Most people should have realized by now that recruiters are not only useful when you are changing jobs but also when you are perfectly happy within your position. First off, you need to understand how recruiters operate and what their agendas are. Just like they like to provide value when calling you, from your side you can think of what will be of value to them apart from the obvious value of you being interested in one of their positions. That’s why it’s all the more important to find ways to distinguish yourself in a compelling way.
- Stay in contact: Over time, your relationships with good recruiters will prove mutually beneficial as long as you nurture them. Keep track of the good recruiters. You also want to make sure the recruiters you stay in touch with are specialized on your sector/industry and cover the same area that you are interested in. Please be aware that if you are not going to be interested in any positions, communicate this clearly so that you don’t get the recruiter’s hopes up too much.
- Give and get the inside news: Exchange information with recruiters. A decent recruiter will tell you what they have on at the moment and will expect you to tell them what is happening at your company/department/team. Remember that some of the recruiters you deal with will have a direct access to very senior people in your field. You would be surprised how liberal with information senior hiring managers can be, only because they are speaking with a recruiter and not a peer.
- Provide a link to your online portfolio or social media profile(s): “Provide recruiters and hiring managers with all the information they need upfront by including a link to your [social media] profile on your resume. There are also options available for housing an online portfolio with past work experience, all of your social media accounts, as well as a resume.
- Giving Referrals: Whether or not to give out referrals of colleagues and people you know in other companies is up to you. Make sure to agree that this give and take of information stays strictly confidential.
- Put your personality on display in a positive way: Be enthusiastic, talk about your ideas, your triumphs and what you learned along the way. Show them you are creative, innovative and unique!
- Show how you can solve a problem for the organization: Find a problem or opportunity that directly affects the company you are applying to. Clearly outline the steps the company should take.
- Give the company a taste of the work you’d do if you were hired: Take the initiative to show them what having you as an employee would be like. Impress them not only with your initiative, but also with how serious you are about working for them.
- Show what you can do for the organization in the long term: People who aren’t afraid of the tactical work, but who also have a strategic mind. They focus on the future of the organization. They demonstrate their focus by being able to share what they believe they can contribute to the company within the next two to five years based on what they have learned about the organization.
- Your Salary: Be open and honest about your current package, as recruiters can sniff out a liar a mile away. By being open, the recruiter can actually tell you if you are being fairly remunerated or not. This is basically a free salary bench-marking straight from the expert.
- Common courtesy: Always be courteous and return calls from the recruiter. Although the call back rate for voicemails can be low, most people will drop an email or text saying when they are available to speak again.
- Focus on accomplishments and results: Often job applicants put the focus on their skills and their previous positions. The problem with this is that if almost every other applicant approaches it the same way, then there’s little chance of any applications rising to the top of the pile. A good way to stand out is to make your accomplishments front and center. When focusing on accomplishments, be specific. Once you’ve listed your accomplishments, then support them with skills and positions.