3 Dangers of Job Seekers Only Appealing to Recruiters

3 Dangers of Job Seekers Only Appealing to Recruiters When job seekers first start poking around for a job search, many will reach out to recruiters, first. Many recruiters will offer advice and they are quite easy to find on LinkedIn, too. But if job seekers only try to appeal to the requests of recruiters, they will definitely put their job search in danger. In this post, we explain why appealing to recruiters as the lone source of finding work will set all job seekers up for failure.Note: This is not a recruiter-bashing post. There are many good recruiters who work hard for job seekers. More so, it explains the role they play.1. Putting All Your Eggs in the Wrong BasketAlthough recruiters may be the first people job seekers speak with or the first people they contact, their main tasks are to manage relationships. They make sure resumes fit the job description for the better (and sometimes worse). Recruiters have many accounts to handle and many job seekers to find, but they play no role in making the hiring decision. They will fight for you at times, but never at the risk of doing harm to themselves.Danger: Putting all your eggs in one basket with one person not in charge of hiring you and with limited information about what is really required for the job and company.2. Spending Money on Advice From the Wrong SourceRegardless of the professional resume you had worked out and paid for to show you want, if a recruiter needs it to look a certain way for his/her client, they may ask you to rewrite it. It is not that your resume is “wrong” or “bad”, but it does not fit the needs of the recruiter who contacted you.Why did they contact, or answer you, if the resume seems like it needs to be rewritten? This is a question you should always ask the recruiter. If they do ask you to rewrite some words on the resume for a job, it is primarily to fulfill the needs of their account. So, as a job seeker, you have to learn how to say “No” when called to interview for a job you know will be a waste of time.Danger: Sp ending wasted funds on resumes, not because you need to, but because you believe you are supposed to because “the recruiter said to do it”.3. Limiting Your Options and Lengthening Your Job SearchInstead of trying any form of “one-size-fits-all” theory, try new and innovative ideas to networkwith others. For example:Cleaning up your entire social media footprint Making 1st-degree connections within companies you like on LinkedIn Reaching out to former colleagues and old friends Communicating online using the right words related to jobs you want Attend face-to-face Meetups Get help from other services with proven track records of helping others find work Yeah, apply for online job postings, too, but only for “quality” postingsBe creative. We are in a connected world. Contact recruiters to let them know you are job seeking, yes, but you have so many other ideas to try.Danger: Ultimately, in a small, connected, and global business world, believing only one idea will work lim its your opportunities and sets you up for wasting money, a longer job search, and frustration at an entire industry you completely misunderstood. Be yourself, for better and for worse. Learn from your failures and never be afraid to try a new idea. Eventually, you will end up at the right company because you knew it was right.