How to work with Recruiters?

Happy International Woman’s Day!

Tomorrow I am travelling to our NYC office for woman empowerment outreach activity.  As we celebrated the international woman’s day yesterday, we have invited few woman immigrants from a non-Profit organization who need help to find a better job.  Being part of the Panel, one main question that all have in their mind is  ‘How to work with Recruiters’

Prepared pointers for them and thought of sharing..... 

Recruiters - There are 3 sets of recruiters

1)      Corporate Recruiter -  If you work  for a bigger company, in your  HR department there will  be associates  your co-workers  hiring for  your  company  -  They  are called Recruiters / Talent  acquisition Group/ Team.

2)      Vendors / Head Hunters - If your company is small  or  in  case if your  recruiters are NOT able  to  meet hiring needs of your company , then  we work with  lateral  recruiters / vendors /Head Hunters.  The company is outsourcing the recruitment duties with these Vendors. These vendors have an agreement with the company, service our hiring needs /demands, and are being paid on a contingency basis.

3)      Retained Search / Executive Search: It is similar to Head Hunters - but they are involved in search of Niche Skills or executive level associates.  These Firms are paid an upfront fee for their service and also get paid based on the joiner confirmations.

The recruiter of your company and the vendor you work with have 1 major difference.  The recruiter is aware of the demands in your company ONLY. However, the vendors you work with have been helping in the hiring process for many different companies, hence have more opportunities for you.

Below are few pointers to  keep  in  mind when working  with  recruiters / head hunters/ Vendors , before you  land in  your  dream job.

1)      Connect Proactively.

Proactively reach out to the recruiters via LinkedIn, who recruit in the field you are looking to get in.

                                       i.            Do  NOT  be afraid to  get connected with  recruiters - They need to  know  that you  exist

                                     ii.            Get connected - through LinkedIn, email send message and share your resume with them and let them know you are interested in the role /position that they have shared/published.

                                   iii.            They are FREE to you.

2)      Know what you are looking for.

When get to work with recruiter/ headhunter, do NOT go open ended, that you are OK with any job.  If you come with a mindset of any job, you will definitely end up getting NO job. You need to be specific enough with all the particulars you are looking into like

         i.                    Job Experience
       ii.           Abilities
     iii.            Qualifications
     iv.            Job Title
       v.            Salary
     vi.            Location
    vii.            Industry

You need to articulate these clearly with the Recruiter, so they understand you  better and match  you  with  demands/role  accordingly.

3)      Perfect the ‘Tell me about yourself’

All recruiter want to know 

   Brief explanation of your  background

       ii.           Skills

     iii.           What you  are able  to  do

     iv.            What type of job fits you next

Most recruiters are NOT technically specialized that you come from, hence do NOT spend a lot of time getting into the details. Be concise and to the point.

4)      Resume / LinkedIn Profile should  be Top Notch

Your profile should be MORE attractive and compelling, so it is easily picked / shortlisted by the recruiter. As you know they hardly take 5 to 10 seconds to review your resume. Either it makes a cut and ends up with the hiring manager, else shelved.

5)      Be Flexible and Open.

When you work with recruiters, they will be calling you when you at your current job too. They want to talk to you about an opportunity or about an interview.  So keep them well informed about your availability so they can call you accordingly.

If the recruiter is NOT talking, do NOT take it personally.  Remember their priority is to work for their client’s demand. If you are the right candidate for their demand, you will receive the call. It is both luck and timing that plays big role here….  Do NOT put lot of pressure on 1 recruiter. You can work with a couple of more recruiters simultaneously

6)      Be HONEST 

 Let the recruiter know how serious you are looking for next job.  If you are just exploring to check the market - let the recruiter know…  You  are only  doing a disservice  to  yourself  and recruiter and wasting  the both  of your time  and the recruiter and yourself by  NOT telling  the truth.   Being dishonest will lose the credibility with anyone that includes recruiters too. Also NO harm oversharing details. If you are working with  more than  1 recruiter - simultaneously – but keep  them  well  informed with  the progress -  Client , status…. Also over communicate with the recruiter…. This helps to create a bond and you can take advantage of it.

7)      ‘Ask questions’ 

This is a critical item in my list.

a.       Why the position is open , how many similar positions are open

b.       How  long  the position is open

c.       What qualities of me, make me a good fit

d.       How many others are interviewing

e.       Talk about  Travel / Benefits / Telecommute

f.        What is the process - Internal evaluation / client evaluation - Proactive hiring / Skip level evaluation - Who is the decision maker? 

g.       How  long is the process -  some have background verification -  small  client close  it by 2 to 3 weeks, but clients like  Google take 2 months. 

h.       How often can I hear from you

i.         One important questions - whether recruiter has any vacation plan, will there be backup and will there be a connect email, connecting you with the backup recruiter.

j.         Last 2 critical  questions

                                                                     i.            I  have some technical  questions, can you  share the POC to  get in  touch  with

                                                                   ii.            Are there any other questions, the other candidates are asking, which I missed.

Hope these pointers help and lands you in the dream job you wanted to be in….

Good Luck!