Recruiter for Advertised Position?

dtschultz

I'm curious what you all think about this. Is there any advantage to be had going with a recruiter for an openly advertised position? I don't really see how there would be, but maybe I am missing something. I mean, what does a recruiter offer you? Do they somehow get your work seen in situations where it might not have otherwise?

ZacD

There's a lot of cons with recruiters I've heard. Depending on the contract, if you decide you change your mind about using a recruiter after agreeing to use one, if the company wants to hire you, they HAVE to hire you through the recruiter and give them a bonus, there's no way to back out of it.

Bigjohn

The bonus they pay a recruiter could cost you the job. I've personally witnessed one case where they had several people apply for a job. It came down to a few candidates. Of them, two had obviously better portfolios. But one of those two applied through a recruiter. They ended up picking the one with the good portfolio that didn't apply through a recruiter just for that fact. So they wouldn't have to pay the recruiter fees. Budget being very tight on that project and all.

Honestly, if it's an openly advertised position, I really can't imagine going through a recruiter will help you at all.

ambershee

If the position is advertised and you know which it is, there is absolutely nothing to gain through going via the recruiter. A good recruiter won't tell you who the position is with right away, but you can more often than not work it out by a quick google.

I have however maanged to get work via a recruiter twice - simply by not knowing the vacancy is out there because it hasn't been well advertised.

Snowfly

I'm going through something similar. A recruiter contacted me without revealing his client's name. When I said I was interested, he gave me their full info along with an art test. Well turns out the same position he was trying to fill was listed right on the company's website.

So now I'm going through a small dilemma. Is it bad form to contact the company directly now that I've finished the art test, or respect the recruiter and let him have his fee (supposing I get the job)? He hasn't forwarded my resume to the company yet, so they have no idea I exist. But I wouldn't have found out about the opening without his contacting me, and I'm worried I'll get blacklisted if I try going over him.

This is a $100 million in revenue a year company, so maybe the recruiter fee is peanuts to, but I'm worried that the fact that I'm going through one becomes a disadvantage (like this thread suggests). Thoughts?

Edit: I've gone through a recruiter once before, to land a job at EA. It sucked. I felt they were pushy, wouldn't get me in touch with anyone on the team, and I felt I lost a little negotiating power. When I got in, the HR guy told me straight I should've gotten in touch with them directly... :-/ Swore never to use a recruiter again, but I must be getting soft or something...

dtschultz

Thanks for the responses! This is exactly what I was thinking, but I kept going back and forth, wondering if there was some advantage I wasn't aware of.

Mark Dygert

If its someone the company has been in contact with and hired to find people, then I would feel better about working with the recruiter. The recruiters I've talked to basically work like a friend on the inside of the company, they make sure you can do the job and then pass your name to the hiring manager along with a basic recommendation. That vetting might count for more than just throwing your portfolio over the wall and hoping the security dog doesn't chew it to bits.

But there might be a downside.
You might end up working for the recruiter instead of working for the company, they will probably be taking a chunk of your pay and possibly forcing you to take a break after the contract is over so other clients can get some work.

I have never taken them up on their offers (I've been contacted 4 times now by various recruiters) I have always turned them down because I have a stable job with great pay but maybe someday might go for it if I ever get bored and feel like a switch or I find myself looking for a job and can't land one on my own.

I do think its a little questionable to take their info then go around them and apply, you never know the studio could like your stuff and send you to the recruiter, which could be an awkward conversation when the studio snags the same fish the recruiter has on their line...

SHEPEIRO

ive never used a recruiter, been in contact with them about positions in the past but never ended up using them... so take what i say with a pinch of salt...

but i would say im not sure of the real harm done, by going in alone. In my limited experience recruiters dont have much sway with game developers...maybe more so in big publishers... maybe im wrong but i dont see them doing much for either party they just seam a bit of a pariah... as i said though very limited experience with them...

Mark Dygert

If its someone just trolling open positions looking to insert themselves between you and the studio before you figure out there is an opening then you should probably pass.

Also I think by law all open positions need to be advertised in one way or another so it wouldn't be too weird to see the position open but they are funneling everyone through a recruiter.

One thing you can do if you're looking to get around a recruiter, is contact the studio and ask them if the recruiter is someone they know about and if you should work with them. "Is this guys trying to scam me or is this how you normally operate... oh and by the way I don't know how my portfolio link ended up in my signature..."

Some studios like microsoft do a lot of temp work and will only work through a recruiter, so you'll get bounced their way no matter what if you want to work there, unless the studio really wants to hire the person.

One other thing to keep in mind is if you start working for a recruiter, there is often a pretty sizable fee the studio would have to pay to hire the person away from the temp agency. Sometimes that means they have to fulfill the contract or pay it off so you might be stuck working the entire contract THEN you can be hired full time.

So yea I lean toward not working with recruiters unless you need to, but if you're having trouble landing a gig it might be a way to keep a roof over your head or get you a title or two under your belt.

Fomori

Some good info in this thread. I second Mark's opinion about contacting the studio directly to check how closely they work with the recruiter.

I got my current job through a recruiter. I learnt once I had started that my company has quite a close relationship with the guy at the recruitment agency. So it was totally the right way to go. Plus I got a box of sweets and a notepad from the recruiter when I started. Result!

Eric Chadwick

If you only heard about the position because the recruiter made you aware of it, then you should apply thru the recruiter, it's a simple morality issue IMHO. Just do a little research first, ask the company like Mark suggested.

Also, some companies work with a specific recruiter to help them fill their open spots, and sometimes that recruiter is actually sitting at a desk inside that studio. You don't want to screw that person over. They may actually see all incoming submissions anyhow, so working around them wouldn't work in that case.

If you're considering working with a recruiter, first get some recommendations from friends and colleagues. There definitely are shady recruiters out there, but there are also some very talented and conscientious recruiters as well, who can really pull for you and get access to unadvertised positions. I've talked with some good ones who really have internal access, can help you prep for the interview, can help you find housing in a new city, etc.

That said, I've always gotten my jobs thru friends or online. It's almost always better to contact the studios directly. Unless you're at the lead/senior/mgmt level, where a recruiter might make more sense.

dtschultz

Hey, guys. Thanks for all the feedback. I agree, if you heard about the job through a recruiter then it does seem shady to go around them. I've been contacted in the past for positions I never knew about, but I couldn't figure out what the benefit was for using a recruiter with an already advertised position (especially a recruiter who is not in house). A friend made a good point (along the lines of what you all have said), just be a good businessman and ask the recruiter what they can offer you? Why should you go with them, and then decide from there.