Navigating Job Search Services: Recruiters vs Career Development Practitioners

Navigating the job market can be challenging, whether you’re new to the workforce, mid-career, or an experienced professional. Job seekers have access to a variety of support services, including recruitment firms and career development practitioners (such as career advisors, coaches, and counsellors).

Although recruiters and career development practitioners both aim to support your career journey, they operate with distinct approaches and goals. Understanding the differences will help you choose the right support for your specific needs and get the most of the relationship. Let’s demystify these roles and help you determine when to engage one or the other:

Recruitment Firms: Frequently Asked Questions

What is a recruitment firm?

There are two types of recruiters: corporate and agency. Corporate recruiters work within a specific company, often as part of an HR team, and hire qualified candidates for available positions within that company. Agency recruiters (like The Headhunters) are those who work in a recruitment firm, which is a business that other companies pay to help them fill job vacancies. These other companies are the “clients” of the recruitment firm.

Agency recruiters find the best candidates (job seekers) who meet the qualifications for the jobs their clients are looking to fill, and will conduct part or all of the hiring process for them. This may include job postings, headhunting, resume screening, interviews, reference checks, background checks, and job offer negotiations.

Other names you might see for recruitment firms include recruitment agency, staffing agency, or employment agency.

What kinds of jobs do recruitment firms recruit for?

This will vary depending on the recruitment firm. Some agencies are generalists, while others specialize in certain types of roles or industries. Some recruitment firms focus on permanent positions, whereas staffing agencies or temp agencies typically focus on temporary positions.

At The Headhunters, we primarily work on permanent positions for specific types of jobs, although we do occasionally have temporary positions. Learn more about The Headhunters’ specialty areas.

Do recruitment firms charge a fee?

In Canada, a recruitment agency will only charge a fee to the employer (client) for these services. Recruiters in Canada are not legally allowed to charge fees to people looking for jobs (candidates).

Can a recruiter find me a job?

This is a very common question, and the answer is… sort of! Recruiters are working on open jobs that their clients are paying them to fill, and you could potentially be the best fit for one of these positions. A good way to think about it is that recruiters find people for jobs, rather than jobs for people.

How do I start working with a recruiter?

Typically you would start working with a recruiter by applying for jobs through their website and/or registering through their website. For example, at The Headhunters, job seekers should visit our job board, browse for jobs relevant to your search and submit your resume to us by applying online.

Can a recruiter help me with my resume?

Although a recruiter may occasionally provide suggestions on how to improve a resume, generally speaking they don’t have the capacity to create or edit resumes for candidates. This is a great example of a service better provided by a career development practitioner, which we discuss more below! You can also visit our Career Resources page for advice on resumes, interviews, and more job search tips.

Career Practitioner Overview

As described by Indeed: “A career coach is a professional who helps people explore, enhance and develop their professional career paths. Some career coaches specialize in working with a specific group, such as recent graduates looking to start their careers. Others may work as generalists, offering a variety of career advice on topics that range from finding employment, developing professional skills, negotiating salaries, or managing workplace conflicts. Some other names for this profession include employment counsellor, career counsellor, and job coach.”

Although there are a variety of professional designations for coaches and counsellors in general, in Canada career development practitioner titles are not regulated, so it’s not always immediately clear what services a particular individual might offer or what their qualifications may be simply based on their title.

In this post, we will refer to career coaches, career advisors, career counselors, and other similar professions collectively as ‘career development practitioners.’

There is an optional Certified Career Development Practitioner credential in Canada, which is overseen by the Canadian Council for Career Development and managed provincially by organizations such as the BC Career Development Association and Career Development Association of Alberta.

Career Development Practitioner Categories

Typically, career coaches/advisors/counselors will fall into one of two categories:

1. Free or low-cost community-based services

Community-based career services will usually offer a combination of online resources, group workshops, and one-on-one advising, and include:

Services provided by governments:

Centres for newcomers and immigrants:

There are many centres in cities across Canada that offer services for people who are new to Canada, such as the Immigrant Services Society of BC and MOSAIC in Vancouver, the Newcomer Centre in Edmonton, and the Immigrant Centre in Winnipeg.

Career centres within postsecondary institutions:

Many universities and colleges offer career services for students and alumni. These can be institution-wide services or program-specific. For example, at the University of Alberta, the Career Centre offers a variety of career and employment services to students and graduates from any program, and additional services are also available to students in specific programs, such as the School of Business and the Faculty of Engineering. If you are a student or alumnus of a post-secondary institution, explore the options that might be available for you!

Other community-based services:

Other organizations often provide employment and career advising services, such as the YMCA or YWCA, public libraries, and private businesses such as the Bredin Centre for Career Advancement in Alberta . There are also government and not-for-profit organizations that provide career services to specific populations, such as youth, women, individuals with disabilities, and Indigenous peoples.

2. Paid career development practitioners

Career coaches, career advisors and career counselors are professionals who offer services for a fee, and you will typically get more hands-on, tailored service than with free community-based services. We will explore more about these practitioners in the next section.

Career Development Practitioner Services

To help gain more insight into the world of career development practitioners, we spoke with Dr. Howie Outerbridge, a Certified Executive Coach (PCC) and Registered Counsellor (CCC). Dr. Outerbridge has worked in career coaching for over 25 years and currently provides a range of confidential individual and group consulting services through his business, Outerbridge Consulting.

When might someone contact a career development practitioner?

Dr. Outerbridge shared that when people seek out his career coaching services, typically it’s for one of the following reasons:

  1. They need help with a specific job search
  2. They have an industry or field that they’re curious about and want to explore
  3. They have no idea what they want to do in their career and are looking for guidance

“People often tell me that they feel ‘stuck’,” says Dr. Outerbridge, “stuck in a job, stuck in a career path, or stuck in a job search where they get interviews but can’t land a role. This is when it can be beneficial to work with an expert. Think of it like doing your own electrical work for your home versus hiring a professional to do it!”

Career development practitioners can help with a variety of situations, including entering the workforce for the first time, going through a career transition, facing workplace challenges, dealing with unexpected job loss, looking to reskill or upskill in response to changing industry demands, or returning to work after a leave or sabbatical. Whether you’re an experienced job hunter or have been been out of the market for a long time and aren’t familiar with current job search methods, professional advice can be beneficial.

What kinds of services can you provide as a career coach?

“Career development practitioners like coaches and advisors can offer a wide range of services,” says Dr. Outerbridge, “so it’s important to make sure you’re asking questions upfront about what they do, and be clear about what you’re looking for. Many of us offer a 20 to 30-minute free consultation to determine whether it’s the right fit.”

Examples of the services a career development practitioner may offer include:

  • Providing guidance on how to conduct a job search
  • Coaching on resumes, personal branding, networking, interview skills
  • Giving feedback on job applications
  • Assessing job offers and helping you negotiate
  • Assisting with goal setting and career trajectory planning
  • Conducting assessments
  • Reviewing your skills and advising on their transferability to other career paths
  • Suggesting areas for further education or skills development
  • Providing labour market information

An important note is that career development practitioners are typically qualified to advise and coach, not to provide psychological counseling, unless they are a Registered Counsellor (i.e. certified with the Canadian Counselling and Psychotherapy Association). For example, a job seeker whose anxiety disorder interferes with their interview performance may benefit from working with a Registered Counsellor, rather than a general career development practitioner.

Will a career development practitioner create an entire resume for a client?

Although there are people out there who offer resume writing services, Dr. Outbridge advises that it’s actually not a great idea to have someone else completely write your resume for you: “Learning how to craft a resume is a skill to learn and use in the future, so getting resume writing guidance is a better approach than having someone just write it for you.”

It’s also important to remember that your job search involves more than just your resume: “There are many aspects to a job search, and many reasons why someone might not be finding a job. If you only focus on your resume, you’re missing out on other key areas that will help you succeed.”

There are also many resume writing resources available online through the community-based services mentioned earlier, as well as The Headhunters’ Career Resources page, tools such as VisualCV, and other reputable sources such as Indeed’s Career Guide and LinkedIn’s Career Blog.

Many people are now using artificial intelligence such as ChatGPT to help with resume writing. Generative AI can be a helpful tool, but it should not write your entire resume or cover letter. You need to review and edit anything written by AI and remember that you are accountable for the content of your resume. It can be helpful to have other people (real human people!) review your resume as well.

Read more about Tools for Crafting Your Resume.

How can someone find a reputable career development practitioner?

You can start by searching online for terms such as “career coach” or “career advisor” in your geographic area. From there, look for:

  • What are their credentials? What education and experience do they have?
  • Do they have online reviews and what do they say?
  • What specific services do they offer and what is their pricing? Do they offer a free consultation before you decide?
  • Do they offer online or in-person services, and which would you prefer?
  • Look them up on LinkedIn—if someone has a poor LinkedIn profile, they’re not likely someone who you want giving advice on yours!

Confidentiality is of the utmost importance in this industry, so inquire about their confidentiality policies and how they protect personal information.

How can someone get the most out of partnering with a career development practitioner?

Once you have found a career development practitioner, here are some tips to make the most out of the interaction:

  1. Start with the free session to see if it’s the right fit
  2. Ensure you are clear on what services you are getting and what the cost is
  3. Bring any materials you have already (i.e. resume, cover letters, portfolio, etc.)
  4. If you’ve been activity job searching, come prepared to talk about your search to-date, which will help them evaluate what support will be most helpful for you: What has been your approach so far? What jobs have you applied for? What interviews have you had? Have you had any offers?
  5. Be open to the process and to their advice, not defensive or dismissive

The Best of Both Worlds

You may find that your job search can benefit from working with a career development practitioner as well as a recruitment agency! A common approach is to start with a career coach, and once you are ready to begin your search, apply for relevant jobs through recruitment firms.

Just as we outsource many aspects of our lives—auto mechanics, hair stylists, house cleaners, etc.— seeking support with your career can be very beneficial.

Additional Resources

Here are some articles for further reading:

Looking for a new job?

If you are looking for job opportunities across Canada, you can explore our job board. When you apply online, your application will go directly to the Recruitment Consultant working on that position. You can also check out our Career Resources for tips and tools to support your job search. If you are based in eastern Canada, you may also wish to check out our friends at IQ Partners (Ontario) or Venor (Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, or Newfoundland and Labrador).

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