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Job search could benefit from middleman

There’s just one thing between you and that great new job: a middleman, also known as a search firm or recruiting agency.

You could find yourself working closely with a recruiter before you ever land an interview with the company you want to work for.

It’s the job of the recruiter, who is hired by the company, to weed out candidates, search for stellar employees and narrow them down based on a profile from the company. The recruiter then hands over a best-of-the-best list to the client.

If you thought you never would have to deal with recruiters because they only do executive position searches, think again. There is a recruiting middle market for positions paying from $30,000 to $100,000 that companies also need help filling.

Here are some tips that will help you deal with the middleman.

• Research the search firm. There are generally two types of search firms.

Retained search firms are hired and paid by a company to identify and recruit employees with a specific skill set. A contingency firm, on the other hand, is paid only when a company hires a candidate it found.

While companies often contact recruiters, it’s OK for you to send a résumé and cover letter to a search firm, but don’t be pushy. Simply state, “I would appreciate your adding my résumé to your database in case you are retained for a search that would match my qualifications,” says Jane Howze, founder of The Alexander Group.

• Pretend the recruiter is the employer. When you are dealing with the search firm, act no differently than you would if your dream company were calling, says Dave Hickman, managing partner at HirePursuit, a Princeton One Search recruiting firm in Indianapolis.

• Respect the search. It can be tempting to make contact with the company, going over the head of the recruiter. But don’t even send a résumé to the company.

• Know the expectations. Each recruiter is different, and a candidate must find out how the process is going to work at the beginning. Don’t be afraid to ask questions, says Hickman.

Will the recruiter get back with you every two weeks? Or should you check in every two weeks? Should you call or send an e-mail when you have questions? Will the recruiter contact you if you are up for the job?w.delawareonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061120/BUSINESS/611200310/1003″>Harmful job myths abound

People believe some weird things.

Like telepathy or astrology. That it takes seven years for your body to digest chewing gum. Or that the devil can steal your soul when you sneeze.

They also believe some strange things about job hunting. Here are some of the most common — and most damaging — job-seeking and other workplace myths that young workers fall for:

Long résumés are impressive. No. In fact, they are ridiculous for someone younger than 30. Excessively long résumés are consistently listed as a pet peeve in surveys of hiring managers. Hiring managers barely have time to scan most of the résumés that come their way, much less read them line by line. Edit those internships, extracurricular activities and classes into a clean, readable one-page document.

The Internet is the best place to look for jobs. Sure, if your idea of “looking” for work is reading ads for jobs that you probably won’t get. Online listings are just a tiny fraction of the jobs out there. Other, often more fruitful sources for leads include professional associations, specialized job fairs, your professors and career counselors and places where you have been an intern.

Entry-level salaries will be sufficient to pay back student loans. After all, the lenders would not have let you borrow all that money if they weren’t certain you could pay it back with your postgraduation paychecks, right? Afraid not. Student loans are an exception to the general lending principles that limit people to borrowing according to their earnings. The gap between how much college students expect to make when they graduate vs. their likely earnings continues to be frightening.

An MBA always brings big bucks and promotions. Before you put the time and money into getting a graduate degree in business, have a specific goal in mind for life post-MBA, and make sure that particular credential is really necessary to get you there. In particular, run the numbers and see if the expected boost in pay is worth it.

There’s no point in applying for jobs in the summer. Or Christmas. Or whatever time you imagine hiring managers get to slack off. Filling professional jobs isn’t like selling houses. The market isn’t seasonal. People quit and get promoted year-round. When they do, they have to be replaced.

If you don’t like your boss, you should quit. After all, life is short, right? Sure it is, but the tenure of really bad bosses is often even shorter. People move on. Sometimes you even get promoted to their job when they leave. Even if they stay, all hope isn’t lost. If you really like other aspects of a job, make the effort to learn to work with your obnoxious boss. Every job will require you to work with people whose personalities or work habits don’t suit you.

It’s illegal for an employer to … You can insert just about anything here and you’d be wrong. U.S. employers have a lot of leeway in hiring, firing and promoting people, as long as they aren’t discriminating against specifically protected classes of people, such as for race, gender, religion or age (this applies to people 40 and older). “Favoritism,” while demoralizing, is not illegal. Neither is a boss being an equal-opportunity jerk. Likewise, no laws in this country require employers to provide health insurance, paid vacation or sick leave, paid parental leave or regular raises. Some union contracts provide these protections, but even those are increasingly rare.