Question and comment about 'recruiters'...

[DaveJ]

This may sound naive. I have questions that are interwoven an idea on how to improve the economy.

First the question: Are there any companies that will actually help job seekers find a job that matches what they are seeking, instead of simply filling employers' job reqs?

Recruiters should really be called 'req matchers' because they seldom actually 'recruit'. They do not actually interact much with the applicants at all. Maybe they will have one or two interviews just to punch our information into their computers and that's about it.

I mean, I know business dictates (appropriate since we are in a dictatorship) that recruiters must fill the needs of the employers, period, however the problem is job seekers are not privy to all the jobs being offered and therefore unable to make informed selections.

In addition, a 'recruiter' often cannot know what a job seeker is looking for simply by looking at their resume (not that they do that anyway). Most job seekers are willing to take jobs in multiple fields, but again, it is infinitely more difficult for them to seek jobs when many available jobs are never posted, and many (most?) that are posted don't really exist.

Another problem is, a very small minority of people are in the position to offer jobs, maybe 1-2%. So common sense would say that since the U.S. is supposed to be a free country, we should do something to make sure that 1-2% at least attempts to match their offerings to what the public wants.

It's pretty dictatorial and un-free to not question that the top 1% or so is going to decide for us how we spend our entire working lives.

So again, is there any such thing as a person who will work one on one with the job seeker?

[Nikia]

1. I think that there are some, but they charge the employee

Some college career services are better than others. Some state job services are better than others, but I have been disappointed by them.
People in the recruiting/human resource industry spew all this crap about finding the right fit for the job seeker, employer, and position but I think that it is all a plot to keep people in their places. The government is not going to really help people find good jobs if there are still bad jobs out there. Places like Walmart, cheap restaurants, and any other low paying business benefit by having people ignorant of the better jobs that they could get. College educated people of working class backgrounds end up being kept out of jobs which they are qualified for because they don't have a godd "network" and have to compete against the many other college graduates out there and sometimes remain working class as a result.
Honestly, there are jobs that I would almost being willing to pay to work at so they would just give me a chance. Of course I don't mean that seriously because I cannot afford to. I cannot afford to do the short term temp thing even. Some people can afford that because their families will support them until they get a good job.

[serryjw]

2. Unfortunately, The employer

is paying handsomely for the RIGHT employee. They want what they pay for. When I was 25 (1975)I went to an outplacement counselor. I PAID $1000 for the guidence to help jump strat my next step. It was well worth it. I got a 30% increase in pay.

[doodadem]

3. First of all, you have to understand some differences

I am a headhunter/recruiter. What most candidates do not understand, is that a headhunter is not working for you. Our fees are paid by client companies to fill a set of requirements for a particular job. If you answer an ad, or contact a headhunter, and you have a pretty hot skillset, you will get their attention. If not, you go into the database as a possible match against future requirements. It has most definitely been a buyer's market for the past several years, with tons of good candidates, unemployed.

Companies that find jobs FOR people, are called Employment Agencies. The candidate pays a fee for the agency to find them a job. I don't know if there's even any out there anymore.

I specialize in candidate recruitment, as I don't like dealing with client companies anymore. So all of my business is "splits" with other recruiters. I find candidates in a number of different ways, the hardest being actual cold calling. When you say we are "requirements matching", you bet we are! If not, we don't stay in business very long.

You are absolutely correct in that alot of jobs are not advertised/posted. There are many reasons for that--it could be that the company needs to replace someone who is not performing and wants to do a confidential search, they may not want to be inundated with candidates who may or may not be qualified, etc. They may even want a specific person at another company--in the past, I've had clients say, we want this person at our competitor's. Go get them for us.

"Another problem is, a very small minority of people are in the position to offer jobs, maybe 1-2%. So common sense would say that since the U.S. is supposed to be a free country, we should do something to make sure that 1-2% at least attempts to match their offerings to what the public wants.
It's pretty dictatorial and un-free to not question that the top 1% or so is going to decide for us how we spend our entire working lives."

Not sure what you mean by that...... Are you saying companies should be forced to hire people they don't want? Don't get me wrong--I am all for my candidates. And there are certain kinds of companies I don't recruit for anymore out of principle, such as defense contractors.

As for working one on one with the job seeker, it sounds like you are looking for job counseling, not a headhunter.