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Recruiter Exclusivity

 
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Hi there

I've recently launched back in to the job market and one of the recruiters that has contacted me has asked for exclusivity for a week.

I'd like to know if this is a common practise among recruiters.

Ideally I'd like to get a job as fast as possible and I'm worried that if I give exclusivity to one recruiter that I'm cutting out a lot of other options, but if exclusivity is a common thing then I'm not so worried.

Any thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.
Rachel
 
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I've never heard of exclusivity, and would consider that to be a very unusual arrangement. It's the recruiters business risk that you may join elsewhere while he's trying to place you.
 
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Tell him no. I've worked with over 100 recruiters as both a candidate and hiring manager and I have never done this. Tell him you'll work with multiple people and the recruiter who best understands your needs and works with the right companies will place you regardless of how many recruiters you may be working with; if he doesn't think he's that recruiter he shouldn't be working with you in the first place.

Roughly speaking 20% of recruiters are used car salesmen (very slimy), 30% are simply incompetent, 40% mean well but simply aren't good, 8% are good (and will build a long term relationship with you), and 2% are outstanding.

Always remember that your needs are not the same as the recruiter's needs. You must manage your career, and may choose to use a recruiter to help you, but ultimately do what's right for you, not the recruiter.

--Mark
 
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are used car salesmen



is that used 'car salesman' or 'used car' salesman ?

On a more serious note i have not heard of this exclusivity either. I would not want to tie myself down with a single recruiter and pray that he/she hits the jack pot job. I would say no if i were you.

good luck
 
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The only "exclusivity" I've ever been asked for is that I make sure that two or more recruiters aren't submitting me to the same client at the same time. It tends to annoy the client, and it reduces the incentive for the recruiter, since not only does it reduce the odds that they'll be the ones getting the reward, but also could hurt everyone by setting off a bidding war. You'd end up with a lower salary, the recruiter would have a lower commission, and the client would be the only winner (allowing for ill-will on the part of a new employee).
 
Mark Herschberg
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Tim brings up a good point. When you do work with more than one, keep track of who has send you to whom, as well as where you have applied directly. It is unprofessional to have a recruiter submit your resume to a place you have already applied yourself to where another recruiter has sent you. It won't likely be a bidding war, as every contract I've seen basically says "first to submit the resume," but it does waste time. Now since no respectable recruiter will send you somewhere without checking with you first, it should be easy to track. (In the extreme, I once had no less than 8 recruiters call me for the same job over a 12 month period.)

--Mark
 
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I would say no to "Excclusivity" but some companies have a "Prefrred Supplier List" of say 2 to 3 recruitment agencies. This makes the recruitment agencies to work harder to find the right candidate as opposed to knowing that there are 15 other agencies trying to fill a particular role.
 
Mark Herschberg
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Originally posted by arulk pillai:
I would say no to "Excclusivity" but some companies have a "Prefrred Supplier List" of say 2 to 3 recruitment agencies. This makes the recruitment agencies to work harder to find the right candidate as opposed to knowing that there are 15 other agencies trying to fill a particular role.



I guess you haven't studied much economics; generally the opposite is true. :-) Increased competition typically makes people work harder. The motivation for the company is to limit vendor relations so as not to have hundreds of outstanding contract, but the cost is reduced incentive.

--Mark
 
Rachel Swailes
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Hi there

Thanks for all the advice. In the end I didn't give the recruiter exclusivity on my CV and I'm keeping track of who submits my CV where so that I don't get duplicates at different places.

Cheers,
Rachel
 
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