Thanks for republishing my work, and hope your readers find it valuable.

I especially related to the Jerry McGuire quote, since that’s what I do as a Career Coach – I’m Jerry McGuire for the executive & Sr. Manager.

I wrote the piece originally in response to complaints I saw on LinkedIN Questions about recruiters not being responsive to candidates. The writer was indignant because the recruiter didn’t get back to them. Having been a former top recruiter at Robert Half I’d seen this situation all too often.

Candidates often confuse the issue of who’s working for whom, especially when the candidate was a former hiring manager. Worse yet, candidates can put themselves at odds with a recruiter, by withholding information, out of a misguided belief that limits competition for jobs they are interested in.

Instead, working with a recruiter as a partner, helping him/her do their job effectively, is a much better way to get noticed. People help others who help them. And the best way you can help a recruiter is information…it’s your most valuable currency as a candidate. Who’s hiring, what are names of managers at your former (current) company, what kinds of problems/challenges exist in companies, what are the new managers’ names – this information is all valuable to a recruiter.

The thought that keeping a recruiter in the dark about who’s hiring…that’s ludicrous. The job you are applying for is probably advertised on a job board or two. You already have hundreds, or thousands of competitors. If you’re the right fit, you’ll get the job. If you’re not the right fit, does it really matter if another recruiter pitches a candidate?

Phil Rosenberg, reCareered
phil.reCareered@gmail.com
http://reCareered.blogspot.com