When I was a job seeker, I did not understand what recruiters do.

I thought they tried to staff the jobs nobody wanted.

Now that I’m an agency recruiter, I see this profession through a different lens.

The majority of the roles I get from my clients are brought to my desk for one of a few reasons:

  1. They need to hire someone quickly, so they turn to a team of dedicated recruiters with greater resources and a large candidate pool to expedite the hiring process.
     
  2. The client is targeting a very specific skill set that they have not been able to find, so they are looking for help from someone with a broad network of candidates in hopes of finding that individual.
     
  3. The client simply does not have the time to sift through all the resumes they receive, so they hire us to help do that work for them.

So here’s what agency recruiters like me do to help make your job search easier:

Act as your ‘internal referral’

Agency recruiters are like employees who recommend a candidate they know is great for a job in their company — except to an endless number of businesses.

I interview you to make sure that I can recommend you to our clients, then I present your resume and profile to them and recommend they meet with you. It’s far easier to land interviews when you are referred.

Advocate on your behalf

In all honesty, your resume probably needs some work. I fix it, write a bullet point-style summary of your most relevant qualifications in addition to your resume, call the company you’re interested in, and pitch you to them.

Boom — you now have a greater chance of landing an interview.

Coordinate everything

All I need to know is your availability for interviews. I set up everything else.

Negotiate salary

This is something most job seekers struggle with. I take that pressure off your shoulders and negotiate for you.

And that is merely an overview. There’s so much more that goes into what recruiters do day-to-day to help candidates find the right jobs.

If you’re struggling in your job search, consider speaking to a recruiter. A good one could change everything for you.

Follow Zach on LinkedIn.