Job Seekers – DO you want a sure fire way to get recruiter’s to call you back? To be proactive? To work FOR you?

( Please Note: this article is courtesy of Phil Rosenberg, a US Recruiter and industry blogger. We thought you might find his perspective interesting?)

By Phil Rosenberg – reCareered

Job Seekers – DO you want a sure fire way to get recruiter’s to call you back? To be proactive? To work FOR you?

( Please Note: this article is courtesy of Phil Rosenberg, a US Recruiter and industry blogger. We thought you might find his perspective interesting?)

It’s so simple, and so few candidates do this. The higher up on the management chain the candidate is, the more effective they can be using this strategy. Interestingly, the higher up on the management chain the candidate is, the LESS LIKELY they are to actually do this! It’s such an easy way to stand out, such an easy way to get priority and additional help from recruiter’s.

Unfortunately, reaction to a difficult job market causes many candidates to take out their frustrations on recruiter’s – this is counter-productive for the candidate. It’s not a recruiter’s job to help candidates, but they can provide tremendous help if they wish to help you.

The best way to encourage a recruiter to help you is by adopting a different paradigm – Flip your old way of thinking 180 degrees.

Stop even thinking that a recruiter works for you … they don’t. They work for the client, and are paid only if they find an exact match in a competitive recruiter market. Retained recruiter’s are also paid to find exact matches.

Recruiter’s work with hundreds or thousands of candidates at the same time. Why aren’t you getting a call back to “check in”?

Here’s are the cold, hard facts of life:

  • It’s not a recruiter’s job to call you .
  • It’s not a recruiter’s job to return your call, unless they have news to advance you for a specific position.
  • It’s not a recruiter’s job to update you on the market or on a specific opportunity.
  • Most recruiting offices are not staffed to provide communications for the sake of “politeness”.
  • Often the person that the candidate communicates with is a “sourcer”, and is not the person in contact with the hiring manager – that’s often a senior recruiter, who typically spends time talking to hiring managers, rather than candidates.
  • Good recruiter’s work with more candidates than just you – they work with thousands.
  • It’s not the recruiter’s job to manage your career – to a recruiter there’s just no time. You’re asking them for help, remember?

So how can you change this? Adopt the mentality that you work for the recruiter’s!

OK, you don’t want to be a headhunter … so how are you going to work for recruiter’s?

Here’s 10 tips:

  1. Work for the Recruiter: Tell the recruiter’s you work with that you will work for them … and mean it. Back it up by giving them information about available jobs and candidates.
  2. Be an exact match: Give FAST turnaround and customize your resume within hours to be an exact match for the job. The fast matches get interviews.
  3. Provide Value: Every time you speak to a recruiter, have something to give them that they find valuable, even if they call you – A job lead, a candidate referral, a web resource, a networking event. If a recruiter recognizes WIFT (What’s In It For Them) and they recognize they get valuable information every time they talk to you, then they’ll call you back.
  4. Personalize: Not every recruiter goes to networking events, so provide value that’s important to THAT recruiter. Recruiter’s specialize, and most Technology recruiter’s can’t help your friend in Accounting, and don’t care about openings in customer service. Ask the recruiter what information is valuable – what should you keep your eyes open for?
  5. Be responsive: Call the recruiter back quickly. Recruiter’s win interviews by responding quickly. If you respond quickly, the recruiter has a better chance of getting you an interview.
  6. Co-Opt: Make the recruiter feel like a friend. People naturally work harder for people they like.
  7. Respect the recruiter’s time: Email is an efficient communication method for recruiter’s. Even though you may prefer the phone, think WIFT.
  8. Be a Fountain of Info: About your past employer, about current interviews, about jobs you’ve seen. Tell all – information is your best currency.
  9. Help in matching: If you see a job that a recruiter lists, if you are a strong match – send a customized resume(revised to match the job & keywords), with a very brief email to let them know why you are a match. If you are a stretch and don’t match all the criteria, don’t send.
  10. Provide introductions: Set the recruiter up in person meetings with relevant hiring managers and candidates. If you can’t do in person, use emails and/or LinkedIN.
    And as a bonus, #11
  11. Be Positive and friendly: Be nice, make their day. Recruiter’s don’t like putting bitter people in front of clients.

I can’t tell you the number of candidates who put themselves into conflict with recruiter’s by withholding information, even when directly asked. The job market is more and more transparent each day, so telling a recruiter what companies you’ve interviewed with, what jobs you see, won’t increase competition. If that recruiter doesn’t pitch the company for the job order, someone else already is. So withholding doesn’t lessen your chances of getting THAT job, but it creates mistrust between the recruiter and you.

I challenge you to try this tactic for a month. After you’re HONESTLY tried these tips and find recruiter’s who don’t respond to this…fire them and work with someone else.