Interview Preparation: Types of Recruiters

In-house Recruiters

In-house recruiters only represent the facility or system that they work for. They typically live in the area they recruit for so they can speak firsthand about what the area has to offer. They will also have firsthand knowledge about the practice and medical community, as well as knowledge about a specific opportunity. In-house recruiters are sometimes assigned specific areas or specialties to recruit for, so your colleagues in a different specialty may be working with a different recruiter.

Contingency Recruiters

Contingency recruiters work with multiple listings over a wide or nationwide area. They obtain their information from phone conversations, and while they can introduce you to a variety of opportunities and locations, they may not know if a specific opportunity is right for you. Contingency firms are smaller agencies whose business model is based on marketing your CV. While contingency recruiters work to get your CV seen by organizations as quickly as possible, you can ask that your information will not be given out without your permission. A good way to do this is to ask the recruiter if they are members of the NAPR, whose ethical guidelines prohibit the sending of unsolicited CVs.

Retained Recruiters

Retained recruiters have clients that have engaged their agency to recruit for their opportunities. They typically work closely with the organization so that they can have firsthand knowledge of the area and medical community. These recruiters are also focused on just the organization they were hired to recruit for, so you don't have to worry about them sending your CV out to other organizations in an effort to see who will pay to view it. They are independent brokers, so they are best used if there are cumbersome questions that will be best directed to a third party.