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"TRUTH About Tech Recruiters" is an eye-opening video that sheds light on the realities of working with recruiters in the technology industry. The video likely delves into common practices and misconceptions surrounding tech recruiters, such as the recruitment process, the role of recruiters in matching candidates with job opportunities, and the incentives and motivations behind their actions. It may also discuss strategies for effectively working with recruiters, navigating job offers, negotiating compensation packages, and avoiding potential pitfalls or scams. By providing candid insights and practical advice, the video aims to empower job seekers and professionals in the tech industry to make informed decisions and maximize their chances of success when engaging with recruiters.
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0:00
When I told my recruiter the news, her jaw almost hit the floor
0:03
Things went from jovial to not so friendly. Here's what happened. I got a message from my brother-in-law that they're just wrapping up interviews for a front-end software developer position
0:11
and that if I was interested, I needed to hurry up and get my resume over that day
0:15
I wasn't really planning on applying anywhere and actually, I was in the middle of renewing my current contract
0:19
but I decided, why not? Let's just see where this goes. It was a whirlwind interview that went really well and the hiring manager asked if I was working with a recruiter
0:28
I said no and he was like, oh good. I thought, that was interesting
0:33
He was pleased that I wasn't working with a recruiter. After the interview, my brother-in-law told me it sounded like the company was trying to decide between me and some other developer
0:41
and that we both had similar experience and would be good culture fits
0:45
but that was about all that he could say because he was my brother-in-law and so he kind of had to stay out of the whole decision-making process
0:51
Well, I got the job offer and I knew this was going to come as a blow to the recruiter who is over my current contract position
0:58
because we were currently in the process of renewing that position and they basically just kind of rented me out to the company that I was working for
1:04
For the contract work, the company just basically would give an hourly rate to the recruiter
1:09
and then the recruiter would come and negotiate with me to determine what I would work for
1:15
and then they would be able to pocket the difference. At least, that's how I think it was working with the recruiter that I used
1:22
and so this led to an opportunity for them to arbitrage where it was in their best interest to try and raise the price on the client
1:31
and then try to get me to work for as little as possible so that they could have a bigger commission
1:36
and this would be a commission that was on a recurring basis as long as I was working for that client
1:41
There are different ways that recruiters work. Other recruiters just get a lump sum commission as a finder's fee
1:47
and you end up working for the actual client company. Then there are internal recruiters that may receive a commission or they might be working for salary
1:54
When I told the recruiter that I had accepted another offer, you could almost feel the silence across the phone
1:59
There's just the verbal awkwardness as she processed the fact that she was losing her cut of the money
2:04
from the work that I was doing in my current contract because we were just finishing up that renewal
2:11
She had no idea that I was even open to other work. Before I finish this story, what is your experience working with recruiters
2:18
Do you have any funny stories? I would love to hear them in the comments below. So the recruiter asked where I was going and I told her
2:24
It sounded like her face was probably going white. She asked what position I was offered
2:29
It was like a one-two punch. Not only was she losing my commission
2:33
she was representing that other dev that I was up against at this new position
2:38
and she was under the impression that that was a done deal. Not a very good day for her
2:43
Okay, now think about it this way. If there are two experienced applicants, who is the company more likely to hire
2:48
The person who is representing himself or the one with an added recruiter
2:53
that's going to cost commissions or a monthly premium. Which one would you end up hiring
2:57
She was pretty disappointed and frustrated with me and she said that I should have reached out to her
3:01
so that she could have helped me with the negotiation process. Well, honestly negotiating isn't that hard
3:08
and the job offer was something that really pleased me. Here's why this is important
3:12
and I really want you to understand what she said and why it would have been a bad decision for me to tell her
3:19
that I was looking at that job. First, when you work with a recruiter, they usually have you sign a non-compete agreement
3:24
which means that if they approach a company on your behalf or tell you about a job opening
3:29
then you cannot legally go around their backs and take the position or another position at that company
3:35
for a certain amount of time. This could be six months. This could be a year or longer
3:39
Even if that original position didn't work out and a couple months later, my brother-in-law had approached me
3:44
about a completely different unrelated position at that same company. I would not have been able to take it
3:50
without involving my recruiter. Second, my recruiter already had another job applicant
3:54
that she believed was going to get this position and if I had told her I was applying for that job
3:59
and tried to use her as my recruiter to represent me, there would have been a conflict of interest there
4:04
that I probably wouldn't have even known about because I didn't even know she was involved
4:07
in any positions or openings at this other company. I would have trusted her to handle my application
4:13
and to send it in on my behalf and I'm not saying she would do this
4:17
but there is that possibility that she might choose not to submit my application
4:21
because she already had that other candidate that was a shoe-in. When it comes to recruiters
4:25
if they have a couple of job applicants that are competing for the same position
4:29
they're likely going to push the one that is most likely to get the job or that will get them the biggest commission
4:34
If that is not you and you probably won't know whether it's you or not
4:38
then in that scenario, you're probably actually better off and have a better chance of actually getting the job
4:43
by applying directly to the company. But you just won't know because recruiters are very tight-lipped
4:48
when it comes to job openings they know about as well as candidates that are applying for those jobs
4:53
They aren't going to tell you everything that is going on. Third, I could have ended up in a similar situation
4:58
as that other dev that I beat out if I was actually represented by a recruiter
5:01
and somebody else came along who had the same experience and was going to work at a better price
5:06
So here's some more stuff that you should know about recruiters. Not all recruiters are equal
5:10
Some are good to work with. They may know about job openings before you do
5:14
or that you just don't even know about and it was that recruiter I just talked about
5:19
who was the person who had approached me about that contract position
5:22
that I ended up taking and really enjoyed and she was actually a good person to work with
5:27
Another advantage of working with recruiters if they have a good relationship with hiring managers
5:31
is that it's not uncommon for them to actually work with those managers to custom tailor the language of the job requisition
5:38
in order to make it better match your experience if you are someone that the company really wants to hire
5:44
and this kind of helps to please HR when they're reviewing the applications
5:49
prior to making an offer. The recruiter may also be really knowledgeable
5:53
about the position and the needs and is in a good position to be able to convey
5:58
how your particular skills are going to fit the needs of that company
6:02
and this could be especially useful for devs who might have a hard time at selling their skills
6:07
but there are sketchy ones out there too. A lot of recruiters are just bottom feeders
6:11
looking for an easy commission. They take the spray and pray approach when it comes to blasting out messages
6:16
to potential job applicants. They usually don't even bother to read your resume
6:20
or to look at your LinkedIn profile. I can't tell you how many times recruiters have told me
6:24
that I would be a great fit for some random position because of all this experience
6:29
that I supposedly have in a language that I have never used before
6:33
or the recruiter who told me he was super impressed with my extensive experience working at Adobe
6:38
and he sent the message like a month or two after I had actually started working at Adobe
6:43
He obviously didn't even look at my actual experience. Then there are the scammers who just pretend to be recruiters
6:48
but they're really just digging for personal information and they try to get you to fill out applications
6:53
with your sensitive information, like your social security number, so that they can steal your identity
6:58
You should really make sure a recruiter is legit before giving any personal information
7:02
You'll also end up working with internal recruiters at the companies that you are applying to
7:07
In general, I've had really good experience with these recruiters because they're actual employees of the company
7:11
which means they're going to likely either be salaried or even if they do receive commissions
7:16
they aren't going to be in that same position to try and arbitrage you
7:19
That said, they do represent the company and as friendly as they may be
7:23
you still have to take negotiations into your own hands. Don't expect them to advocate for you
7:28
though I have seen some that do a good job of advocating for job candidates
7:32
Just remember that recruiters are not your friends. They're kind of like real estate agents
7:36
who do just enough to help you feel like they want to help you
7:40
but really it's in their best interest to convince you to accept something less than ideal
7:44
so they can get their commissions and move on as quickly as possible. The better ones can do this
7:48
without making you feel like that's what they're actually doing. A good recruiter can help you find good jobs
7:54
but a bad recruiter will waste your time and even worse, potentially tie you into non-competes
7:59
that can keep you out of the market with little possibility of landing a job
8:03
because those recruiters just suck
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