3rd Party vs Corporate Recruiters
I started my career in recruitment as a third-party recruiter, in a contingency environment. I then moved into a Corporate 
Recruiter role, back into third-party in a retained environment, followed by over seven years as a Consultant in a Corporate Recruitment environment.
I still do not understand the rivalry between Corporate Recruiters and Third Party Recruiters. Can’t we all just get along?
As a consultant, I mostly joined an organization as the only recruiter. I have worked with companies with over 1000 employees, and as little as 70. I have always had good relationships with the third-party recruiters I’ve worked with – some I’ve brought with me into the organization, some heard of where I was and contacted me.
That is why I am always surprised when I hear or read about the enmity between the two. I often compare it to sibling rivalry, both competing for their parents’ attention (Hiring Managers), longing for their exclusive love (hiring their candidate).
Let’s face it each group has a main complaint:
Third Party Recruiters complain that the Corporate Recruiter prevents from accessing the hiring Manager; therefore sabotaging their success, while Corporate Recruiters whine that Third-Party Recruiters disregard them by bypassing them and contacting the Hiring Manager directly.
The Solution is simple.
Third Party Recruiters: Make sure you contact the Corporate Recruiter first and Corporate Recruiters: Give access to the Hiring Manager when working with Third Party Recruiters.
As a Corporate Recruiter, Third Party Recruiters and I always agreed on a process we will be working:
- Third Party Recruiter contacts me if they have a Candidate they want to present (but no requisition they are working on), or if they saw a posting on our site they want to work.
- I confirm a) if we have a need for the candidate or b)if we need help with the req, and 3)if we have the budget
- Once it is confirmed that we need to work with a Third-Party Recruiter, and after the initial call between said Third-Party Recruiter and myself, and an introduction to the Hiring Manager, I give them full access to the Hiring Manager. Often, they still have to come back to me to complain – I mean inform me – that the Hiring Manager is not getting back to them.
- Third-Party Recruiter keeps me abreast of any conversation / emails between them and the Hiring Manager
- We all live happily ever after…
I believe the biggest mistake Third-Party Recruiters make is assume that Corporate Recruiters are the gate-keeper to the Hiring Manager. Corporate Recruiters are aware that they sometime need help, and that the best help will come from the Third-Party recruiters who specialize in a particular industry or skill. The main reason Corporate Recruiters use the “You are not on the Vendor List” line is because the Third-Party Recruiter has showed them disrespect by simply ignoring.
I truly believe that Third Party Recruiters and Corporate Recruiters can live in piece if they both respected one another. Or I might have been living my own fairy tale of Third Party / Corporate Recruiter Heaven, and no one will get to live it again.
About the author:
Maha Akiki has been recruiting since 1998. She started her career in the third party world, working both contingency and retainer, before moving into the corporate world. For over seven years, she worked as an Independent Recruiter, mostly in the Healthcare / Pharmaceutical Industry, as well as Financial, Engineering, and Biomedical Fields. Maha writes a quasi personal/industry related blog http://www.callmeJacques.com, and you can catch her, along with her co-hosts Geoff Webb and Samantha Harris every Wednesday night, 8 PM EST at the Recruiter House Party Radio Show, www.recruiterhouseparty.com. Maha is also involved with the TRU unconferences www.theTRUconferences.com
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I am a seasoned technical recruiter in the IT industry in LA and am heavily involved with business development.
I agree and disagree. If there is an exisiting relationship between the corporate recruiter and agency recruiter, then yes… The agency recruiter should start with the corporate recruiter and keep him/her involved in the entire process.
That all being said, to try to get in the door with a new client through a corporate recruiter or HR is suicide. You will hear one of three things… We have no budget for agencies, I have the roles covered myself or you're not on our list. Its a waste of time. I have tried countless times to respectfully contact HR/in house recruiter and 98 out of 100 times, its the same exact answer.
By contacting the hiring manager, you are at least speaking with a person who feels the void of not having the person he/she needs on the team. You are also speaking with a person that is less concerned with their job being jeopordized by an outside agency. Most importantly, you are getting first hand information on the roles and feedback on the candidates which play a huge role in your success.
An ideal scenario for me is, meet with the hiring manager, get introduced to HR/in-house recruiters and have synnergy all around. This way, HR becomes a facilitaor rather than road block.
We can and should all get along but certain factors and pressures from both sides make it difficult. Corporate recruiters are hired and paid to fill jobs without using outside agencies. Agency recruiters are paid on a contigency basis… you dont fill the job, you dont get paid. As long as both sides understand the fundamental differences and respect them, we can all benefit from each other.
I'm with you on this Maha. Just replace “corporate recruiter” with “HR Manager” and its the exact same thing. I would have LOVED to have had a recruiter on my team at certain times in my career. Alas, I was not so fortunate, and mostly relied on my background in recruiting. (before I crossed to the dark side and went all “generalisty”) to get it done.
We CAN all get along, really. I'll join you in fantasyland.
Living in your fairy tale, and I wish I had a dozen good clients living with you in this fairy tale land.
But I applaud you for your approach, it is one that would work. But as your process is one I have found in less than 2% of the clients I have worked with in 23 years, AND as some of my best clients have come from going around HR and earning HR respect through department managers/directors/VPs, I can't see jumping into your fairy tale world anytime soon. Can't make a living doing it that way, at least not at the beginning of most of the relationships with those I call clients.
Still, secretly hoping HR professionals everywhere read this and adopt your approach…ah, now who is living in the fairy tale world?
I am a seasoned technical recruiter in the IT industry in LA and am heavily involved with business development.
I agree and disagree. If there is an exisiting relationship between the corporate recruiter and agency recruiter, then yes… The agency recruiter should start with the corporate recruiter and keep him/her involved in the entire process.
That all being said, to try to get in the door with a new client through a corporate recruiter or HR is suicide. You will hear one of three things… We have no budget for agencies, I have the roles covered myself or you're not on our list. Its a waste of time. I have tried countless times to respectfully contact HR/in house recruiter and 98 out of 100 times, its the same exact answer.
By contacting the hiring manager, you are at least speaking with a person who feels the void of not having the person he/she needs on the team. You are also speaking with a person that is less concerned with their job being jeopordized by an outside agency. Most importantly, you are getting first hand information on the roles and feedback on the candidates which play a huge role in your success.
An ideal scenario for me is, meet with the hiring manager, get introduced to HR/in-house recruiters and have synnergy all around. This way, HR becomes a facilitaor rather than road block.
We can and should all get along but certain factors and pressures from both sides make it difficult. Corporate recruiters are hired and paid to fill jobs without using outside agencies. Agency recruiters are paid on a contigency basis… you dont fill the job, you dont get paid. As long as both sides understand the fundamental differences and respect them, we can all benefit from each other.
I'm with you on this Maha. Just replace “corporate recruiter” with “HR Manager” and its the exact same thing. I would have LOVED to have had a recruiter on my team at certain times in my career. Alas, I was not so fortunate, and mostly relied on my background in recruiting. (before I crossed to the dark side and went all “generalisty”) to get it done.
We CAN all get along, really. I'll join you in fantasyland.
Living in your fairy tale, and I wish I had a dozen good clients living with you in this fairy tale land.
But I applaud you for your approach, it is one that would work. But as your process is one I have found in less than 2% of the clients I have worked with in 23 years, AND as some of my best clients have come from going around HR and earning HR respect through department managers/directors/VPs, I can't see jumping into your fairy tale world anytime soon. Can't make a living doing it that way, at least not at the beginning of most of the relationships with those I call clients.
Still, secretly hoping HR professionals everywhere read this and adopt your approach…ah, now who is living in the fairy tale world?