It has come to my attention that some of our more recent competitors to the Rec-to-Rec market have been exercising bullish and certainly very pushy work practices. Here, at Hamilton Professional, we firmly believe in partnering with our Candidates and Clients and working transparently, honestly and holding ourselves to a high level of professional integrity.
So, I feel there is an urgent need to educate all Recruiters (and particularly the more junior ones) out there on how Candidate/Client ownership actually works with Rec-to-Recs. The purpose of this article is to educate you and give you ammunition to push back and protect your profile and image in the market.
Candidate/Client Ownership
In Rec-to-Rec, the Candidate is King. What this means is that you, the Recruiter, have the power to either give permission to your Rec-to-Rec consultant to represent you (mention your name, even) to a Client, or withhold such right. Your permission is everything and will constitute whether the Rec-to-Rec will get a fee for connecting you with the opportunity.
Real Life Example
A Rec-to-Rec approaches you via LinkedIn and you decide to have a coffee. You meet with this person and they list 7 or so business names that they are claiming are their Clients. You are finding this person rather pushy and tell them that you want to do your research before deciding on whether to meet with any of the firms presented.
The Rec-to-Rec then (real life story!) sends you an email, listing the aforementioned firms and stating (in no less uncertain terms) that “if you end up working for any of these businesses, then I am owed a fee”.
Hold you horses, press pause here, rewind… What!? This is not how it works! This is PUSHY and BULLISH. Do NOT get intimidated by this – you have all the right to push back. Just because they listed agency names to you, does not mean anything. The Rec-to-Rec should be asking you for permission to represent you to any of the firms that they mentioned. They have no ownership or right whatsoever until you give them permission to represent you to their client.
Conclusion
You, the Candidate/Recruiter, hold all the cards. The lesson to take is, do not let yourself get intimidated into thinking that you are in any way obliged to work with any Rec-to-Rec, until you explicitly give your permission.
At Hamilton Professional, we endeavour to present you with the latest and best opportunities to suit your requirements, enabling you to fulfil your career ambitious. The work that we do is based on building trust and long-standing relationships in the market with both our Candidates and our Clients. So, next time you are looking to make a move in the right direction in your Recruitment Career, keep our advice in mind and say NO to bullish Rec-to-Rec practices!
