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Need a Promotion? Work with a Recruiter

There is a lot of advice out there for how to get a promotion. Most of it focuses on how to apply for a promotion, stand out as a candidate and negotiate the terms of your new role

However, there’s little advice about how to seek a promotion with the help of someone else. 

Not many people realize that you can work with a recruiter to seek a promotion. You probably are more familiar with recruiters who seek external job candidates to fill jobs. But there are many different kinds of recruiters and situations where you can use their services to help you in your career. 

Internal recruiters know that often, the best candidate for a job is an existing employee who already has experience and rapport with the organization. If you are hoping for a promotion soon, it’s worthwhile to reach out to your company’s recruiter to discuss your qualifications for any open roles. They may have the perfect job for you! 

So why work with a recruiter and not just pursue internal positions yourself? You could do that, but there are many benefits to going through a recruiter. 

Here are some reasons why working with a recruiter can increase your chances of success in getting that promotion you deserve:

4 Reasons Working with a Recruiter Can Help You Get That Promotion You Need

1. A recruiter knows what jobs need to be filled.

How do you know about open positions in your company? Most companies have a job board, or you may hear rumors about empty roles that need to be filled. Occasionally, there may be a gap in duties and skills that warrants creating a new position. 

To hear about these opportunities, you have to keep your ear to the ground, network and check the job board frequently. 

Or you can save yourself the effort by going straight to your organization’s recruiter. 

A recruiter’s job is to fill open positions, so no one knows what positions are open better than they do. They are usually the ones posting jobs online and speaking with hiring managers to determine what roles need to be filled. They even may know about future positions that are being created or vacated. 

If you are looking for a more advanced job, notify your recruiter and ask them to keep you in mind when new opportunities arise.  

2. A recruiter knows what the hiring manager wants.

Working with a recruiter can give you inside knowledge of the inner workings of management. If you want to be promoted to a higher-level job, you need to know what kind of employee that role’s supervisor needs. 

Recruiters work with managers to write job descriptions and identify the characteristics of an ideal candidate. This means they often can tell you what qualifications are necessary to meet a hiring manager’s expectations and give you a realistic view of your chances of securing the promotion.

3. A recruiter understands the hiring process.

Other insider information your recruiter can share is how the hiring process will work. 

You probably have a basic understanding of how your organization hires, but if you have never changed jobs internally before or if it’s been a while, it doesn’t hurt to have a knowledgeable guide on your side. 

A recruiter can offer tips for polishing your resume to highlight achievements pertinent to the promotion you’re seeking and advise you how individual managers like to interview. As you follow the promotion process, the recruiter can keep you informed of the timeline and decisions. 

All of this makes the process easier for you so you can put more energy into impressing your superiors and not stress about the finer details of the process.

4. A recruiter is invested in your success.

Wouldn’t it be nice to go into promotion discussions knowing you have someone on your side? That’s exactly what you get when you work with a recruiter. 

A recruiter’s success depends on finding suitable job candidates. They want you to get that promotion because it reflects well on them too. A good recruiter will do all they can to get you into the right role to benefit the company because it benefits them also.  

When you work with a recruiter to pursue a promotion, it’s like having a temporary career coach. They can save you time and stress by helping you find a beneficial new role and preparing you to convince management to promote you. An experienced recruiter simplifies the process for you and increases your chances of success. 


The next time you want to take a step up the corporate ladder, don’t do it alone. If you are the right person for the job, it’s the recruiter’s job to help your organization put you there.

If you’re looking for more articles full of career advice, check out SelectOne’s blog here.

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