The tech employment market is thriving, and if you’re an engineer or a software developer, you may be in for a bright professional future.
If you’re a seasoned software developer, now is the time to contemplate positive career progression. However, it’s not like you can get away without working hard.
On the other hand, if you are an inexperienced developer, you’ll benefit from consulting a recruiter. You can trust them to link you to fantastic opportunities and help you move forward in your career.
A competent software developer recruiter may even turn into a mentor or even an acquaintance throughout the job hunting process. There is no way a professional recruiter will slow down your progression.
Therefore, we’ve put up a list of the top characteristics and several other factors to assist you in recognizing a terrific recruiter – the one who will care for you, acknowledge your needs, and be there for you in the long run.
Getting Familiar With Recruiters
As an integral part of the job hunt, you will inevitably have to deal with several recruiters. This isn’t necessarily bad as opposed to the general belief; recruiters are reasonably helpful in career progression.
But, to get the most out of your contacts with recruiters, you need to understand the differences between contingency and retained recruiters, plus how to engage with them.
Retained Recruiters
A corporation hires retained recruiters to hire workers for the company. They’re usually salaried personnel who strive to identify the finest potential match for any particular position while also looking out for the company’s best interests.
When you deal with a firm that employs retained recruiters, a barrier will be placed between yourself and those you will be working with.
Their responsibility is to ensure that the terms of any offer do not include any evident roadblocks for the candidates they assess.
If it can be determined right away that you aren’t a good fit, they can save the company considerable time and money by not interviewing you.
For instance, if they want to hire you, the policy isn’t going to alter. Want to go to the office in shorts and sandals, but the dress code is business casual? That isn’t going to change in any situation whatsoever! Would you like to work in the office with an exposed floor plan? This also will not change any time soon.
You must have got the idea: The recruiter is limited in what they can offer you since they are restricted to give you only what that company offers.
This is beneficial since it consumes less time. In addition, you might be reasonably confident that both the employer and you are at ease with what they are giving you as you progress through the hiring process.
Have you had a bad experience of going through interviews and tests only for a company to offer a position you can’t take because the pay isn’t competitive, the benefits aren’t adequate, or you’re unwilling to change places or relocate?
Retained recruiters on the job make sure that doesn’t happen. And when a company uses retained recruiters to hire you, it’s usually a long-lasting commitment on their behalf since they always want to see you succeed.
Contingency Recruiters
These recruiters are those employed by businesses to send them recruits. They are independent contractors who are not paid unless the company hires a candidate they submit.
Furthermore, they are usually paid a certain percentage of a new hire’s annual salary. Keep in mind that this is due every six to seven months of service.
They’re effectively commission-based salespeople, and you’re the product. All of the stories on why developers despise recruiters are, for the most part, about the contingency recruiters.
There are a few telltale signals that you’re operating with a contingent recruiter:
- They want your CV in the Word document format because they’ll be editing it
- They don’t give the firm’s name they are hiring for since you may go directly to the company and avoid paying the charge
- They won’t co-operate if you’re difficult to market, thus if your experience is less than one or two years, you are a member of a tech industry group, or you have location concerns, you’ll be informed that they don’t have clients searching for your skill-set
- They don’t ask you questions about yourself; instead, they send you spam containing job details
Contingency recruiters are only looking out for themselves. Their primary goal is placement, not whether you’re ideal for the company or whether that company is ideal for you.
Placing a candidate in a position is significantly more crucial than the wages. This is because if they raise their voices for a higher salary for you, they will not get their big paycheck in six months.
On the contrary, they will frequently advise you to accept the first offer you receive and avoid taking chances that could cost you your career (and cost them their bonus).
This isn’t to highlight that you shouldn’t deal with the contingency recruiters; they can still help you discover suitable long-term employment that meets your requirements.
When you decide to deal with one, you have to be mindful of what you’re getting into and proceed with caution. You simply cannot avoid recruiters. Most companies are on the lookout for talented individuals, and recruiters help find them.
Moreover, you may have to engage with a contingency recruiter if the firm you wish to serve does not have permanent recruiters on board.
Top Characteristics You Should Know About Recruiters
Read on to familiarize yourself with what you should know about technical recruiters!
They Are Experts In Their Fields
If the recruiter has sufficient knowledge about your field, they will be more aware of industry trends, such as:
- Who is recruiting and who is competing
- What the short-term and long-term future holds
- The measures you can opt for in a bid to advance your career
Furthermore, recruiters must have relevant contacts with the pertinent firms. They should also be able to advertise you to the companies, explaining your previous job responsibilities.
They should keep you up-to-date on both a long-term and short-term basis. For example, recruiters shouldn’t ignore your emails or phone calls in the middle of the employment process.
A competent recruiter will be alert and focused on your goals. Hence, they should ensure that you feel taken care of, even if it means telling you when there isn’t anything new to learn.
They should also be open and honest about the work, the firm, and the obstacles you’ll face, and they should be aware of the psychological distress that a shortage of communication may bring.
They Keep Up With Current Trends
Recruiters aren’t required to know each and everything about industry development. However, they should still be interested in learning more about it.
Doing this will help them grasp what the potential and the top-level recruiters are saying and recognize the candidates that are an appropriate fit for a job.
Inquisitiveness is essential, and a skilled recruiter will always want to know how a specific technology works, how it is used, and how it caters to the most recent industry trends.
Ideally, they should have a network of industry experts to consult regarding:
- The current market situation
- What languages are required
- What an ideal CV should look like for the best jobs
Furthermore, they are well-versed in such areas, including the required experience, tools, framework, and languages, as well as when an unskilled candidate is lying!
They Have Solid Relationships And A Large Network Of Connections
A good tech recruiter can connect you to a broad range of work possibilities in your field at both small-scale and large organizations, many of which software developers would not be able to find on their own.
They cultivate rapport and long-lasting relationships with the IT talent, allowing them to rapidly discover the ideal candidate whenever a perfect opportunity presents itself.
You might not be perfect for a specific post at this time. Still, as you get more experience – and if you have a good rapport with the recruiter – they will be able to see what would be ideal for your future and, in all likelihood, identify whenever an excellent career opportunity arises.
Recruiters should be very engaged in their tech groups and eager to participate in relevant occasions. Being in the center of a specific community allows recruiters to understand firsthand what’s going on in appropriate firms.
Still, it’s also an excellent opportunity to get familiar with the technology, the individuals using it and enjoy being an integral part of the digital world.
They Are Excellent Communicators Who Know How To Ask The Appropriate Questions
Recruiters are primarily great talkers who enjoy a good discussion, but the best ones always know how to make the most out of it.
They establish relationships by getting engrossed in a broad range of things, so you’re likely to find something in common with them, whether craft beer, sports, local transportation concerns, or the current weather conditions.
They are interested in knowing what drives their prospects from both a professional and personal perspective. Are they well-prepared to ace the interviews, or do they need some interview guidance or resume proofreading?
They also know how they can extract critical information from their fellow recruiting managers. For example, if a recruiter can convey the company’s story, they’ll rake in an ideal candidate.
The company story usually includes:
- Where it came from
- Where it’s heading
- What factors make them different from their competition
- In what way do the team members work together
- The reasons why people stay
They Conduct A Study Before Getting To Know About You
A recruiter should always take some time to get familiar with you as a person, so they can help you succeed in your career.
They should spend time and effort:
- Investigating you on Stack Exchange, Github
- Studying your blogs and articles
- Learning more about your qualifications and hobbies, and interests
This will help them get to know who you are rather than what your resume looks like. Remember, the recruiters’ success is linked to yours.
Therefore, they should ideally be concerned about your career goals, fulfillment, and general well-being. In short, they should be ready to assist you in achieving your goals.
They Have External Evidence Of Their Superiority
Your encounter with a recruiter should be positive, and you should receive excellent customer service. How can you get to know the recruiters that will carry out this practice regularly?
Personal references are helpful, but you can also utilize third-party sites like NPS Score or Feefo to ensure that the company has been adequately assessed by those who have used these services.
They Provide Genuine Customer Value
Most recruiters are responsible for various tasks, including:
- Pitching organizations and applicants
- Finding, sifting, and selecting candidates
- Setting up interviews
- Negotiating terms and conditions
A recruiter has the opportunity to provide much more to both hiring managers and potential employees.
In addition, they must relieve both clients and candidates of some of the tedious footwork while simultaneously adding value to any candidate.
How do they do this? By providing advice on strengthening a resume, successful interview methods, job tactics, and salary suggestions.
They Have The Necessary Equipment
Recruiters generally identify applicants who are vigorously looking for an opportunity on employment portals: Indeed or LinkedIn.
A quality recruiter, on the other hand, goes considerably further, employing various techniques and technologies.
They are willing to go above and beyond to find talent and engage prospects that may be one-of-a-kind. Hence, the key to a good recruiter is their ability to spot potential and talent.
They Can Tell When To Take Their Time And When To Move Quickly
Recruiters are undeniably motivated to fill vacancies as rapidly as possible. Hiring firms often require speed, and a key benefit of working with an agency or a third party is that the recruiters will have adequate connections.
It is also critical for an individual to find a new job immediately. People don’t want to remain unemployed for an extended period or face frustration due to a lengthy recruitment procedure.
However, recruiters must frequently make this process as smooth as possible to keep both candidates and employers pleased.
Therefore, most skilled recruiters know when they should take time and when they should move on quickly.
They understand that you may not be looking for a permanent position straight away. Hence, you may need to think about a few things before accepting a new job. This includes:
- Contemplate
- Research
- Weigh the benefits and drawbacks of the new position
What Questions Can You Ask From Recruiters?
After you’ve narrowed down the recruiters with the necessary credentials, you should always ask questions for determining the ones that could turn out to be valuable during the job search.
It would help if you interviewed your recruiter in the same way that the recruiter interviews a potential employee. Doing this will help you measure how fit they are for a specific position.
You can start to create a working association by inquiring about their overall experience and the company’s history.
These questions can be used as a starting point for vetting potential recruiters:
- How long have you worked as a recruiter?
- Do your company’s clients have opportunities in my field regularly?
- Do you already have any references from individuals you’ve worked with?
- What kinds of jobs have you filled for people with similar backgrounds to mine?
Key Takeaways
It is a foregone conclusion that software developers should know a whole lot about recruiters and their practices. If the recruiters possess positive characteristics, you are dealing with the best ones!
As the world of tech hurries to the next innovation, a quality recruiter is always looking to develop and can make a substantial difference to a candidate’s software development career.
Connect with Ryan on Linkedin.
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