Getting a Job: The Usefulness of Recruiters

As a senior in college, one of the most stressful aspects of daily life is the search for a job to go to once you’re out of college. There is a lot riding on the kind of job that you end up securing for yourself. Where you find work determines where you’ll be looking for housing, where you’ll begin building your adult life, and how soon you can begin to pay off the mountain of student debt that most college graduates in today’s world will have to deal with. With this being said, there is a lot riding on whether or not your collegiate career is enough to catch the eye of a company. There is also a lot more involved in hunting for a job than one may think. There are countless hours of browsing through job postings and scrolling through company listings in search of a position that a recent graduate is deemed qualified for. One of the worst things in the world is clicking on a job link and getting really into it once you read the description, but getting to the bottom of the page and seeing that this job you liked “requires three to five years of experience” on top of your degree. Needless to say, it is very easy to get frustrated staring blankly at your computer screen praying to see the words “entry level” in the job description. Doing this on top of your schoolwork and senior projects may seem impossible. Not to mention the amount of time it takes to fill out the countless applications and questionnaires that companies require for application. Even if you fill out all of the questions for the application, it still doesn’t guarantee you a spot for an interview. With all that goes into searching for a job, it’s sometimes a good thing to get a little help.

Recruiters are a tool available to students searching for jobs that is often overlooked. The main purpose of a recruiter is to serve as your own personal search engine for jobs that you may be a good applicant for. A recruiter is able to do this through the questionnaire, resume and cover letter submission that is customary for job applications. However, instead of filling it out over and over a recruiter only requires for the forms to only be filled out once. The recruiter then takes the information from the profile that you create for them to look for positions that you may a strong candidate for. The recruiter then reaches out to the company on your behalf in hopes of securing an interview slot for the position. Once they are able to find a company who wants to meet you in person, they contact you to schedule a time that works for both parties. In my experience with a recruiter, they also ensure that you are ready for the interview. They provide a checklist of materials to bring with you to the interview to make you stand out as a candidate.  Overall, a recruiter can prove to be a valuable tool for a student on the hunt for a job. They essentially do all of the work, and all you have to do is show up to the interview on time. I would strongly recommend getting a recruiter to help you in the search for a job base off of my experience working with one. They are a valuable source of information and networking that can prove to be vital for getting a job.