Every day we see that candidates struggle to understand the role and processes of recruiting firms.. One of the first received ideas is that these firms intervene only in the recruitments of confirmed executives, even of senior executives. This is far from the case: in all sectors of activity, companies now call on external service providers for all types of positions, including those open to young graduates. Globally, around 20% of recruitments today are made through executive search firms, specialized or general. If this is less than in Anglo-Saxon countries where more than 2/3 of recruitments are outsourced, this practice is progressing in USA and makes recruiting firms an obligatory point of passage in any job search.
How it Works?
The mission of a recruitment firm is to seek, select and present to its client candidates whose profile corresponds to the position to be filled and, not to be neglected, to the culture of the company. This service is formalized in a contract or mandate which specifies the characteristics of the position and the profile sought. Once appointed, the firm mainly uses two means to find candidates: its own CV database and the responses to the advertisements it publishes in the media, on its own website as well as on the job boards to which it subscribes. . For sourcing purposes, researchers also use job board CV databases and, more and more often, professional social networks. In difficult-to-fill positions, they can also “hunt.
For the selection part, the recruitment firm relies on experienced consultants, generally specialists in the function for which they are recruiting. Their role is to verify the match between the identified candidates and the client’s needs. The face-to-face interview allows them to refine their perception of candidates and to better understand their expectations and their motivations. More and more often, technical and psych technical tests and scenarios complement this evaluation and support the applications presented to the client company. The firm generally sends its client a proposal of 3 to 5 candidates, accompanied by the CV, the results of the tests and the report of the interview with each candidate.
With the Firms, Play “win-win”
The firm’s raison d’être is to find the right person for the right position, in the common interest of the company AND the candidate. For this reason, recruitment firms are, contrary to another popular belief, your objective allies: without you, without candidates, they simply cannot fulfill their mission. But as efficient and sophisticated as the sourcing and selection methods are, for each position there is only one hiring and, therefore, candidates who are likely to be disappointed. But, tell yourself that meeting with a recruitment consultant is the start of a relationship and that this first contact can, if necessary, prevent you from wasting time or getting on the wrong track on positions that are not really made for you. If your application is not successful.
Beyond this feedback, the consultants are able – by virtue of their knowledge of the market and the profession concerned – to advise you in your job search, to help you correct your CV and to present yourself better in order to promote your experience and skills. When you meet a recruitment consultant for a given position, remember that they always have other positions to fill in their portfolio. Even if your application is not accepted for this position, nothing says, that having aroused and retained the interest of the consultant, you will not be solicited for other positions – positions for which you had no visibility or that you hadn’t thought of.
