xsevensinzx (7/28/2014)

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Lynn Pettis (7/28/2014)

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xsevensinzx (7/28/2014)

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Lynn Pettis (7/28/2014)

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The problem with going to employers directly is actually knowing what employers are currently looking for talent. You can't always go be job boards or the want ads. Some employers rely specifically on agencies to prescreen potential candidates for positions since there seems to be hundreds of people applying for limited openings.

In addition, having talked with recruiters, they are constantly talking with client firms looking to determine if they may be getting ready to fill potential opens to give them time to start looking for potential recruits, or to give people they work with a heads up about new openings if their current positions are winding down. The good recruiters will even touch base with even when you aren't currently active to see how things are going for you.

This is true, but you could also find the employer through the agency by searching keywords when the agency itself posts the job on the job boards.

In my experience, agencies do not post the name of companies they are representing when they post positions on their sites or career sites like Monster, Dice, or Career Builder. If they did, people could apply directly instead of going through them costing them their commissions. In fact, they usually don't tell you the company until they have presented you to the company as a potential employee which also means you have agreed to allow them to represent you. Along with this there is a time frame in which you cannot represent yourself to that same company without having to pay some form a financial remuneration if you should be offered a position with that company. The contracts I have signed I believe that has been one year, but of course your milage may vary.

That's all true, but it depends on the agencies and the opportunity. Unless it's fresh off the press, most organizations have had the position listed on their website and using agencies to headhunt. I've managed to find good leads from one agencies post on a public website to the direct hire because of the duration it takes to sometimes fill these roles. Other times, subtle hints on the organization, if you know your local area, also lead to it.

I don't know what agencies you talk with, but for me, I always ask for the company name within the first discussion. This is not to go behind the agency in any way. It's to ensure that the agency as well potential employer knows that I'm not just there for a paycheck, I'm there for a project too. Otherwise, it's the end of the discussion. There is no way that I am wasting time and finding out later who the winning company is.