There was a reporter for the local paper who covered the local professional football team and the National Football League. He made a great statement once about mediocrity. He said, “Many years ago, there were 12 National Football League teams and 12 good quarterbacks. Now there are 32 teams and 12 good quarterbacks.” Wow. What a comment on mediocrity.As a job seeker, and I’m sure I speak for almost all job seekers, we tend to downplay recruiters and HR professionals in our job searching lives. We all have had the situation where an executive recruiter never returned our call even after they recruited us for a job opening. It’s so disappointing.

To us, they’ve been mediocre performers.

It’s partially a sign of the times. It seems like nobody returns calls these days. We also have to realize that the executive recruiter works for their clients and not for us.

It seems that there so many recruiters and so few good ones.

Executive Recruiters in a Whole New Light

Quite some time ago, an executive recruiter was helping me to change my resume for a job he had. He gave me a statement which, to this day, is one of my major branding statements and a substantial part of my 30 second speech!

Despite the fact that I never exactly matched their opportunities, a lot of recruiters have contacted me and continue to be interested (at least yet). Their degree of attention is truly astounding considering how many people won’t even pick up the phone or answer their emails.

After learning that a company where I had an interview had rejected me, I had an executive recruiter try to get me hired as a temp with the possibility of becoming full-time so the company could assess my abilities. That’s creative thinking at work!

Advice for Job Seekers

So my advice for job seekers is to network with recruiters. Follow up with them. Keep yourself in their minds as they receive new positions. Make it so they are always thinking of you. I try to let those executive recruiters who have been good to me know every week or two that I am still available for work and am looking. They really appreciate it and it keeps me fresh in their minds.

For me, there has been such a payback since recruiters contact and remember me when they have openings that they might not have otherwise sent my way.

Therefore, recruiters are a wonderful resource for job seekers. No, not every agency or company team has a great recruiter, but you can find one if you look. Good things will occur if you locate them, keep in touch with them, and treat them well.

Henry Motyka is a guest blogger for Blogging4Jobs.  His work experience is very eclectic covering fundraising, finance, & consulting.  Plus, he’s an MBA.  Connect with Henry on Twitter @henrymotyka or on LinkedIn.