There are a lot of stigmas in the staffing industry, but the truth is that many technical professionals will have to deal with a contract house at one time or another. How do you protect yourself and choose the best recruiters for you? In How to Successfully Work With a Recruiter, we will cover all of the bases giving you the information to make the best decision.

2. The Basics
• To put it simply: 3rd party recruitment or staffing
firms provide real positions at real companies
• Contract/ Staff Augmentation
–Short term
–Long term- Our average duration is 10-15
years
• Direct
• Contract to direct

4. • At the junior or entry level , especially in a technical field, can be a way to get a
foot in the door with a desired employer. It is also an incredible way to gain
relevant experience for the field in which you are interested.
• Experience is critical as your value in industry substantially increase at the 2nd
to 3rd
year
• A little background: When the business of contract work came about it was more
of a temporary position for the employee. Today, companies can retain
contractors for decades in positions that grow and build their responsibilities and
skill sets.
• Benefits/ salaries: The fallacies.
• 401k
• Healthcare, dental, vision
• Holiday/ vacation
• Salaries reflect the market
• The employment services industry is projected to be the second largest source of
employment growth in the economy growing from 1.6 million by 2014
• IT employment is projected to strongly outperform — growing almost twice
as fast as employment in general through 2020.
• Employment in engineering is expected to continue to grow as well through
2020

6. What Good Staffing Companies are NOT
The Drive by Recruiter: You get a phone call, short
conversation about a position, may have an interview
and then NEVER hear from recruiter again. The have
outrageous opportunities, and empty promises

8. What Good Staffing Companies are NOT
The Absent Mentor: They seem great up front. They talk to you,
get you an interview, and a job. After that they offer little to
no communication or contact. Like ever.
The Game Player: Similar to the drive by recruiters, except after
the short conversation they will blast your résumé to a ton of
jobs, most of which you haven’t heard of and are in no way
aligned or interested in. “We will get to position/ company
alignment later.”

10. What Good Staffing Companies are NOT
The lazy or clueless recruiter: This recruiter won’t fill you in
on a specific position or a company very well, because they
don’t actually know a lot about the position or the
company. If they can’t devote the time to research, they
won’t devote any time to your wants and needs.

12. What Good Staffing Companies are NOT
Bait and Switch: This recruiter or company will withhold key
information about a position, and tell you what you want to
hear. When it comes down to an interview or placement,
they will try to strong arm you into positions which you
have no interest: less money, different location, etc.

14. What Good Staffing Companies are NOT
The Pay to Play Company: You should never be charged for a
recruiter. Professional, reputable and responsible firms
provide all and more.

16. What good staffing/ third party employers
ARE
Career mentors: A good recruiter will listen to you; hear your goals,
experience and interests. They will learn about your personality and
values. As many of you will be entry or junior level professionals, you
may not have all of your career plans or goals laid out. A great recruiter
will help you sort through your skills, interests and desired workplace
culture BEFORE submitting your resume to a position or company.

18. What good staffing/ third party employers ARE
Match Makers: After sorting out basic goals, interests, and desired culture a
recruiter will THEN look for positions with ACTUAL clients that may fit your
expertise. If there is a fit, or potential fit, the recruiter will call you back,
explain the company, the position, and the team that you would be
submitted to. They will NOT submit you to a position that has nothing to
do with your goals. If selected for an interview, they will prepare you and
make sure you have all the tools that you need to succeed.
Communicators: A great recruiter will keep you in the loop no matter the
outcome. Not every interview is successful whether you go through a firm
or not, however they will make sure to let you know the outcome and any
feedback that they receive so you can make improvements in the future.

20. What good staffing/ third party employers ARE
Cheerleaders: Ultimately a good recruiter will want you to
succeed for reasons other than commission. If they spend a
good amount of time getting to know you and your past,
they are very invested in helping you find a great employer.

22. What good staffing/ third party employers ARE
Support: Unlike the drive by recruiters, absent mentors and game
players, a good recruitment firm will make sure that you have support
once you are up to speed and working at your new job. They can make
sure that any paycheck, benefit, or issue is addressed. They may also
have account support people that will check in with you on site.

24. What good staffing/ third party employers ARE
Trends: A good recruiter should not only be able to talk to you about
what you want to do right now, but what trends are coming down the
line and where you should look to gain experience. This is true not only
for entry level and setting a great foundation, but also your whole
career. A great recruiter could be with you your whole career and is
someone who you should be able to ask career advice.

26. What good staffing/ third party employers ARE
Your Agent - They should be your agent, although you may need more
than one based on the breadth of opportunity and need – you should
limit yourself to working with a few who invest their time to know you.

28. Why would any professional consider a
3rd party employer?
Relationships- First and foremost, as recruiters and account managers,
we have strong relationships with hiring managers, and will lobby on
your behalf once submitted, and after interviews. When applying on
company sites you don’t have that, and there is potential to never hear
back at all.

30. Why would any professional consider a
3rd party employer?
• As an entry or junior level candidate we are able to
expose you to various facets of engineering or your
chosen profession, which can help you solidify what
direction you want to go in.
• Recruiters do the upfront work to get your foot in the
door, and then the sky is the limit.

32. Why would any professional consider a
3rd party employer?
• We will do negotiations for you with your best interest at
heart
• Firms have more opportunities at hand to present to you, and
more than one client that we can work with. This means that
they will focus on finding companies and positions that are
best suited to you. They will not simply present a deck of
positions at companies you really wouldn’t like.

34. How to build a relationship with a recruiter
As entry or junior level contract/ direct employees it’s important to have a relationship with a
recruiter or a good company because it’s likely that you won’t only work for one company your
whole career. You may out grow your position, company or decide to switch directions. If you
have a good relationship with a recruiter, these changes can be talked through so that a plan is
laid out before a change.
Honesty: Honesty is the most important part of any relationship, and it’s no different here. If
you want a recruiter to take care of you, be honest with them. Don’t lie about experience, age,
favorite food etc. They WANT to set you up to succeed so be sure they have the real
information to do so.
Communication: Along with honesty, communicate with your recruiter. Keep them in the loop.
Are you changing addresses? Do you love the company you work for, but need more of a
challenge? Communication will really only help you AND the recruiter know how to make the
best of any situation.