Working with a Recruiter to Land a Job in Psychology
The benefits of working with recruiters for psychology jobs include access to unadvertised positions, industry insight, and job seeker coaching.
Despite a nationwide shortage of mental healthcare professionals, securing a job in certain psychology fields can be challenging. Some of the most competitive positions include tenure-track professors at top research universities, clinical psychologists, and forensic psychologists.
Learn how a recruiter can help you land a psychology job, even a competitive position.
Why Work With a Recruiter to Find a Psychology Job?
Using a recruiter to help with your psychology job search offers numerous benefits, including:
- Inventorying your skills and interests to target the best career path
- Helping you create a stand-out resume and hone your interview skills
- Offering inside information on potential employers
- Opening doors to unadvertised positions
- Negotiating salary and benefits
Finding a Recruiter for Psychology Jobs
Some recruiters, known as internal recruiters, are internal employees of hiring companies. Others are third-party, or external, recruiters.
You can find psychology recruiters online. Posting your resume on a site like LinkedIn or HigherEdJobs will attract the attention of recruiters in your area. The American Psychological Association’s PsycCareers site allows you to upload your resume and access job boards and virtual hiring events. You can also contact recruiters directly.
Here are a few external recruiters who can help you find a psychology job:
- AMN Healthcare: AMN focuses on healthcare recruitment, including in psychology, counseling, and social work.
- Barton Associates: Barton places psychologists into temporary positions.
- LocumTenens: This agency recruits psychologists and social workers for temporary and temporary-to-permanent assignments.
- PsychPros: PsychPros specializes in recruiting and placing candidates in all areas of behavioral health.
Interviewing with a Psychology Job Recruiter
Recruiters for psychology jobs will often schedule a phone screening interview with you before meeting in person. You can expect the recruiter to provide a comprehensive description of the job responsibilities and employer expectations.
The recruiter will ask you about your current position, career goals, and salary expectations. You’ll also be given time to ask questions. The phone screening is the time to highlight your strengths, as recruiters may use it to narrow down the candidates they refer to their employer clients.
Next, the recruiter will set up interviews for you with their employer clients. These may take place at the client companies or organizations or the recruiter’s office. After the interviews, the recruiter will contact you to discuss how the interviews went and ask for your thoughts on the employer and the position.
Your recruiter will advise you on any documents you need to submit, handle any required tests, and present any job offers to you.
Psychology Jobs Recruiter: Advantages and Disadvantages
This section covers the advantages and disadvantages of working with recruiters for psychology jobs.
- Recruiters can save you time and energy researching and applying for jobs.
- Recruiters can increase your prospects of landing a job.
- Recruiters provide an inside track to unadvertised jobs.
- Recruiters offer tips and advice on successful interviewing.
- Recruiters can help you maximize the impact of your resume.
- Job seekers don’t pay for recruiter services.
- Recruiters get paid by the employers, so they may pressure you to take a job that isn’t the best fit.
- Recruiters can make mistakes, so it is unwise to relinquish complete control of the process.
- Some recruiters are better than others, so you’ll still need to research them or the recruiting organization.
Tips for Working With a Recruiter
- Prepare for your phone screening as if it were a job interview.
- Anticipate answers to common questions, such as your career goals, your strengths and weaknesses, and your ideal company culture.
- Do your research on reasonable salary expectations that match your experience and education.
- Be honest and open about the types of jobs you want and those you don’t.
- Make a list of questions to ask the recruiter.
- Be honest, respectful, and polite.
- Respond to messages from your recruiter promptly and thank them for their help.
Psychology Job Recruiter: FAQ
Psychology professionals are in demand, but some positions remain competitive. Coveted university teaching and research psychology jobs and those in the high-paying clinical and forensic psychology fields tend to attract numerous applicants.
