How do recruitment agencies work? A candidate’s guide to working with a recruiter

The short version: an employer has a role to fill, they engage a recruitment agency to find the person, and the agency is paid by the employer when the hire is made. The candidate pays nothing. Ever. If an agency asks you for money, walk away.

Within that, agencies differ a lot.

• Generalist and volume agencies fill large numbers of roles across every sector and rely heavily on advertising and databases. Good for entry and mid-level roles where there are many suitable candidates.
• Specialist agencies focus on particular sectors or levels, know the employers personally and spend most of their time on search: approaching people who are not looking. That is what we do, across operations, manufacturing, engineering, supply chain, technical and quality, finance, and sales and marketing, for senior and specialist roles in the Waikato and NZ-wide.
• Executive search or headhunting firms work on retained assignments for leadership roles, usually with a shortlist built from direct approaches rather than applications. We do this too, for GM, CEO, COO and CFO level roles.
• Temp and labour hire agencies employ workers directly and place them on assignment. That is a different model and not one we operate.

A specialist recruiter also works two ways at once. Employers brief us on roles, and we go looking for the right people. But we also meet strong candidates first and, with their permission, introduce them to employers who have not yet advertised. A good share of our placements start that way.

Registering is not a form that disappears into a database. Here is the actual sequence.

1. You send us your CV through Submit your CV or by applying for a role on our job board. Brigitta reads every one.
2. We talk. If your background fits the kind of roles we fill, we arrange a conversation, by phone, video or in person around Hamilton. We want to understand what you do, what you are good at, what you want next, where you will and will not work, and what your salary expectations are. We also want to know what you would not move for. It usually takes half an hour.
3. We are honest about fit. If we are not the right agency for you, or the timing is wrong, we will say so and, where we can, point you somewhere useful.
4. We represent you, with permission. When a role comes up that fits, we call you, tell you about the company and the role, and ask whether you want to be put forward. Only then does your CV go anywhere. We never send your details to a client without asking you first.
5. We prepare you. Before every interview we brief you on the people, the business, the format and what they are really looking for. After it, we get feedback from both sides and share it. Our interview guide covers the basics.
6. We manage the offer. Salary, package, start date, references. We handle the negotiation so you do not have to haggle with your future manager.
7. We stay in touch. After you start, we check in. And if the role did not come off this time, we keep you in mind. Some of the people we place were on our books for a year or more before the right thing came up.

Most of the people we work with are employed and do not want their current employer, or the wider Waikato market, to know they are looking. That is normal and we treat it seriously.

• Your CV is not sent anywhere without your say-so, and we tell you which company before you decide.
• We will tell you if a role is with a company you have asked us to steer clear of.
• We do not advertise your details, post them on job boards, or "float" them to employers to drum up interest.
• If you would rather not register at all yet, book a confidential conversation instead. No CV required, nothing shared, just a straight view of the market and what your options look like.

• Be specific about what you want. "Something better" gives us nothing to work with. "A plant or operations leadership role, Waikato or Bay of Plenty, $150k plus, with a company that is investing" gives us everything.
• Be honest about the things that matter. Salary, notice period, other processes you are in, visa status, a gap in your CV, why you left your last role. We can work with almost anything if we know about it. Surprises at reference stage are what sink offers.
• Keep your CV current and send the good version. Our CV guide covers what NZ employers expect.
• Answer the phone, or call back. Roles move quickly. If we cannot reach you for three days, the shortlist has gone in without you.
• Take the interview prep seriously. We are not doing it to fill time. We know what the client asked the last three people.
• Tell us how it went. Your read on the interview, the things that worried you, whether you still want it. We can fix a lot between interviews.
• Tell us when things change. New offer elsewhere, a promotion, a counter-offer, a change of heart. All fine. Just say.
• Use us for advice, not just roles. A salary check against our NZ salary guide, a CV review, whether a move makes sense, what the market is doing. Ask.

A few things that make the relationship work, in both directions.

• Do not apply directly to a role you have been put forward for. It causes an ownership dispute between the agency and the employer, and the employer usually resolves it by dropping the candidate. If you see the same role advertised elsewhere, tell your recruiter.
• Do not register with five agencies for the same role. Your CV lands on the same desk three times and you look either desperate or disorganised. One good specialist recruiter for your field is usually enough; two at most.
• Do not ghost. If you are no longer interested, a one-line message is all it takes. The recruiter has told a client you are coming.
• Do not use an offer we secured to leverage a counter-offer and then stay put. It happens, and it is remembered.
• Do not say yes to an interview you do not intend to take seriously.
• In return, expect us to reply, tell you the truth, tell you the client’s name before we send anything, give you real feedback, and never pressure you into a role that is wrong for you. If a recruiter does not do those things, find another one.

We would rather tell you this than waste your time. A specialist recruiter is most useful when you are mid-career or senior, in a field where employers pay for search, and where the good roles are often never advertised. That describes most of the operations, engineering, supply chain, technical, finance and sales professionals we place.

If you are early in your career, changing into a completely new field, or looking for casual or temporary work, you will often do better applying directly, using your network, or working with an agency that specialises in that space. We will say so if that is the case.

If you are in our world, start with the current roles and apply to anything that fits, or send us your CV so we know you exist before the next one comes up. Either way, you will hear from a person.