Staffing Firms: Haste Makes Waste

We had lunch with one of our best clients last week. We always knew we were good. But after the lunch we realized that in the world of recruiters we might actually be great. We had no idea about the common practices of some of the firms who actually have very high rankings on the web.

The client told us recruiters sent stacks of resumes. Many of the candidates they sent were no longer available or had no idea that they had been submitted for the particular job. This is called the “throw it against the wall and see what sticks” method. This method gives the client a lot more work to do. Instead of taking the time to vet the candidates and see where they are in their search, the recruiter is just sending out whoever looks like they might fit the bill and letting the client sort it out themselves.

We may be old school, but we meet our candidates, guide them in the interview process, and continually contact them to see where they are in their search. I sometimes feel like a stage mom. But none of our candidates are going to show up without a resume, improperly dressed or unprepared for an interview. And our clients will not get resumes of people who are unavailable or inappropriate.

I don’t mean to brag. I thought what we did was common practice. But I admit, after that lunch I did feel kind of proud.