Welcome to understanding the CS recruitment landscape! As a developer or tech professional, you'll encounter different types of recruiters who operate very differently from each other.
Knowing which type you're dealing with changes everything about how you should approach them and what to expect in your tech career.
Engagement Message
Name one action a helpful tech recruiter took in your experience.
Let's start with internal recruiters. These are full-time employees who work directly for the tech company that has the software engineering or technical opening.
They're paid a salary by that company and their success is measured by filling developer positions quickly with qualified candidates who can pass technical interviews.
Engagement Message
What's one advantage of working with a recruiter who is employed by the tech company?
External recruiters work for technical recruiting firms, not the hiring company. They're hired by tech companies to find developers for specific roles.
They typically get paid a commission only when they successfully place someone - usually 15-25% of the new hire's first-year salary, which can be substantial in tech.
Engagement Message
How do you think this payment structure might affect their behavior?
The third type is staffing recruiters. They work for staffing agencies and typically focus on contract, freelance, or contract-to-hire developer positions.
They often have ongoing relationships with tech companies and continuously place developers in various short-term projects or temporary roles.
Engagement Message
Name one type of tech role that staffing agencies most often fill.
Here's why these differences matter: Internal recruiters care about technical culture fit and long-term success since bad developer hires reflect on them personally.
External recruiters are motivated to close deals quickly since they don't get paid until someone passes the technical interviews and gets hired.
