Monday, March 7, 2011

A day in the life.....of a recruiter

I know that many of you come home from a hard day of dealing with all the issues you have to deal with everyday only to find that your answer phone or the voice mail on your cell phone is jammed to the max with messages left by recruiters hoping to win you over.  May I take this moment to apologize to all of you for all of us.  I know that we may be only a notch (if even that) better than a telemarker in your mind, but please let me plead my case!

You probably don't know that we are all required (and there are 25 recruiters just in our schools department) to make a minimum number of calls each day in order to keep our jobs!  Depending on one's level of sales at my company, we are required to make anywhere from 40-75 phone calls each day!  I personally always check area codes to make sure that I am not calling the Pacific coast at 5:15 a.m.(8:15 eastern time), but with cell phones transferring from state to state, I have awoken a really cranky therapist on occasion, and am totally mortified that I've done so!  Again, I apologize for all of us who have committed such a faux pas.

Most of you are very gracious and thankful that you are in such demand and recognize that recruiters may have an employment opportunity that is not "out there" for the public yet.  We do keep in touch with Special Ed directors on a very regular basis and quite often are given a chance to fill a job before they even think about posting an ad to fill it themselves.  We also actively call Special Ed departments to "market" a candidate looking in a particular location.  We may uncover a position that is just in the "idea" stage in the client's mind, but presented with a very qualified candidate, may push through to expedite approval to make a more immediate hire.

Recruiters find positions nationwide and are an especially good resource if you are relocating.  They will do the "legwork" for you to explore the possibilities of employment in your future location and may have good information about housing, city events, parks, and even churches in the area.  Oft-times, we have already placed someone in the area and have inside information from our past placements.

So, I hope that you will adjust your opinion of recruiters just a bit.  We are not calling just to interrupt your day or to leave you messages ad nauseam, but to offer our assistance if not at this time in your life, maybe for some time in the future.  Now, I'm off to the phones!!