What is missing from your job search?
Through years of being a headhunter, writing and editing resumes, cover letters, and personal statements, interview coaching, and providing consultations to job seekers on creating the right online presence, I have learned that most people are underutilizing recruiters. This goes for both, those who are actively seeking employment, and those who are happy in their current roles.
The truth is, unless you are a recruiter who specializes in a specific field, you likely don’t know the inner workings of the hiring process across all companies in said field. It would simply take too much time and effort to study ever-evolving employment and salary trends, confidential employer requirements, levels of competition, and more – all things that good recruiters are intimately acquainted with by nature of their day-to-day work. The disadvantages of this blind spot can be detrimental, resulting in missed opportunities, inadequate compensation, lost promotions, and overlooked perks.
So, what can a recruiter really do for you?
o Help you cast a wider net.
If you are an active job seeker, how many hours a day do you spend on job boards, reading through job descriptions, researching companies, and submitting your applications? A recruiter is a valuable, free resource that can help you search more passively, freeing up more time to learn new skills or take a break in between roles.
o Coach you through the interview process
Recruiters tend to work with their clients on a long-term basis and have the opportunity to get to know what each hiring manager looks for in a candidate, what questions they tend to ask, and what their disqualifiers tend to be. Using the hiring managers’ feedback on previous candidates, they can often tell you, exactly, what an interview will look like, what questions might come up, how to answer them, and how precisely to sell your skills.
o Be your advocate and negotiate on your behalf.
Many companies do not advertise their salaries online, forcing candidates to go through an often-lengthy interview process without knowing whether the compensation will be in line with what they seek. Negotiating for higher pay and better perks and benefits can be awkward, but a good recruiter will prompt an honest conversation about your requirements early-on in the relationship and only match you with openings that pay accordingly moving forward. As many know, most specialized headhunters are contingency agents (hence the name). Because their fee is correspondent to the salary you’re offered, you can count on them to advocate for you when negotiating on your behalf, saving you an uncomfortable conversation, and landing you the best offer possible.
Now, here is what we can do for you as a jobseeker: Help you build a resume that recruiters and hiring managers in your field actually want to see.
Have you ever wondered why some highly qualified people around you (maybe, even, yourself) cannot seem to get a call back from a company to which they have applied? I realized, very early on in my recruiting career, how two candidates with very similar professional backgrounds can have two very different resumes – one that gets interviews and one that does not. If you feel that your resume is not landing you the opportunities you deserve, you can call us for a free chat to see how we can make your relevant experience stand out.