Using a recruiter to find first job?

[quarterlengthsleeve]

I am in the process of applying for my first job. I put my resume in www.doccafe.com last week and I've had about 10 recruiters content me. I didn't do my research on what recruiters really did, but I thought it wouldn't hurt so I gave one my resume and she said she has me in a database and would start marketing me.

My question is this: is using a recruiter a bad idea for new grad? I feel like indeed.com has a ton of job opportunities that I could apply for in the city I want to work in, so is using a recruiter even necessary?

It sounds like a big con to using a recruiter would be that I the employer has to pay the recruiter 15-30% of what I would make in a year, in addition to my salary. But a pro would be that my resume would not just be stacked in a bunch of resumes that have been sent to the hospital/practice I applied for. 

 

Have any of you used a recruiter to find a job? What are your thoughts?

Thank you!

[Reality Check 2]

My experience with recruiters has generally been poor.

 

If a corporate medical entity has its own recruiters that is one thing. Basic headhunters are not needed the rest of the time in my opinion.

 

My own personal experience was that headhunters were needed to find folks for unattractive jobs with notorious docs or systems that have a hard time finding or keeping folks on their own.

 

The headhunters I had contact with reminded me of the obnoxious folks at the perfume counter who accost and spray samples even when you vehemently say NO. 

 

They are there to sell you a used car and hide the dents and make money for themselves for filling a position - not necessarily matching and filling a good position. I found their spiels about the "greatest doc with international acclaim" was a guy who no one could work with very long and international meant he attended a conference overseas ONCE and his name was at the bottom of a study with 18 other people. 

 

I had some want to negotiate my salary - found out it was like a lawyer and they were booking hours on the clock to get more money for the "find". 

 

So, I decline most solicitations from corporate headhunters.

 

If you have a really specific large metropolitan area that you don't live in and need some intros - meh, maybe a headhunter could help but so could a local or state PA society, word of mouth or the County Medical Society. 

 

Honestly - with the internet and the social capacities for communications - headhunters are not really needed in most instances.

 

You will likely need a good realtor more and community references for personal services like getting your brakes fixed.

 

Just my old 2 cents.

[cg02186]

I'm also a soon to be new grad and somehow have had a lot of recruiters contacting me as well.  I had one interview so far and the interviewer said that if any position ever makes you pay a recruiter fee that you should not work there.  I'm going to try to not use them going forward because the ones I've dealt with so far have been pretty pushy and constantly tell me that finding jobs as a new grad is almost impossible and the practice they're working for is the one of the only ones in the state that will even consider a new grad, etc. One even told me that my expectations as a new grad PA should be a salary around $65,000-$75,000.  This despite the fact that the average salary is in the mid $80s for new grads and closer to $90-$95 depending on specialty and location. Going forward I plan on trying to reach out directly to companies, physicians, COO, CEOs, etc. if I' interested in a position.  Good luck! 

 

If anyone has other experience with recruiters I'd love to hear it as well. 

[jlumsden]

I am a new grad, and have been at my current job(s) about three months.  Love what I found.  One outpatient full time primary care job in a large hospital system, and one part time job in psychiatry for people with intellectual disabilities.  They were obtained by networking with current contacts, even with some pretty high standards (e.g. in my city, pay over a certain amount, etc....).  Recruiters were never able to come close to my city, told me my salary expectations were too high, and consistently sent me jobs that I was not qualified for (e.g. must have 3-5 years experience as a PA, or must have significant OR experience). 

 

It's fine to work with recruiters, but it's probably not necessary.  Your experiences will likely be similar to mine.  If you're flexible (e.g. willing to move to rural North Dakota next week), you could try setting high standards for the recruiter (e.g. a salary that is 120 percent of what you expect to earn), and see what they come up with.

[SedRate]

When I was a student applying for jobs, I was contacted on LinkedIn by a recruiter for a surgical subspecialty position. That company had previously hired two new grads for that same practice, one was still working there a few years later and another was leaving for derm after working with them for a couple years. My experience with the recruiter was positive. I ended up accepting a different position and withdrew my application before they sent it for review by the practice. I would consider contacting the recruiter again if the need arises, and if nothing else, I'm glad for the experience.

 

With that said, I have heard negative experiences from others. Mostly regarding being recruited for bad companies or bad work setup.

 

My advice for recruiters is do your research and if it doesn't feel right, there's probably a reason why. And if they make you pay, just say no.

[SedRate]

As an aside for general advice regarding the job search, work your connections and network like crazy. You never know who knows who that's hiring and the medical community is a small world.

[DizzyJ]

I've had lots of contact with recruiters, but never took a job through one.  Pros: I had one handle everything I needed to get a license in a state I was looking at.  I had travel reimbursed to fly out for an interview.  They were able to present me with the salary right up front and not waste my time going for an interview that was below my salary requirement.  Cons: they keep calling, texting, emailing, and I'm surprised have not been waiting for me when I get home sometimes.  I

 

In my opinion...if you are going to stay local there is not really a need for a recruiter and you should be able to find jobs on your own.  If you are looking for out of state options with no specific location, then they can be a good asset.  

[mgriffiths]

I made the "mistake" of putting my info on doccafe and have been contacted by recruiters non-stop, but that is really the only downside.  I am a new grad and have my first job, which a recruiter helped me get.  I am enjoying it tremendously and feel like I am part of a great ortho practice.

 

With that said, they can be VERY pushy and often times negative.  Many of them are very similar to used car salesmen and will not be fully honest.

 

DO NOT EVER PAY A RECRUITER YOURSELF!!  The practice that hires you pays for the recruiter.

 

Yes, using a recruiter likely limits your negotiating ability, but I was able to negotiate some with my current employer and actually ended up with a much better deal than what I originally asked for.

 

Bottom line, don't trust the recruiter fully.  Do your own homework and look out for the things people above mentioned and you will be fine.

[quarterlengthsleeve]

I made the "mistake" of putting my info on doccafe and have been contacted by recruiters non-stop, but that is really the only downside. I am a new grad and have my first job, which a recruiter helped me get. I am enjoying it tremendously and feel like I am part of a great ortho practice.

 

With that said, they can be VERY pushy and often times negative. Many of them are very similar to used car salesmen and will not be fully honest.

 

DO NOT EVER PAY A RECRUITER YOURSELF!! The practice that hires you pays for the recruiter.

 

Yes, using a recruiter likely limits your negotiating ability, but I was able to negotiate some with my current employer and actually ended up with a much better deal than what I originally asked for.

 

Bottom line, don't trust the recruiter fully. Do your own homework and look out for the things people above mentioned and you will be fine.

Do you suggest using a recruiter for someone who is applying for jobs in a state that I have no connections? It's a town of about 70k people so it is not large and idk if I will need the extra assistance or not.

I have already given my resume to a recruiter and idk if it is too late to turn back now.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[mgriffiths]

Just because you gave your resume to a recruiter doesn't mean you have to use them.  If you contact a job opportunity yourself, then you didn't use the recruiter.  I had probably 30 different recruiters "working" for me at one time, because I simply talked with them - doesn't mean all of them got paid, only one.  I applied to multiple jobs on my own and got interviews, but they weren't the right fit.

 

If that one 70k person town is where you want to be it might be useful to have a recruiter because they serve a bit as an initial interview and just like the recruiter is a used car salesman to you, so are they to the job.  They are going to stress your upsides as much as possible because they want the job to hire you.  Of course they may have more than one applicant they "represent" applying for that one job, but they're not going to throw you under the bus or anything.

 

I had a good experience with my recruiter as it helped me land what has so far been a great job!

[EMEDPA]

remember, the recruiter's job is to fill difficult to fill jobs, not find you the dream job. I signed up with a few looking for jobs in a specific part of CA, but after call #10 with "we have this great job in nevada, n dakota," etc I cut off all contact with them.

[Reality Check 2]

After you put in bold letters and caps I WILL NOT RELOCATE and the headhunters keep giving you job opps over 2000 miles away - they aren't listening.

 

Just like I told the guy on the car lot that I did not want a white car under any circumstances - so he pulls around in a white car. I walked off the lot and left.

 

Agree with EMED - recruiters are usually involved in a job that people are jumping to fill - usually a bit of a red flag that there is something fishy.

 

So many other resources - recruiters are  kind of like the yellow pages - they have become obsolete. 

[Croooz]

Not a PA.

Don't do it.  Recruiters are paid by the employer and therefore lowball your starting salary.  The biggest raise you will ever give yourself is to negotiate a great starting salary.  $60-75k for a PA is because $15-25k is going into either the recruiters pocket or the company's.  We used a recruiter to hire a few PhDs and they asked us what we wanted their starting salary to be.  We gave them a range and they all came in starting below that amount.  I was appalled at the employees ignorance and recruiters lack of scruples.  In the contract we had with them the recruiters pocketed the difference, they were not limited to the range we set.  It was very awkward to have PhDs not making much more than technicians.  Once they figured out how underpaid they were they quickly left but had a hard time getting paid what they were worth simply because the salary from us hampered their negotiating.

[mmiller3]

Not a PA.

 

Don't do it.  Recruiters are paid by the employer and therefore lowball your starting salary.  The biggest raise you will ever give yourself is to negotiate a great starting salary.  $60-75k for a PA is because $15-25k is going into either the recruiters pocket or the company's.  We used a recruiter to hire a few PhDs and they asked us what we wanted their starting salary to be.  We gave them a range and they all came in starting below that amount.  I was appalled at the employees ignorance and recruiters lack of scruples.  In the contract we had with them the recruiters pocketed the difference, they were not limited to the range we set.  It was very awkward to have PhDs not making much more than technicians.  Once they figured out how underpaid they were they quickly left but had a hard time getting paid what they were worth simply because the salary from us hampered their negotiating.

Since you are not a PA, I feel confident in assuming you have never worked with a PA recruiter. Given that, I also feel confident to tell you that you are off-base here.

 

I used a recruiter to find my first job. I did not have to pay them anything, as they collect a fee from the company they place you with, but only if you stay for a certain amount of time (this is generally how it works, anyway, but I imagine not always). I negotiated my salary without any input or influence from the recruiter--he simply made the arrangements for me to meet with the administration and the person who would become my SP. I have had recruiters find me positions that I interviewed for, but ultimately decided against taking (for various reasons, but none of them due to issues with the recruiter).

 

Bottom line: Treat the recruiter as a tool; you are not obligated to take any job, and you are always free to try and negotiate your salary. Let them find jobs for you you didn't even know existed. Also, you will be bombarded with emails and call s if you sign up for doccafe and indeed.com. That is part of the game. You can always ask them to delete you later.