Your Recruiter is there to Help
It is a difficult job market, but your recruiter (headhunter, employment agency – call them what you will but be nice) is there to help. They are overwhelmed with resumes and underwhelmed with job opportunities at the moment. While you want to stay fresh in your recruiter’s mind, you don’t want to stalk them or waste their time by applying for jobs where you don’t qualify. So what’s the best approach?
- Research – Research recruiters before contacting them to ensure that they cover your field, industry, location and salary range. You can usually do this by visiting their website where they generally list their specialties. Some recruiters list current opportunities and filled positions which can give you an indication of what types of jobs they fill.
- Be Prepared – You should be prepared to tell your recruiter about your current work experience and exactly what type of job you want. This is a good place to practice your elevator speech (see “Do you have your 30 second Elevator Speech?“).
- Tell the Truth – A simple statement but so often not followed. There is an excellent chance that if you lie about credentials, compensation or where you worked it will come up at some point. I’ve seen people fired several weeks into a new job because they lied about a college degree and the background check was not fully completed until after they were hired.
- Be Flexible – There are so many factors to consider when looking for a job – salary, bonus, vacation, hours responsibilities, location, etc. While you don’t want to waste their time (like applying for jobs that are paying far less than you will accept), you do want to be flexible in your approach when considering potential opportunities and interviews.
This leads to today’s Recruiter website link listings/reviews.
- The Rachman Group – This Executive Recruiter is a retained search firm (see Retained vs. Contingency Recruiters) which focuses on a number of industries and handles both permanent and contract staffing. Their main page lists the industries they cover and provides links to current positions and “Submit your Resume”.
- Talent Asset Group – Based in Connecticut, they are a national recruiting firm and specialize in Human Resources, Sales and Marketing. Their main page offers and overview of the firm and links to research resources. Tabs at the top provide links to Recruiter profiles (along with contact information), interview tips and a link to job postings.
- Career Advocates International – Career Advocates specializes in Banking, Finance, Marketing and Sales. They also provide career coaching services. Links to strategic partners is listed on their main page as well as career related articles. Click on “Contacts” for a list of recruiters by specialty.
- Grimes Legal – Grimes is a global legal search firm. Their main page offers links to a company overview, job postings, post resume and a blog. Their resource center also provides video hiring solutions and links to other resources.
Good luck in your search.
