In the last few months I’ve recruited for roles that have slipped through. The woes of a recruiter are few and far between, but every once and a while something happens in the industry that gets on our collective nerves.

As a recruiter, the effort we put into dealing with a candidate and getting them to a client is significant. Most candidates seem to think that recruiters just shuffle paperwork between clients and candidates, but for a client to say the candidate already applied directly, or they are already interviewing, when the candidate has been fully screened, and mentioned nothing to the recruiter regarding this is a gut-wrenching feeling.

I thought I’d spend a few moments discussing the work that we do, so we can showcase the value that recruiters give to both clients and candidates. To help with this analogy, let’s talk about baseball.

In baseball, the pitchers are the one that sets up the play, not the captain. You can of course use the cricket analogy that the bowler is the one that dictates where the batter will hit the ball, but the same principle applies no matter what continent you’re on.

In recruitment, our clients set the field. They give us all the requirements that we need, and it is up to us to pitch correctly to the candidate. When candidates accept the pitch, they are doing so with our strategy in mind. When they send us their C.V., they do so under the field set up by the client. But after all that, it is the work of the recruiter that kickstarts this process.

In baseball, the batter is ultimately the one that decides how to hit the ball, in order to strategically put the team in the best position to score. This can range from a full-on swing for the home run, to a bunt in the short field. The pinch hitter is the substitute batter, who will often go in to bat for the team when a particularly tough play requires it. The tougher the situation, or the harder to navigate means the pinch hitter can be swapped in.

The recruiters job is to place the candidate in the best position to get the role. We have a lot of options available when it comes to setting candidates up for a role. A recruiter’s job is about finding out how to place a candidate for a role, and while we do make mistakes it’s a lot easier to set yourself up on first base than to go it alone when you have someone to swap out with.

Going for a role without a recruiter is like going into baseball without only a single batter. You can do it, but it does make it easier when you’ve got the team and the intent around you. For candidates, think about how using a recruitment agency can benefit you. By understanding the work behind the scenes, you can ensure you build the best chance of landing your next big role (especially in Digital at S2M!).