My Recruiter, My Friend, My Therapist?

It’s a tight job market out there and filling a job opening often falls into the hands of the recruiters charged with weeding out the talent. Openings come and go, but a good candidate will pick and choose from the options and, often, even, choose to evade the job offers altogether – to instead find their current dissatisfaction has been cured by the ego boost. After all, experience professionals know all too well the value of their expertise and have one main reason for sourcing so-called greener pastures on the other side of the fence: career dissatisfaction. It might be a salary issue, a problem with the powers that be, a personal issue with a colleague or, perhaps, the mere boredom of the familiar.

Career dissatisfaction turns into a hunt for something better. And, it seems, the thrill can often be in the chase rather than the kill. Recruiters know all too well the burden of a headhunted candidate – or perhaps even the candidate who goes looking – that eventually decides to stay right where they are. The mere chase was enough to cure the career blues – and the thought of “well, if I really wanted to go, X would have me” is often enough to make the formerly disgruntled employee once again cosy in the comfort of familiar territories.

But true career dissatisfaction can return to haunt again and again – meaning the recruiter is called into action on a regular basis by individuals not so certain that they want to leave their current position, but interested in the reassurance that there is something better out there.

Career dissatisfaction has found an outlet, through career therapy, a session of which can be found through a legal recruiter. Jason Johnson, managing partner of Johnson Executive Search, says that getting into the mindset of a potential candidate is all part of the job. He says that partners are shifting more frequently today than five years ago, which can be attributed to a “cultural transformation” of a number of major firms, potentially leaving employees dissatisfied.

“Any significant change program will naturally cause concern within the partner ranks of a law firm,” says Johnson, pointing to the example of new partner remuneration models as a primary cause of skepticism and fear. “Lawyers are generally risk-averse and change-averse, so the propensity of partners will often be to push back on major change initiatives.”

Enter the recruiter – ears at the ready to listen to the issues, concerns and fears of a dissatisfied worker. Kirsty Spears, a recruiter with Hughes Castell, says she sometimes feels she is on the giving end of a therapy session. “It can feel a little like therapy and you do learn to recognize those with genuine issues at work and those form whom no role or organisations will ever be the right one,” she says.

Surely venturing down the path of a new profession can get a little frustrating? “It is only frustrating when candidates are complaining, but then won’t do anything to change their situation,” says Spears. “Obviously we are more than happy to help them do that!”

Of course, not all candidates leave their current positions for negative reasons – especially if they’re looking for opportunities overseas. Jonathan Walmsley from Dolman agrees that getting deeper into the psyche of an interviewee is all part of the process.

“I find that when you first interview candidates and delve a little deeper into their rationale behind a potential move, you can see that they really want to give you a full and frank disclosure, but try and hold back to appear professional,” she says.

Walmsley says the more a candidate can be open and honest in explaining the reasons behind their dissatisfaction, the better the recruiter will be able to find a position that solves the discussed issues. Having been a lawyer previously, Walmsley knows all too well how quickly a position can turn sour. “However,” he says, “there are times when pent up negative feelings can spill over into a full-on moan – which can be therapeutic for the candidate but can be frustrating for the recruiter if this is a repetitive exercise.”

Hays Legal’s senior recruiter, Benjamin Carter, believes that while the potential candidates he meets might be frustrated in their current positions; they’re generally serious about finding a new position and not necessarily looking to let off steam. If letting off steam was a candidate’s prerogative, he says, he’d be comfortable in taking up that position. “Sometimes we speak to people who are simply looking for some advice,” he says. “Often they contact us in the future when they decide they want to look for a new role.”

And with all that venting, it would seem possible for the recruiter, on occasion, to get a little too close to candidates. Spears says that while she has several ex-candidates she would call her friends, the notion of tough love can be difficult to form relationships around. “Sometimes you need to give tough feedback or hard-to-hear advice and that would be very hard to do with a friend,” she says.

So if therapy it is, it seems that recruiters are willing to offer as much of it as a candidate needs – provided that when the candidate is ready to actually leave, exclusivity is maintained. Spears says honesty is the key from both sides of the process: “Despite the perception that recruiters always chase the fee, an ethical recruiter will always give good advice – but we can only do that if we know the full story,” she says.

Honesty is always the best policy, so be open and vent if you must. But remember, mere complaints alone won’t make a negative situation go away.

[Source: Human Resources Magazine, 24th June 2008]