Securing Your First Job in Software 4: On Recruiters

This post is part of a short series on actionable steps in acquiring your first developer job, which I utilized in 2018 to become a Software Development Engineer with a major cybersecurity company.

You should be proud of your progress thus far! You have not only purposefully summarized your education and experience but can advertise yourself, and the latter alone is an important skill. A necessary skill, but not always sufficient for job searching and placement. With so many potential companies and positions out there in the sea, how can you find and get the attention of the best fish no matter where they swim? Sometimes you need to enlist a professional fisherman recruiter.

What's a Recruiter?

Ostensibly, a recruiter is someone who helps place candidates in agreeable employment positions, by reviewing their experience, negotiating their salary, and advocating to potential employers on their behalf. There are various types of recruiters, but the ones you'll likely encounter the most at this stage of your career are external contingency recruiters; employed by external companies and contracted by candidate-seeking employers, these recruiters get paid around 25% of the successful candidate's salary for the first year. Don't worry, this doesn't come out of your pocket, it comes from your employer - but it's important to know their motivation.

Expect to get a LOT of calls from recruiters, especially after setting up your contact information and visiting job search sites (yet another reason to rent a phone number). In fact, I think recruiters have access to stats that include how recent a profile was updated. Which is a good thing while you're searching because, despite the slim chance that any one recruiter will find you your dream job, it will at least give you practice in explaining your situation and the positions you're looking for. Decide your job title, your desired responsibilities, the type of work (contract vs. private), the max distance you're willing to commute, and your lowest pay UP FRONT. They will ask, so be honest with them because they're (supposed to be) advocating for you.

One thing in particular to decide your stance on is "Contract-to-Hire" - a popular hiring practice that recruiters often utilize. Basically, you work for six months as a contractor with the possibility of "going perm" and becoming a full employee at the company afterwards. This means you're doing a six month contract through the recruiting agency (in other words, you're their employee and get pay and benefits from them) and there's no guarantee you'll have a job afterwards. That could be great for getting your foot in the door, but it offsets the company's risk onto you; unless your performance is outstanding and they love you (and they have the resources), they won't want to keep you. Sure, if you do badly at any company they'll end up firing you, but there's nothing stopping these companies with six month contracts from setting the bar unreasonably high. Sometimes this works out great, but keep these points in mind as food for thought lest you're caught unaware.

The Bad

Here are three methods for dealing with bad recruiters:

1. Often times you will get calls asking to do the same job you're working now (even if you're trying to advance), to pack up and move somewhere you couldn't care less about, or to work for less money than what you're currently earning - just say NO. Then they have the audacity to ask you to recommend them to friends and family who may be looking for jobs? Hell no.
2. Be skeptical if you get a call out of nowhere, to set up an interview for the next morning, which leads to a job offer that same day, especially if you were "meh" about your performance. These recruiters are trying to make a quick commission buck, and will disappear as quickly as they arrive.
3. If you're told that your current experience won't be enough to land a job and/or your desired salary, don't be afraid to stand confident and firm in what you want. You'll have plenty of opportunity to prove them wrong.

The Great

The great recruiters will do one thing above all others - listen to you. They'll respect your wishes when you say, "I don't want six month contract-to-hire jobs," "I want to work in private companies," and "I want positions with projects utilizing a variety of programming languages." And instead of dropping your case when it narrows down your possibilities, they'll double down and keep in regular contact, eventually getting you interviews with potential employers. If they can do that much, then you know you've found a winner. In my experience, I've found some great technical recruiters through OPTOMI, Aerotek. and TEKsystems. Ideally you would go in person to their offices, but I only ever spoke with them over the phone.

The best of the best are the legendary recruiters you hear about through word of mouth in your network. More so than recruiters, they are like job search coaches who take the time to train you on how to phrase your experiences and highlight the strengths that employers are most interested in. They can arm you with tremendous professional insights into the hiring process and syke psych up your own confidence in yourself, while simultaneously reaching into their deep network of contacts to find available positions that meet your criteria. If you find this type of recruiter, thank whoever put you in contact with them profusely, and take full advantage of the opportunity.

BONUS: Here are two more tips I recently learned.

1. When recruiting calls/emails get overwhelming, have a script. Eventually, you'll get to the point where you just don't want to pick up your phone lest you fall into another 15 minute conversation that ends with, "wait, you want me to work where?! No thank you." That's when you employ a script. It can be as simple as this:
   
   Phone: Are you looking to fill a non-clearance Software Engineer position in the [LOCATION] area?
   
   Email: Thank you for reaching out. I am interested in Software Engineer roles that utilize Java, Python, or AngularJS JavaScript (though I’m happy to learn more) in the [LOCATION] area. Primarily I’m looking for full-time direct hire positions (not contract-to-hire unless placement rates at the company are 100%) that don’t require a clearance. Is this aligned with any roles that you’re looking to fill?
2. If recruiters ask for details on your own job prospects, they're transactional. A lot of times recruiters will ask how your job search is going, and god help you if you tell them you have an interview lined up. If they press you for details on these companies, they're most likely doing it for one of two reasons: they'll want to submit someone else for the same role (i.e. competition), or they'll want to swoop in and take credit for submitting you (i.e. leachers). You don't need these recruiters in your life, just say "I can't give out that information" and run in the opposite direction.

Godspeed, applicants.

Read on: 5: Optimize Your Online Search

Other posts in this series:
Securing Your First Job in Software 1: Register New Contact Info
Securing Your First Job in Software 2: Update Your Resume
Securing Your First Job in Software 3: Practice Your Pitch
Securing Your First Job in Software 5: Optimize Your Online Search
Securing Your First Job in Software 6: The Technical Interview
Securing Your First Job in Software 7: Ask Your Value Questions