It is somewhat misunderstood the role of a recruiter regarding candidates, the JOB SEEKER. What everyone needs to understand is that recruiter’s work with clients to find candidates for the clients open positions! That is how a recruiter gets paid. Recruiters do not find jobs for candidates.
What I want to share with you here is how to find a recruiter that may be looking for someone like you but has not found you yet or how you can take the bull by the horns and become your own recruiter. Finding the right recruiters, ones who work the skill set you have and the industry you come from, will allow you to get your resume in front of the right ones. Being able to talk with them when you get your resume in front of them will start a relationship that could pay dividends. This will be akin to networking. Once a relationship is established you will have some name recognition with them. And, if the next position they are searching for with one of their clients happens to fit you, guess who will get a call?
Let me digress for a moment and tell you how to find the right recruiter. You can start with GOOGLE by GOOGLING “recruiter directory”, “recruiting directory”, “headhunter directory” or any number of combinations that will get you to directories. You won’t need to look at everyone of them but look at several of them and pick the one you like the best. Here are two examples that you may like:
1. Headhunters Directory http://www.headhuntersdirectory.com/
a. When you get to this web site
i. Click USA or country of choice
ii. Select State
iii. Select City
iv. RESULT:
1. Agency contact information
2. Email link (on most, not all)
3. Web site link
2. Recruiters Network http://www.recruitersnetwork.com/
a. When you get to this web site
i. Recruiters Directory and Headhunter Database
ii. Chose several directories to search for your recruiter of chose
You want to be sure to pick the right recruiter for you. Picking recruiters that call themselves a “Generalist” is not the best pick. By billing themselves as a “Generalist” they are claiming to be able to place anyone anywhere. Their mindset is typically recruiting is recruiting. “I can place anyone anywhere”. Not necessarily true. Think of this; who is the better recruiter to connect with, one who specifically works in your industry with your skill set, someone who has contacts in the industry and knows what is going on with the industry and your specialty, or, someone who says they can be all to all? I think you know the answer! Pick a recruiter that specializes and you will be much better off. In the directories you can find specialists and you should reach out to as many specialists as you can. Communicate with and get your resume in front of as many recruiters as you can. This is a form of networking you can’t ignore.
When you talk with recruiters to qualify their background determine if they have the following:
1. What companies they place with
2. What kind of talent they place
3. How many candidates have they placed at these companies
4. How long have they been in the business
The recruiter should have a strong client base, work with your kind of skill set, have placed multiple candidates with their clients and have some tenure in the business. It doesn’t hurt to send recruiters not fitting your parameters your resume, however, if they do fit your parameters they are the ones you want to keep in touch with.
Let’s get back to the mindset and training many recruiters get. That will help you understand more about how to work with them. Recruiters usually specialize in a specific industry and are typically trained to contact companies in their industry to market a candidate to those companies. The candidate is sometimes called their “Most Placeable Candidate”, or MPC. They contact companies without knowing if they are even hiring, they are looking to market a candidate looking for a position they could turn into a search assignment and a company they can turn into a client. They are not actually looking to place or find a job for their “MPC”. They could, however, coincidently find a position that fits and the company be interested in the candidate. It is not necessarily bad to be a recruiters “MPC” but you should understand the reality. Recruiters seldom place their “MPC” candidates.
If you are more inclined to think like a recruiter than become your own recruiter, then you need to reach out to a recruiter and talk with them. Remember what I said above about “MPC”. When you contact a recruiter and they tell you they will market you to their client base that usually means that if a position comes across their desk that fits your background they will call you. If they say that they are constantly in contact with people in your industry and will watch out for a position that fits your background, again, they will call you. Very few people a recruiter works with will be an “MPC”. When you think about this, remember, it is not bad. You have your resume in a recruiter’s database, have talked with them to start building a relationship and are in a better position with them than if they never heard of you and have to go find you in a resume database such as www.monster.com or www.careerbuilder.com. By becoming known to a number of recruiters, you are one up on many others at this point.
Really want to take control of your job search? Want to be your own recruiter? Remember, recruiters find people for jobs so they know where the jobs are and the companies that are looking. They work the hidden job market. At the very least, they are not afraid to contact companies looking for positions they can search on. If you are ready to take control, do what a recruiter does. Basically, they research the companies in your industry, find the key players you can contact, develop a contact list and make contact.
Research companies to see what they are up to and find some contacts you can contact. Refer to a previous BLOG I wrote on RESEARCH titled JOB SEARCH! The RESEARCH; for better results in your JOB SEARCH, have a plan, execute the plan. http://jobsearch-rsc.blogspot.com/ You read this BLOG and you will have everything you need to know about research. With that research do what recruiters do, contact the companies. Talk with them about their need for someone like you. Offer up your resume and ask to keep in touch to further develop a relationship. Exchange information if you can and ask for leads and anyone else you may be able to talk with about “what you can do for them”. Remember the “what you can do for them”. Typically they are not interested in hearing about how you are the greatest thing since sliced bread unless they hear “what you can do for them”. So when you talk with your contacts let them know of your accomplishments that fit what they do and will illustrate to them “what you can do for them”. You will be adding value to the relationship you are building and will make a much greater impression. That’s what good recruiters do and the more successful ones do it well.
When you are in conversation with contacts you may be asked what you are looking to do. If that is the case, be specific. Have an OBJECTIVE that is meaningful. You DO NOT want to say something like “I am open to any opportunity where I can utilize my education, skills and experience to the benefit of the company and my career”. Think about that for a minute. Who doesn’t want to do that? When you state that, you are one of many. How can you stand out with an OBJECTIVE like that? You need to be able to set yourself apart from the masses and with an OBJECTIVE like that, you likely will not. State something like “I am looking for a PROJECT MANAGER position where I can use my skills (state your skill set) in (state the industry) to advance my career with the many accomplishments I have had in the past and expect to have in the future”. If you have multiple skills and are open to more than one position state “PROJECT MANAGER” or “ACCOUNT MANAGEMENT” position. The point is, be specific, not generic. Specific will likely get you specific; generic will get you generic or nowhere at all.
You will likely find that as you contact the companies you research you will inadvertently be tapping into other networks. By asking if you can friend the people you talk to on Linkedin, Face Book, etc, you start expanding your network and become more visible. You must network and make yourself more visible in order to enhance you job search.
One additional comment about Linkedin or Face Book; look up the companies and people you contact on these networking sites. You can use the information for further research and ask to connect and befriend them. Many people will connect with you if you reference that you spoke with them and are thanking them for their time. As those connections grow you will find access to others and become more visible. Many recruiters use Linkedin as a recruiting tool and it is another place for you to be discovered. Also, in your ”professional headline” on linkedin, use a title that will attract more attention than say “PROJECT MANAGER”, “PROJECT ENGINEER”, “ACCOUNT MANAGER”. How about Telecom Project Manager, Power Train Project Engineer or Utilities Account Manager? Think about this; a recruiter is looking for an Account Manager in the Utilities industry and does a key word search for “Account Manager” “Utilities”. Several results come up but they see in your professional headline “Utilities Account Manager”. Where do you think they will go first?
You will be much better off if you take control of your job search and be your own “RECRUITER”. Recruiters are more focused on business development and doing search assignments than helping people find jobs. They are looking for people! You should want to control your own destiny and will be much better off if you do.
There is far more to this than what can be covered here. Watch for my other BLOG’s on all topics JOB SEARCH at http://jobsearch-rsc.blogspot.com/, you won’t be disappointed.
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