Does a good job experience with a staffing firm and recruiters even exist?

You’re laid off (sad) and told to get to networking. You reach out to old friends and colleagues, “Hey! Got anything for me?” You hear back from a few with “So sorry to hear that, man.” but not a lot of leads or they mention that they will keep you in mind if anything comes your way. One random friend’s cousin mentions you should register with a certain staffing firm that you have never heard of.

You register online and they call you to come in for an interview. HOW EXCITING! You get your resumes in order and put on your suit. You meet them at their downtown office for maybe 20-30 minutes and are pleased with yourself that you “got an interview”. Then you wait. Wait for what seems like an eternity…back to your computer to submit applications.

You get a call in a week or so that this staffing firm might have an opportunity for you! They use vague terms like “Best new digital marketing company” and “located in the Loop”. It pays $40/hour and is for two weeks to cover someone’s wedding/honeymoon, but it does have an opportunity to extend. Would you be able to go meet with the hiring manager this afternoon?

Have you experienced this or something similar? Was your first reaction a feeling of slight disappointment? You told them you were looking for full-time. You have 10 years of experience and feel like you can certainly do more than cover a two-week leave.

Let me offer this…take the interview. Seriously consider the opportunity. 9 times out of 10 if you are an excellent worker, that two-week contract will extend. When you are hired into a temporary contract, they usually understand that you are seeking full-time and are willing to work with you to come in late/leave early for other interviews. And with any random luck, you may also be getting your foot in the door and be considered at this company.

Also, these new team members become your light in a dark tunnel of post lay-off blues – they provide new projects, some new ideas AND often are the networking that you were told to do. This is also a great opportunity to bring in income and keep your resume updated. This may not be ideal – it can be hard to be a “temporary worker” in an environment where you do not know the teams nor even where the bathroom is.

It is with gratitude I am thankful to several recruiters. They found me temporary and temporary to hire positions after two layoffs. I had such a great experience with a random one that I then applied to be a recruiter with the staffing firm itself. I can tell you these people work really hard to find the right candidates for their clients as well as offering fair pay and great career opportunities for their talent. They have major metrics to meet and record number of positions to fill. They often are not given a lot of information from the client so finding the right fit (and sometimes within 48 hours) is a challenge in its own right.

I’m so sorry for anyone and everyone who has been ghosted by a recruiter, but I want to give some attention to the unsung heroes. The ones that do their best to find you an opportunity, clarify needs with the hiring manager and give you interview tips before you go in. These recruiters that helped me literally saved me. They helped me when it felt like the rug had been pulled out from underneath me. They were additional eyes and ears for me in the job searching world. They helped me create my elevator pitch and offered encouragement after interviews. I can tell you that being a recruiter is like working on a rollercoaster. There are so many ups and downs and twists and turns. You cannot always predict how your talent will do in an interview. You never even know if they will want the job.

Your clients give you limited information and time to find people – as well as put you in a competitive environment where they are sourcing candidates from many a staffing firm. I will say though that when the stars align, and your candidate happily accepts a position…it is one of the best feeling in the world. I placed many professionals in my 1.75 years of recruiting and I do keep in touch with several of them. Some I don’t know what they are up to, but I do hope they had a good experience and share the gratitude that I feel for those that helped me.

I personally would like to give a shoutout to 2 companies that helped me get ahead, it’s to Aquent/Vitamin T and Creative Circle. Thank you. You are unsung heroes in my eyes in what you do.