In her blog post at Cincy Recruiter, Searching For a Job? Don’t Call a Recruiter – Think Like a Recruiter, Jennifer McClure speaks to a pervasive misconception about recruiters:
“Many job seekers … believe (or hope) that the answer to their current situation is to contact a Recruiter and turn over their job search to them.”
The reality is, things just don’t work that way. As she puts it:
The straight scoop is that it’s highly unlikely a Recruiter will personally take on your job search, provide you with contacts that are hiring, make calls for you, or (shocker) even place you in your next job. Typically, individuals placed by Recruiters are identified in one of two ways. They’re either found out of the blue (cold-called) by a Recruiter searching for someone that specifically matches their skills and experience, or they were top of mind for a Recruiter when an opportunity came along (specifically matching their skills and experience).
She cautions that, in today’s economy recruiters are pretty much in the same boat as job seekers. With jobs harder to find, they have fewer “job orders” coming their way and are increasingly devoting efforts to developing new business.
Her advice when job seekers ask what can they do if recruiters aren’t the answer — “If you can’t beat ’em, join ’em” – do just what they are doing to drum up business.
She offered 4 meaty strategies to “make like a recruiter, become your own headhunter, and create opportunities for yourself”:
1. You must get out and network.
Attend networking and professional association meetings, make regular phone calls, schedule meetings with key relationships to keep in touch, etc.
2. Focus on helping others.
Adding value to relationships will pay off by making them more inclined to want to help you, with an introduction, referral, whatever.
3. Develop and communicate your “Brand” effectively.
With such fierce competition, each of us must work to distinguish ourselves from the pack, make sure people know what we offer, and become memorable to them.
4. Research companies and opportunities to “position yourself to be lucky”.
Many an opportunity is uncovered by reading newspapers and industry or professional publications and keeping an ear to the ground.
Related posts:
Recruiters Use LinkedIn To Find C-Level Executives Like You
Executive Job Search: Blogging Attracts Recruiters to Your eBrand
