What Students Need to Know From Job Recruiters

By Elana Goodwin on November 7, 2017

Many college students looking for jobs will seek as much assistance as possible in order to cover as many bases as they can, which means working with recruiters to help them find employment.

However, some college students do not really know much about how the hiring process works or how to work with a recruiter — so here is what college students need to know from you job recruiters.

Photo Credit: Pixabay.com

1. You don’t work for them. Lots of college students operate under the mistaken assumption that when they decide to work with a job recruiter, it means the recruiter works for them and is going to look out for their best interests. Recruiters — both external and internal — work for companies or agencies and are paid to help find good potential candidates for open jobs.

It is a good idea to be upfront about this when first starting to work with a college student so they can adjust their expectations of you and understand what your role as a recruiter is in their job search process. Make sure college students know that if they fit the qualifications desired for a job opening for an employer you work for or with, you will let them know — but otherwise, you won’t be in touch sending them opportunities each day as if you work for them.

2. Your communication plans. It’s important to let the college students who are interested in working with a recruiter know your communication plans. Living in such a digital and easy-to-communicate age, college students may be under the impression that you will be in constant contact, letting them know about job opportunities and such. However, along with letting them know that you don’t actually work for them, you should let them know how often they can expect to receive emails or communication from you.

Obviously, if you have a job opening they may be a good fit for you’ll be in touch; but otherwise, be clear about your role and communication plans. If you don’t intend to get back to a student to let them know they were not picked, but rather let your “no response” serve as indication they were passed over, let them know! Otherwise, the college students you’re working with will email you asking about a job you said they may be a candidate for and will get disgruntled over your lack of communication.

3. You’re not their guidance counselor. Another thing you may want to tell college students right off the bat is that you are a recruiter, not a guidance or career counselor. It is not your job to look at their resume and recommend jobs they should be applying to. Let them know nicely that you work with many college students and will be in touch with those that are the most promising candidates for open jobs you have been tasked with trying to fill, and that beyond their resumes and expertise, there is no further information that is relevant for you to do your job.

Unlike their guidance or career counselors, you are not going to spend a lot of time getting to know them or what their career aspirations are. You’re going to simply assess their credentials and listed experience as it pertains to you being able to do your job — you are not going to advise them on the job process, only be a potential facilitator between an interested company and a qualified college student.

4. You don’t have control. As a recruiter, you will also want to let the college students you are working with know that as much influence as you may or may not have, you absolutely do not have the final say when it comes to deciding who the job is tendered to. While recruiters typically have some involvement in the decision (though how much will vary depending on the company and whether you are an internal or external recruiter), it is ultimately out of your hands as to who gets the job offer.

You may be the one letting the college student know they did not make the cut or that the company hired someone else, but you want the student to know that even if you are the one telling them this news, you are not the person who controlled the decision. Additionally, you do not have control over how long the hiring process may take or what it entails; your job is to simply find qualified job candidates and point companies in their direction; the rest is not really your domain.

The relationship between recruiter and college student can be a good and beneficial one for both parties — but it helps if recruiters lay out from the get-go what their job parameters are and what they are not, in order to avoid or correct any errant assumptions college students may have about working with a recruiter.

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