What Is a Recruiter?

Recruiters are people hired by employers to find the best candidates for the employers’ job openings.  

Many job seekers think that they can hire a recruiter to find them a job.  Perhaps some recruiter somewhere does that, but I’ve never met one who works for – and is paid by – job seekers.  Many recruiters are helpful to job seekers, but helping job seekers is not how they earn their livings.  

There are two primary types of recruiters:

1.)  Internal recruiters who are members of employer staffs (typically in Human Resources), working on the employer’s premises, with access to the employer’s email system, etc.

2.)  External recruiters who typically work for a 3rd party, like a staffing agency.

There are advantages and disadvantages to working with either type of recruiter.  For discussions of how to work with each type, click on the appropriate link above.