What Could Recruitment/Staffing Companies Do Better?
high dynamic range
Hey Polycount,
I got an interesting phone call today from a previous recruitment company that I was hired through for a previous gig, and they were asking me what they could do to better make me feel like I wasn't just an "asset" to them and have better customer service in the future. I wrote that in my exit survey that I felt lke "just an asset."
To you, what could recruitment companies do better to make the process or working with them a better experience than others?
Have recruiters done anything to be outstanding to you?
During that conversation, at least to me, I mentioned that I felt whelmed with everything: everything profesionally went about as expected. They did nothing wrong, they just also didn't do anything to especially make them recommended to other colleagues of mine. I also mentioned that most, if not every single time, the recreuitment company felt like an unecessary wall to get to the hiriing manager because while my resume will get spick and polished at the recruiters request, it ends up being pretty consistently a portfolio judgment call with every single art director/art lead I've interviewed with. I have yet to have a recruitment company have a positive effect on my portfolio work, if any. There will be the usual "your work is great!"
I will also remark that them calling this a customer service call felt . . . off. And it felt as if it further reinforced this cynical tension I have that I'm just useful to them if I can get hired, because then they can get their commission, etc.
I got an interesting phone call today from a previous recruitment company that I was hired through for a previous gig, and they were asking me what they could do to better make me feel like I wasn't just an "asset" to them and have better customer service in the future. I wrote that in my exit survey that I felt lke "just an asset."
To you, what could recruitment companies do better to make the process or working with them a better experience than others?
Have recruiters done anything to be outstanding to you?
During that conversation, at least to me, I mentioned that I felt whelmed with everything: everything profesionally went about as expected. They did nothing wrong, they just also didn't do anything to especially make them recommended to other colleagues of mine. I also mentioned that most, if not every single time, the recreuitment company felt like an unecessary wall to get to the hiriing manager because while my resume will get spick and polished at the recruiters request, it ends up being pretty consistently a portfolio judgment call with every single art director/art lead I've interviewed with. I have yet to have a recruitment company have a positive effect on my portfolio work, if any. There will be the usual "your work is great!"
I will also remark that them calling this a customer service call felt . . . off. And it felt as if it further reinforced this cynical tension I have that I'm just useful to them if I can get hired, because then they can get their commission, etc.
Replies
Basically I wouldn't go through a recruiter that can't make sure he can make me skip some steps due to good personal contacts with the company - and that's very rare for third party ones. Otherwise I wouldn't bother and apply directly. As a junior I would treat them just as training for interviews - no one pays a recruiter to hire/scout juniors, so if they contact you keep you expectations low.
And not to mention they can't judge portfolio for shit
- get rid of the copy paste outreach emails and hand craft them, get the persons name right as a start. ive got so many emails starting with Hi Adam! Hi Jeff! instantly goes to the trash bin for me.
- stop being so cagey with their outreach emails. they always say "i have a large AAA studio looking to hire etc" just tell me the studio and job right off the bat, it makes me think you have a scarcity mindset thinking I will learn about the job and go around you. Im not wasting my time going back and forth for 2-3 emails to find out if im even interested in whatever studio they are trying to hire for.
- actually provide some form of value that is higher than whatever I can do for myself with looking at linkedin/gamedev map/artstation and just applying for jobs myself. if they are collecting a fee for hiring they better be doing something, otherwise that's 2-5k that could have just been added to my salary ask.
- tbh not much more they can do to add value, linkedin, artstation jobs, gamedevmap etc has given everyone the tools they need to pretty much be aware of all the open jobs out there if they are actively looking for work, and managers sliding into the DM to poach people is the other main way hiring goes down these days. 99% recruiters are just basically middlemen that tech is phasing out.
a solid portfolio will act as a recruiter for you, passively bringing you job leads each month once you reach a certain level.
-A recruiter probably
The thing is, that's all quite time consuming and expensive. As such you're not generally going to get that level of attention unless the recruiter isn't working on commission or you're looking at a pay packet that makes the commission big enough to warrant the effort- which frankly a graduate or standard artist isn't going to get.