Woman in office with thoughtful expression and thumb on chin

Recruitment is an intricate business, with lots of moving parts and people’s careers on the table. It’s the reason why we love it so much and care deeply about holding ourselves to the highest standards. But because it’s a bit of a mystery to many people how recruitment firms work (and there are different types of recruitment firms), we often come across common myths about our business.

In this post, we’re debunking some of those common misconceptions and hopefully provide a clearer picture of what job seekers can expect when working with us!

Myth 1: Recruiters are expensive

This myth is #1, because not only are recruiters not expensive for job seekers – they’re free! It’s actually illegal for recruitment firms to charge job seekers a fee for placing them in a role. As recruitment consultants, our fees are paid by the employers who hire us to source top tier candidates for their open positions. As a candidate who we seek out, interview and put forward to a client, you get all this service for no charge at all.

Myth 2: It’s a recruiter’s job to find me a job

Related to myth #1, because it’s the employer who engages us and pays our fees, our job isn’t necessarily to find jobs for candidates; it’s to find the right candidate for our client’s job. Think of it as a matchmaking service. We find out what requirements our clients are looking for in a new hire, and we source candidates who match those requirements to find a fit. Unfortunately, we don’t get to place every candidate we meet with, as it’s just far too much volume and we have to work within our clients’ parameters.

Myth 3: Recruiters can coach me on / help me find a new career

We love giving that extra level of service to all the candidates we meet with. When we can, we’ll suggest how to improve your resume and advise you on your job search. But we’re not qualified career coaches and it’s not within our expertise to provide ongoing professional (or personal) development. For those trying to transition to a new career, our services probably aren’t the most suitable—instead, you should find a career coach or counsellor. We’re hired to find individuals who are already accomplished professionals in their field, so clients will only consider candidates with prior experience. However, if it’s job search advice you’re after, we have great Career Resources for you to check out!

Myth 4: A recruiter’s fees are taken out of my potential salary

Sometimes people are hesitant to work with recruitment firms because they think that our fees are coming out of their salary. But the reality is that all our clients offer candidates a salary that is competitive with market value; if they didn’t, they’d never be able to attract top talent! Our fees are related to the added service we provide, and that is not taken from your salary. And in fact, the more you earn, the more we earn. So you can rest assured that we are negotiating extremely hard on your behalf and are not taking any pennies from your pocket!

Myth 5: Recruiters only care about making a placement

Now this one is a bit more personal, but it’s definitely a myth for us. Believe it or not, making a placement isn’t everything in our business. We genuinely care about finding people the right fit; so we’ll never bully you into taking a job that you’re not sure about, or hide information from you. We won’t coerce you away from a promising job prospect that you found on your own, and in fact we’re happy to share any knowledge we have about prospective employers. We started The Headhunters because we love the real consultative aspect of recruiting and building long-lasting relationships with employers and job seekers alike. For us, it’s not about the quick win, we want to build that trust so we can work together throughout your whole career.