Episode #329 – Why You Need an Animal Health Recruiter or Veterinary Recruiter, Part 1
Caleb: Welcome to “The Animal Health and Veterinary Employment Insider,” brought to you by The VET Recruiter. In this podcast, Animal Health executive recruiter and Veterinary recruiter Stacy Pursell of The VET Recruiter provides insight and practical advice for both employers and job seekers in the Animal Health and Veterinary industries. The VET Recruiter’s focus is to solve talent-centric problems for the Animal Health industry and Veterinary profession. In fact, The VET Recruiter’s mission is to help Animal Health and Veterinary companies hire top talent, while helping Animal Health and Veterinary professionals attain career-enhancing opportunities that increase their quality of life.
Today, we’re starting a new series about why professionals need an Animal Health recruiter or Veterinary recruiter. Welcome, Stacy, and thank you for joining us today.
Stacy: Hello, Caleb. As always, I’m glad to be here with you.
Caleb: Stacy, we’ve talked about the value of an Animal Health or Veterinary recruiter before. Why did you feel the need to revisit the topic and also to do so with a series of podcast episodes?
Stacy: One of the reasons is I believe that professionals in the Animal Health industry and Veterinary profession still have mistaken assumptions and beliefs about recruiters and their role in the marketplace. And because of that, I think these professionals are selling themselves short and selling their careers short. More people need to realize that an Animal Health recruiter or Veterinary recruiter can be a tremendous resource.
And another reason I’ve decided to address this topic is a question that a candidate asked me last year.
Caleb: What was that question, Stacy?
Stacy: The candidate asked, “Why do I need a recruiter if there are so many jobs?”
Caleb: Actually, that is sounds like a rather logical question to ask.
Stacy: It does, and I could understand why the candidate would ask that question. After all, not only is the National Unemployment Rate still very low, but the unemployment rate in the Veterinary profession is even lower than that.
Caleb: And we have discussed the current and future veterinarian shortage multiple times on the podcast.
Stacy: Yes, we have! So those are all reasons why that question sounds logical. However, just because there is low unemployment, the job market is good, and there are plenty of jobs does not mean that professionals do not need an Animal Health recruiter or Veterinary recruiter. The argument can be made that you need a good recruiter just as much when times are good as when times are bad. In fact, the argument could be made that you need them even more now.
Caleb: And I am guessing that we’re going to make that argument today. Or to be more accurate, you are going to make that argument.
Stacy: Yes, that is right, I am, and I will be making that argument during the next few podcast episodes. In the process, we are going to dig deeper and examine not only all of the value that an Animal Health recruiter or Veterinary recruiter can provide for professionals, but also the reasons why those professionals are reluctant to use recruiters and partner with them. It can sometimes be a complex and multi-faceted situation.
Caleb: Before we get rolling, can we examine the psychology of this kind of situation? Is it just that candidates believe they can conduct a quality job search themselves and that they do not need a recruiter. What is behind their reluctance to partner with one?
Stacy: Multiple things, actually. First, as you said, they believe they can conduct a job search themselves when they want to do so. However, everyone these days is extremely busy, and it is difficult for professionals to conduct a thorough job search. That is especially the case when they’re already employed, and right now, veterinarians are pretty much at full employment. I have said this before, and it’s still the case: I haven’t met an unemployed veterinarian who actually wanted a veterinarian job in several years.
I think another reason is that some professionals don’t have much experience working with recruiters, so they’re apprehensive about doing so. This is part of being in the comfort zone and trying to maintain the status quo. But like the old saying goes, “If you do what you’ve always done, then you’ll get what you’ve always got.” If you want to grow your career in new and exciting ways, then you have to do different things. You have to try different things, and one of those things could be working with a recruiter.
Caleb: That does make sense. What about the matter of trust? Do some professionals not trust working with a recruiter?
Stacy: That could be the case, especially if those professionals have had a poor experience working with a recruiter in the past. And if that’s the case, then I certainly can’t blame them. However, that just underscores the importance of finding both an experienced and reputable recruiting firm that has a track record of placing people just like you. There are certainly plenty of recruiting firms out there that are not experienced and are not reputable. This is why it’s important to conduct research and make sure that you find a recruiting firm that can actually help you accomplish your career goals and reach your professional potential. I recommend looking for a recruiting firm that has been around a long time and places professionals like you. If you are a veterinarian, you don’t need a recruiter who places accountants or lawyers. You need an expert veterinarian recruiter who knows the profession in which you work. You also don’t want a fly by night recruiter but look for someone who is well established and has placed many people with similar credentials to you and who has a good track record.
Caleb: How much does confidentiality play in candidates not trusting recruiters or not wanting to trust recruiters? Are they afraid that their employer will find out that they’re talking with a recruiter and then their employer will view them as disloyal?
Stacy: That’s a great question, and yes, that does play a large role in terms of why some professionals may be reluctant to trust recruiters. In fact, candidates ask me questions about this sometimes. They ask questions like:
- “Is this process confidential?”
- “Are you going to make sure that my employer doesn’t find out I’m exploring other opportunities?”
- “Does anyone know that I’m interviewing with this company?”
I assure them that as a professional Animal Health recruiter and Veterinary recruiter, it is my hallmark to keep the confidentiality of candidates, job seekers, and professionals. In fact, not only do I practice confidentiality with candidates, but I also do so with my firm’s clients. It’s part of my job and default setting for how I operate on a daily basis.
In fact, allow me to share exactly what I tell my clients when it comes to preserving the confidentiality of a candidate’s job search.
Caleb: Okay, that would be great. What do you tell them?
Stacy: I say the following:
“The interview process is a ‘two-way street.’ At the same time that candidates are attempting to prove themselves to you, you should also be attempting to prove your organization to candidates.
“This means treating all candidates involved in the process with the same level of respect that you expect them to treat you with. There are two main things that you should respect in regards to candidates. You should respect their confidentiality and you should respect their time.
“Top candidates are likely employed, and as a result, they’re conducting their job search in a confidential fashion. They don’t want their current employer—or anyone else, for that matter—to know that they’re conducting a job search.
“Since these candidates are employed, they’re interviewing during the day. This means they have to make arrangements for interviews while still maintaining the confidentiality of their job search. So as an employer, you should avoid inconveniencing them with an interview process that involves multiple interviews. You also should not keep rescheduling interviews with candidates repeatedly.
“If you don’t respect the time and confidentiality of candidates, then they will be more likely to drop out of the process and you’ll lose your opportunity to hire them.”
Caleb: Wow, it does seem like you take confidentiality seriously. Do you do the same thing with candidates? I mean do you tell them that you practice confidentiality with your clients?
Stacy: I do. Yes, my hallmark is confidentiality and I also protect the confidentiality of our firm’s clients as well. Sometimes candidates want me to disclose the name of the employer when I’m not at liberty to do so at a certain stage in the search process. And there are valid reasons why I’m not at liberty to do so.
One of those reasons is that the employer could be replacing an underperforming employee or they’re in the process of hiring “under the radar.” As a result, some employers will not want the executive recruiter to disclose its identity until a certain point in the process. So it’s important to point out that I don’t withhold the name of an employer to keep the candidate “in the dark.” It’s not a reason why the candidate should not trust me. Instead, I do so to honor my client’s request for confidentiality until we reach the appropriate stage of the process.
Caleb: All of that makes sense, Stacy. It also seems as though there are many professionals who, like you said, are working under mistaken assumptions and might even believe things about recruiters that just aren’t true.
Stacy: Yes, sometimes it is because they don’t know better or are not educated on how search firms or the executive search profession and how things are expected to work.
Caleb: So with all of that in mind, let’s continue our discussion about why Animal Health and Veterinary professionals need an Animal Health recruiter or Veterinary recruiter and especially why they need them when the job market is good.
Stacy: I have a list of reasons why a professional should want to work with a recruiter even if the job market is good and there are a lot of available positions. And the first reason is that companies expect top talent to be represented by a recruiter.
Caleb: I’ve always been curious about that. Do employers really take more notice if a candidate has representation by a recruiter?
Stacy: Yes, that is the case. For one thing, when a candidate is represented by an Animal Health or Veterinary recruiter, the hiring official knows that the candidate is likely a passive candidate, and passive candidates are more likely to be among the top 5% to 10% of the candidates in the job market. In addition, if the employer has enlisted the services of the Animal Health or Veterinary recruiter, then the hiring official is more likely to give that candidate more credence and credibility. You have to remember that when employers use recruiters, one of the reasons they use them is for their ability to find candidates that they can not find on their own.
Caleb: And candidates can use the fact that the recruiter has a relationship with the hiring manager to their advantage, correct?
Stacy: Absolutely! This represents some of the major value that a recruiter can offer to professionals. And of course, this is a relationship that the candidate does not have with the hiring manager or hiring authority. In fact, they probably do not even know the name of the hiring manager and would have to conduct research in order to find out their name. Recruiters have access to hiring managers. In the job market it is about having access.
Caleb: And when a professional works with a recruiter, they have access to all of that information automatically if they’re a viable candidate for the position.
Stacy: They certainly do. And you can imagine how long it would take for them to accumulate that knowledge on their own. Once again, we’re talking about passive candidates who are already employed and are quite busy. They are gainfully employed, highly regarded and busy working in their current position.
But there’s something else that recruiters know that professionals in the field do not, in addition to the hiring manager and the organization for which the hiring manager works.
Caleb: What would that be?
Stacy: That would be the employment opportunities that exist in the job market that professionals don’t know exist. And they don’t they exist because those opportunities are part of the “hidden job market.”
Caleb: We’ve discussed this before, too, haven’t we? The Hidden Job Market
Stacy: We have, but it bears repeating, because opportunities that are part of the “hidden job market” are typically of a higher caliber. These are important, high-level positions that organizations want to fill on a confidential basis, for one reason or another. Employers are NOT going to blast these positions all over the big job boards. Instead, they’re going to entrust them to a recruiting firm because they want a methodical, proactive, confidential search to be done to uncover the right candidates.
Caleb: So you’re saying that your typical professional in the Animal Health industry or Veterinary profession thinks they can just get online anytime they feel like looking at what jobs are available and get the full picture of the job market? But that’s not really the case.
Stacy: That’s correct, it’s not really the case. In fact, it’s more likely that the really good opportunities, the jobs that could affect their career and their life in an overwhelmingly positive way, are part of the “hidden job market.” And the only way they’ll be able to access those opportunities is through partnering with a recruiter.
Caleb: I see a trend here. It seems as though some professionals think they can do the work themselves and achieve the same results as they would achieve by working with a recruiter. But nothing could be further from the truth.
Stacy: That is correct. I’ve been a recruiter and search consultant for more than 25 years and I know this to be the case. Unfortunately, it is sometimes difficult to change a person’s belief system or their frame of mind. In many cases, only experience will help them to understand the true value that an Animal Health or Veterinary recruiter can provide.
And then, of course, there is the issue of time, which we alluded to previously, but have not really explored in any real depth.
Caleb: Can you elaborate on that?
Stacy: Yes, of course.
Time is a precious asset, especially for individuals immersed in full-time employment. Juggling the demands of a job and the pursuit of new career opportunities can be an overwhelming and time-intensive task. That’s where a recruiter enters the picture.
Recruiters shoulder the responsibility of sifting through job postings, pinpointing potential matches, and submitting resumes on your behalf. Serving as a filter, they ensure that you invest your time solely in pursuits aligned with your skills and career objectives. This enables you to channel your efforts into your current role, while the recruiter takes charge of the time-consuming task of identifying suitable job openings.
Caleb: It seems to me that saving time would be one of the big advantages of working with a recruiter, for a couple of reasons. First, a job search is a time-consuming process, and that’s if you do it 100% correctly. If you don’t do it at a high standard, it can cost even more time. And second, recruiters spend much of their day connecting with hiring authorities at companies in the industry where they work, and they have access to these hiring managers. They have more access to hiring managers than the average job seeker would.
Caleb: Stacy, I noticed that we’re just about out of time, and we really packed a lot into today’s podcast episode. But as you alluded to earlier, this is a deep subject and one that we’ll continue to explore in the weeks ahead.
Stacy: Yes, it’s a deep subject, but also a very important one.
Caleb: Stacy, thank you so much for joining us today and for all of this great information about why professionals need an Animal Health or Veterinary recruiter.
Stacy: It’s been my pleasure, and I look forward to our next episode of The Animal Health and Veterinary Employment Insider!