People ask me every day, “David, should I use a recruiter, job boards or the Human Resource Department (HR) when pursuing a new job?”
The quick answer is: use them all.
It used to be that job seekers only needed to utilize one of many sourcing channels, such as recruiters, HR, friends, job boards and other avenues. Today, you need to network and use every channel available to you. This is especially true during the current climate of high unemployment rates.
That said, use these sources wisely:
- Choose one or two recruiters who you feel you can trust. Most recruiters belong to a network of some kind (ie. First Interview Network), so if you are working with one recruiter, you are working with many.
- Use HR sparingly, and don’t rely on it as your only source. For some companies, HR may be your only avenue in. Only rely on HR after you have exhausted all other resources.
- Be careful with job boards (please see my post dated July 10, 2010, Job Boards). I prefer using the job boards to research which companies are currently hiring because today many companies are using job boards to post open positions. However, remember that these job boards are managed by HR and so your chance of a response to your resume is slim.
I coach all my candidates today to network through friends in the industry and to develop a "company champion." See my post, Developing a Company Champion.
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