What Does a Recruiter Do and How Do You Work With One?

A recruiter matches candidates to open jobs and manages the hiring process on behalf of an employer. In practice, that means sourcing candidates, screening them, submitting a shortlist to a hiring manager, coordinating interviews, and often negotiating the offer. You work with one effectively by treating the relationship as a two-way professional exchange: be clear about what you want, respond quickly, and understand who is paying the recruiter, because that determines whose interests they represent.

Recruiter vs. employment agency vs. staffing firm

These terms overlap, but they describe different business models.

Term	What it usually means	Who it serves
Recruiter	A person who sources and screens candidates for specific roles	The employer (client)
Employment agency	A firm that places candidates with client companies, often across many roles	Employers, sometimes candidates
Staffing firm	Places workers into temporary, contract, or temp-to-hire assignments	Employers
Corporate / in-house recruiter	Employed directly by one company to hire for that company	That single employer

A single firm can do all of these. Employment Atlanta, for example, describes itself as an Atlanta employment agency and recruiter providing staffing and permanent placement for accounting and finance professionals — so it functions as both an agency and a recruiter depending on the assignment.

The main types of recruiters

Contingency recruiters are paid only if their candidate gets hired. Employment Atlanta states it works on a "straight contingency basis, so if we can't find the proper candidate for your position, there is no fee." This is the most common model for mid-level roles.
Retained recruiters are paid in installments, usually for executive or hard-to-fill searches. They work exclusively on one role at a time.
Corporate / in-house recruiters work for one employer and hire only for that company.
Agency recruiters work for a staffing or search firm and represent multiple client employers.

For a candidate, the practical difference is reach: an agency recruiter can submit you to several employers, while an in-house recruiter can only place you at one.

How the placement process typically works

Intake. The recruiter takes a job order from an employer, covering the title, must-have skills, salary range, and timeline.
Sourcing. They search their database, job boards, referrals, and networks for candidates.
Screening. A short call or meeting to confirm skills, experience, availability, and pay expectations.
Submission. Your resume goes to the hiring manager, usually with a summary of why you fit.
Interview coordination. The recruiter schedules interviews and briefs you on the format and the interviewer.
Offer and negotiation. The recruiter relays the offer and often negotiates salary and start date.
Placement. You start; the recruiter collects their fee from the employer.

Who pays the fee

In the contingency and retained models described above, the employer pays the recruiter, not the candidate. That is the standard arrangement for professional placement, and it is how Employment Atlanta describes its own business.

This matters for two reasons:

A legitimate recruiter should not ask you for an upfront fee to find you a job. If one does, treat it as a warning sign.
Because the employer is the client, the recruiter is ultimately working to fill the employer's need. They can still be a strong advocate for you, but they are not your agent in the way a lawyer is.

Note that the source material does not state candidate-side pricing or guarantee free services to job seekers, so confirm the arrangement directly with any recruiter before sharing personal details.

Practical steps for working with a recruiter

Before you contact one:

Update your resume with quantified results, not just duties.
Decide your target titles, industries, and locations.
Set a realistic salary range and a walk-away number.

When you speak with one:

Be specific about what you want and what you will not accept.
Ask which companies they are submitting you to, so you do not get double-submitted.
Confirm the fee model: "Who pays your fee?" is a fair and normal question.

After the call:

Send a short follow-up email summarizing what you discussed.
Respond to messages within a day; slow replies cost you submissions.
Check in weekly if you have not heard back, but do not flood their inbox.

Common pitfalls

Treating the recruiter as your only channel. Keep applying directly and through your network in parallel.
Exaggerating experience. Recruiters verify claims with employers, and a mismatch ends the process.
Being vague about salary. "Open to anything" usually means you get screened out or lowballed.
Assuming the recruiter will find you a job. They work open roles; if you do not fit one, they may not call for months.
Paying a fee. For professional placement, the employer pays. Confirm this in writing if you are unsure.

A concrete example

Suppose you are an Atlanta-based staff accountant targeting a $70,000 role. You contact a contingency recruiter who handles accounting and finance placements. You send a resume showing three years of general ledger and month-end close experience. The recruiter screens you, submits you to two client companies, and briefs you before each interview. One company makes an offer; the recruiter negotiates the start date and relays the written offer. The employer pays the placement fee. You never pay the recruiter, and you keep applying elsewhere until an offer is signed.

That is the model in its simplest form: the recruiter fills the employer's need, and you get access to roles that may not be publicly posted.