Recruiting Industry Should Be Like Hollywood Agents

The recruiting industry needs to rework their business model and work like Hollywood Agents.

Here is how I see how recruiters work today:
A recruiter will "Find" a candidate for a potential job they have at that moment. If the candidate is interested, the recruiter will send the resume off to the company and perhaps it will be something of interest. More likely than not, the position will not work out. The recruiter will let the candidate know that they will keep looking around for them.
A few problems with this that the candidate and recruiter should fix:
1. When the candidate decided to send their resume to the recruiter, the candidate should recognize that they are now represented by that recruiter and that recruiter only. In the euphoria of sending their resume, did the candidate do their homework to see if this is their "Hollywood Agent" that they want to represent them? If they got caught up in the moment, most likely not. The candidate should now recognize that before they apply to another job they need to clear it with the recruiter. Furthermore, they can not send their resume to any more recruiters until the terminate the relationship with the first one.

Here is how I believe the industry should remake itself. They should work like Hollywood Agents. The recruiters choose whom they want to represent and candidates choose the recruiters to represent them. At no time should a candidate share his resume with another recruiter without terminating the relationship with the first agent. Furthermore, the recruiters should create a "brand" with the candidates they represent. If an employer calls for a position, refer them to your "agent".

With this model, it eliminates the issue where a candidate gets overzealous and shares his resume with two recruiters, yet forgets to tell each of them about each other. From there the recruiters both submit his resume to the same position. In this scenario, the candidate is most likely deemed unfit,as the hiring company is not going to spend time to figure out which recruiting firm has the candidate.

When you sign on with an agent, remember, you can not go chase a "deal" unless you clear it with them first. Circumventing the agent, because you have another way in, will not be looked favorably upon. Therefore, before you choose an agent, make sure you have exhausted your current network before you sign on with an agent.

If we can all work to switch the model where candidates have agents, we would create an environment with a better lineup of skills to the position and the fulfillment of only actual positions that exist, not the fictional ones that we are all chasing on the job boards, but more about that in our next episode.