Why work with recruiters and staffing agencies?
Six years ago, I was in the middle of a career transition, where I was moving out of the retail management space and targeting roles that were more involved in training and interviewing. During that time, I applied for several jobs I felt my background was an excellent fit. Unfortunately, I wouldn’t hear back until a couple of months later, when I received an auto-generated email response from the company’s HR department that another candidate was selected for the role. Fast forward several years later, I found my home in the staffing industry and heard from numerous candidates that they were applying to positions with companies, and I never heard back.
One thing I have learned about the hiring process is that when larger companies post their open positions on their websites, they’re getting several hundred applicants for one open role (sometimes as many as 500-600 applicants). If you’re applying with 500+ other applicants, the challenge becomes whether your profile stands out against the crowd or, even worse – if it is ever reviewed or seen by the internal team. This is why people get auto-generated rejection emails for roles that match their backgrounds.
So why work with a recruiter or staffing agency instead of applying directly to these company websites?
Most companies work with a select number of staffing agencies and limit the number of candidates these staffing companies can submit for an open position. This means you will have better odds of having your resume reviewed by their hiring manager. You may be one of 10-20 candidates submitted, as opposed to several hundred.
I often hear people don’t want to work with a staffing agency or go into a company contract-to-hire because they “need something full-time.” This is when I must ask what they mean by “full-time”? The responses usually include stability, benefits, PTO/Paid Holidays, etc. It’s important to remember, especially in an at-will employment state, that being “full-time” doesn’t necessarily mean more stability. Companies go through layoffs, and the reality is that both contractors and FTE employees can be affected by that. While not as common, some staffing companies (cough, cough - Agility Partners) that offer “full-time” benefits like PTO/Paid Holidays, 401k plans, and health insurance make the contract-to-hire process as seamless as possible.
Outside of increasing your odds of landing an interview, here are four additional benefits of working with a staffing agency:
Vast Network – you often hear that an important aspect of finding your next job is networking. Staffing companies have relationships and connections at all levels of an organization.
Interview Prep – again, with the connections within a company, a staffing agency can inform you about team size, org charts, culture, and company perks and potentially connect you with internal employees before your interview. They also know what questions the hiring teams will ask you in the interview and what the hiring process will look like.
Resume Reformatting – recruiters see approximately 2.3 million resumes per day*. They can help tailor your resume and make it stand out from the rest with a hiring manager. *Resume numbers made up and exaggerated for dramatic effect.
Salary Negotiations – another perk of going into a company by the contract-to-hire route is you may be able to negotiate for a higher FTE salary at the end of the contracting period. At this point, you’ve had 3-6 months to understand the expectations of the role, and the company has had the same amount of time to gauge your work ethic. Recruiters and Staffing Agencies also have a pulse on the market and how a similar role may compensate for other companies in town.
Agility Partners is currently supporting start-ups and Fortune 500 companies across Ohio and Charlotte, NC, and specializes in direct-hire and contract-to-hire openings (remote and hybrid options, too). To schedule a time to connect for a call, email me at kyle.benton@agilitypartners.io.
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