You DON'T NEED a Recruiter
Here's what you need instead
Unless you are a business owner struggling to find top talent to help you meet your bottom line, you don’t need a recruiter.
If you’re a job seeker a recruiter MAY reach out to you if you’ve applied to a job that they are actively working on. In that case, take the call, ask questions about the role and expectations and learn about the next steps in the hiring process.
If you’re a job seeker and you haven’t applied to a particular job that a recruiter is working on, odds are they don’t want to talk to you.
Not because they are mean. It’s because they are actively employed trying to fill multiple specific roles for a particular company. In other words, they get paid to fill a need for a company. They do not get paid by candidates to find them jobs.
While I believe you’ve heard some myth about the one guy (your sister’s girlfriend’s cousin-in-law) who randomly reached out to a recruiter and landed a job the next day — and while there are exceptions to every rule, if your plan is to find a job this way - you’ll be disappointed and dejected in a week.
RECRUITERS work for companies. Not you.
Recruiters are humans who would like to keep their jobs, make their commissions/bonuses and they do that by sticking to specific protocols and processes set forth by the company. Those protocols generally includes posting job openings, reviewing every applicant for potential fit, performing exploratory initial calls with applicants who seem to fit the bill based on the specific posted requirements. If those initial calls lead the recruiter to believe that the applicant might be a fit, they will schedule a first round interview with the hiring manager or their designee. The recruiter will generally serve as the applicant’s point of contact from initial intake to either an offer or rejection.
(Photo by Magnet.me on Unsplash)
Recruiters also do outbound searches for commonly open roles (think entry level) or roles they have been told may be open in the future. These searches are done based on specific criteria of the hiring manager - including everything from proof of experience to geographic location to industry. In this case, if a recruiter has previously communicated with an applicant who fits the bill for one of these upcoming roles, they will call that person to talk about the role. They also will reach out to people who are passively looking for a job as indicated by their status on LinkedIn.
Recruiters want to get to know you and your goals and your proof of experience in your past role. They generally do not have time to go beyond an initial chat determining those things if you are not a fit for a current or imminent opening. That is because they get paid by the company (whether they are an agency or in-house recruiter) and not by you.
(Photo by The Jopwell Collection on Unsplash)
With upwards of 30 or more requisitions on a recruiters docket each week and (at minimum) 50 candidates per requisition each week - that’s a number of hours of work - not including time on calls, time spent with hiring managers, leadership and interview teams and providing reporting to leadership.
As you can see, it’s generally not worth your time to seek out recruiters and ask to have a chat.
Instead, look for recruiters in your network by asking your colleagues in your field who they’ve worked with, or what companies they know are hiring. Follow those recruiters on LinkedIn. Comment (with useful insights) on their posts and articles and generally become visible as someone who knows their job and can add value ot any organization. This is, of course, the long game - building your reputation before you need to lean on it to find your next job.
The more ways you stay on the radar of leaders in your field, the more likely a recruiter will reach out to you to see if you’d be interested in a conversation.
What you do need is a coach, mentor or guide who understands the ins and outs of networking, building visibility and playing the long-game in order to find your ideal next job.
Need help learning how to use LinkedIn (and other tools) for building your network and gaining positive visibility? Schedule a consulting call with me. Remember, all paid subscribers receive 10% off every coaching session.
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