Before you can improve efficiencies and results using the tips I’ve provided throughout this blog post series, you must first identify the right recruiter for you.

After 20 years as a headhunter, I hold these three truths to be self-evident about Great vs. Lousy Recruiters:

  1. Great recruiters add value to their clients by providing top talent and insight.
  2. Lousy recruiters waste people’s time and make just enough placements to stay in the business.
  3. Companies receive more solicitations from lousy recruiters than great ones because there are many more lousy recruiters than great ones.

In addition to those three self-evident truths, I also believe two of what you might call “sub-truths”:

  1. Great recruiters have things in common.  They were trained well, they have a process, and they have a variety of tools and resources.  They have experience recruiting or working in the industry or discipline for which they recruit and present candidates in a manner that shows the person is qualified and interested in the job.  These professionals strive to improve themselves and their methods and enjoy a stellar reputation and the fruits of their labor.
  1. Lousy recruiters lack most of these qualities.  They believe recruiting is a way to make a fast buck, they have a few methods of identifying candidates, and they like to wallpaper their clients and prospective clients with resumes, hoping to get a hit in the process.

Use these truths (and “sub-truths”) to align yourself with a great recruiter . . . and avoid working with a lousy recruiter.  Doing so will make all the difference in the world.

(For more information about maximizing the benefits of working with a recruiter, download a copy of Dan Simmons’s e-Book, Hunting the Headhunter: Your Guide to Debunking Myths, Cutting Costs, and Changing the Way You Play the Recruitment Game.)