good post Maren. Although I don't know you, I can tell it comes from the heart.

When I first entered into this profession, it did not take me long to realize that I had to seperate my firm from the pack due to perceived notions on the part of some companies, particularly from the HR side. (No slam to HR, as there are countless numbers of top notch HR pro's that I have worked with)

Like myself, you seem passionate about your profession. Yes, it does take work, a lot of work, to prove to a new client that you are more than just a resume slinger hoping to land a fee.

We do what we can to educate companies about our competitive points of difference at the outset, when we land a new client.

Usually within 30 to 45 days, our clients become believers and always come back for more !

All that said, there will always be those out there in corporate North America who will greatly dislike us for what we do and that is; help build companies and change peoples lives

[Marco Fleming]

WOW , This is exactly why I left the business almost 5 years ago. It seemed that most of my clients liked me but always had this underlying feeling of resentment they had to pay me a fee. Like I was a scavenger because I kept up with there market and knew most time before they , there was a problem in the orangization and a need was forth comming. Man do I miss recruiting!!!!

[Maren Hogan]

Jessia, I am down w/making talent sexier. Honestly I was inspired by your post and it's not the first time I've heard the rap. Recruiters tend to have a bit of an inferiority complex, which is why I wrote the post, in the hopes of chipping away a bit of that.

Jennifer, absolutely. I can tell that you have "recruiter fever" and do your job very, very well.

Mark, you hit on something I didn't touch on, which is educating the clients. It has been my experience that clients willing to learn are often the very best ones! Good insight.

Marco, I hope you come back to this beautiful business. Maybe it's changed a little? After all, you found FOT!