Recruiters vs Coaches...why all the negativity?

I learned about a newish feature on LinkedIn recently that I think everyone should be using to improve how you show up in recruiter searches. Here’s a quick video showing you how to turn it on!

Another jobseeker resource I’m jazzed about? This week’s sponsor: SucceedSmart! You’ll read more on them below but if you’re either seeking or hiring for director+ roles, you’re going to want to check them out.
Candidates, among other things, they offer a free platform, free coaching and more to try to make hiring more equitable for candidates from underrepresented groups. I don’t normally plug a sponsor in so many times in an issue, but I wanted to make extra sure y’all saw it. 🙂 

One thing you probably see a lot of on LinkedIn is what seems like an ongoing battle between recruiters and career coaches.

I wanted to talk about that today!

Why the rivalry?

We’ve got two groups of people in the same space (getting people jobs), but their goals and priorities are at odds with each other.

Recruiters get paid by companies for hiring highly qualified candidates.

Career coaches get paid by individuals for accelerating their job search.

Side note here: Any recruiter who charges you or says you need to pay them a percentage of your salary is scamming you. You do not hire a recruiter; they are hired by companies..

Sometimes, coaches rightfully call out bad behavior by recruiters.

But one way for coaches to gain clients is to signal that the job search is complicated and that recruiters aren’t “on the same team” as jobseekers. This way, they can position themselves as an expert that can help bridge the gap.

And when the market is tough, lots of coaches pop up - some who have minimal experience.

Recruiters sometimes rightfully call out poor advice from unqualified coaches. And they may also just lump all coaches together at times when some are giving great advice or offering great services.

And lots of recruiters ALSO offer coaching services so differentiating themselves from other coaches by bashing coaches is a way to build business for themselves.

Bottom line, there are good and bad recruiters. And there are good and bad coaches.

So how do I decide who to trust?

1. Remember that the advice that’s right for you might be wrong for someone else.
   Industry, location, and experience all matter.
   Someone might give GREAT advice for an early career candidate based in the US, but it would be bad advice for an executive based in India.
   Someone who recruits for technical roles may be totally out of touch with the experience or advice someone transitioning from the military would benefit from.
   So check out the context of the advice and see if it’s relevant for you and your career.

2. Stay away from anyone who offers a silver bullet.
   Do they claim that you’ll have hundreds of interviews within a month of using their resume?

   That their clients doubled their salaries after their $2500 course?
   Do they suggest that have some “secret method” that no one else knows that will land you jobs you’re unqualified for?
   Chances are good that these are false advertising. Stay away.
   A reputable coach is going to be honest and realistic with you about what’s possible.
   If they lack experience in your field, they will decline to work with you.
   If you have unrealistic expectations, they will tell you.
   Try testing them out - go in and tell them you’re looking for a position you know you’re unqualified for or a salary you know is not reasonable for your field, and see if they are honest with you.

3. Vet the person’s expertise.
   One very popular coaching company creates lots of viral content. And it makes sense - the people behind the company have backgrounds in marketing and sales! But none of their full time employees seem to have backgrounds in recruiting. So for me, they are great for entertaining content (and our views are helping them make tons of money) but I wouldn’t buy coaching services because I have no evidence of expertise there.
   I’ve seen someone who coaches transitioning educators but never worked in education. That’s a no for me.
   I’ve seen someone who went through a sales bootcamp and has 2 months in their sales role who is now coaching people to “break into tech”. That’s a no for me.
   If I’m going to hire someone to support my career development, I’m looking for experience in my industry, experience coaching people like me, and strong references.

4. Get references
   This is tough. Texts and emails can be faked. So can online reviews. But I’d do a few searches. Post on LinkedIn and ask for people to share their experiences. Invite people to DM you (I have seen some people who are afraid to publicly share negative experiences with someone due to that person’s brand and platform.)
   Reddit or Fishbowl are places you can check for anonymous feedback.
   And ask for work products - ask them to share a client they’ve worked with who is willing to talk to you. Ask for examples of their resumes.

   Don’t just go off of a great resume - some of these folks are simply the face of the brand, but don’t actually produce quality work themselves and even outsource their work to sites like Fiverr.

   There are some good coaches out there but there are also lots who are more focused on making sales than adding value. So do your research and stay skeptical before turning over your money.

👀 Here’s some interesting stuff in my world! 👀

A big one: I logged into Twitter and decided to start using it to to share job openings real-time. If you’re on Twitter, follow along for daily job postings! And let me know what kind of jobs you’d like to see using this poll!

And I also just hit 350k followers on LinkedIn - thank you all for your support!! I’m holding a happy hour with some recruiting friends to celebrate - if you’d like to chat with a few great voices in the recruiting space, join us!!

🙋Answering Your Questions🙋

Each week, I’ll answer a few of your questions in this section. You can submit your questions here.

Resumes (or LinkedIn profiles!) are marketing tools - so I suggest using language that will resonate with your audience!

That said, I understand your concern around this causing confusion later in the process.

One way to communicate both is to use the title that will resonate most with your audience and then include your formal title in parentheses. Ex. Recruiter (HR Manager).

You can also explain once in the interview what your formal title was.

Hope this helps, and good luck!

🛫 Community Connections 🛬

Products/services that I think will support you in your job search.*

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Final Draft Resumes offers resume and LinkedIn profile writing, and the founder, James Cooper, also runs a newsletter, the Jobseeker’s Gazette. If you’re looking for a reasonably-priced resume service, check them out. Get your new resume today.

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_{*This section may include ads/affiliate links}

The In-Flight Amenities 🍱

Each week, I share job openings within my network and a featured jobseeker that I hope we can all support in their job search.

Jobs you need to check out:
Zapier is hiring as always! We just posted two content marketing roles that could be great for many of my readers!!
As noted above, I’m sharing jobs posted on Twitter now!!
A friend of mine just posted this Admin role based in San Jose!
Spotted this REMOTE Chief External Officer opening for someone with a non-profit here!
Tons of opportunities listed here with Audit Board (and you’ve got a direct contact at the company!)
A rare recruiting opportunity listed here with 2 contacts at the company!!
A friend of mine is hiring a Director of Talent - if you’re in education, check it out!
And as always, I share jobs regularly in my Talent Collective! (If you’d like to share jobs, we’d love to have you!)

A jobseeker you need to hire: Meet Ashleigh Bergh!
Hi y’all! I’m Ashleigh – and I’m obsessed with all things Customer Success and Experience.

(I’m what most people would call a People Person - and I might be a top contender for the most People-y People Person of them all.)

Throughout my 15+ year career, I've been lucky enough to work with customers, clients, and communities of all backgrounds. My #1 priority has always been ensuring my customers maximize the value of their products and services. By actively listening to feedback and adjusting where necessary, I strive to continuously improve engagement and adoption. And I gotta say, building lasting relationships with everyone I work with has been the best part of it all.

I speak fluent customer – whether it's helping a customer wrap their hands around a solution that already exists, or facilitating feedback to product and engineering teams, I approach every conversation through an empathy lens. I not only explain what’s important, but why it's essential - not just to the customer, but to the company, too!

For example - in my most recent role as an enterprise account manager for a SaaS company, my expertise lead to:

Exceeding growth and retention targets (203% and 132% averages) for a portfolio of 40+ B2B and B2B2C global enterprise customers

Building and managing 15+ learning modules and 75+ topic lessons; writing 100+ pieces of content, and executing 200+ edits for an enterprise customer's custom online learning course.

Increased global product adoption by creating 150+ pieces of segment-focused documentation, customized workflows, and onboarding training decks for both technical and non-technical audiences.

I'm looking for mid-to-senior level roles and exploring all roles related to Customer Success and Relationships, Channel Partnerships, Solutions and Enablement, and Product Evangelism. If you’re looking for someone who can communicate value, translate customer feedback into actionable insights, loves strategizing on how to make the most of a product, and isn’t afraid to ask lots of questions - I’d love to connect!

Think you might have a role that’s a good fit for Ashleigh, or be able to help make a connection? Add her on LinkedIn, or email her, and let’s get Ashleigh hired!

Interested in having your story shared? Sign up here!

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