Why is my Recruiting Company Sending Me Candidates That Have Already Applied Directly?

Why is My Recruiter Sending Me Candidates I Already Have?

If you are shopping around for a new recruiting company to partner with, you are probably going to get a sales rep on the phone that goes on and on about how big their database is. They will try to convince you that there is no way you could achieve the kind of results they have because you do not have the huge network of candidates they have. This all sounds good, and makes a ton of sense but why is it that when they take on the search they start sending you candidates that have already applied directly?

There are a few reasons why this happens but the underlying cause is that you are working with a Lazy Recruiter.

Job Board Recruiters

If all of the candidates you are receiving are ones that have already applied directly to you, chances are your recruiter is doing nothing more than posting job ads and forwarding you the results. There are many firms that invest heavily in sponsoring job posts on Indeed with the hopes that a candidate will apply to their ad before they see yours. As it is so easy to apply for jobs candidates end up applying for multiple job ads including yours and your recruiters and they end up sending you a candidate you already have.

This is of no value to you. In this situation you are in direct competition with the Recruiting Company you have paid to help you. If you are working with a recruiter before you even start the process let them know what you are doing to fill the role and insist that they do not copy your efforts. You want to Partner with your recruiter, not compete with them.

If you post your ad on Indeed and Zip Recruiter, ask that they not make that part of their process. If they refuse then you are using a lazy recruiter who is just hoping to get lucky on a job board you are already using. It is time to go shopping for a new recruiting firm.

It’s Not The Size That Matters

But what about that huge database of candidates that was going to give them the huge advantage? The truth here is that a database is almost always out of date. Candidates stay available for such a short amount of time it is irrelevant that you have a resume on file from 2 years ago. That candidate is no longer available.

To show you how irrelevant your recruiting firms database is, consider that everyone has equalaccess to LinkedIn with its 20 Million Users. Some recruiters are great at leveraging that, many do not even know where to begin. This is also true of their own internal databases, may recruiters just don’t know how to use the information that they have. It is not the size that matters, it is how you use it!

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If you are getting the same candidates from your recruiter that you are getting on your own it is time to find a new recruiter. Some overlap will happen, especially in a tight niche but if it is a constant issue it is time to move on.

To kick your recruiting game up, partner with Rockstar Recruiting for all of your Mechanic, HVAC and Millwright searches. We take the search way beyond the job boards to find you the candidates that are not actively looking. Give us a call at 1-833-937-3546 or e-mail info@rockstarrecruiting.ca.