Keppie Careers

Social media speaker, social media consultant, job search coach

The other side of the hiring desk, pt 4: How to work with a recruiter without becoming a stalker

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desk4cT10796880Today, another in a series of my interviews to share tips for impressing a recruiter! Our topic: following up. When does follow up become stalking? Here is some more advice from my friend and colleague Stephanie A. Lloyd, a Talent Strategies Consultant and Owner of Calibre Search Group in Atlanta, Georgia. She is a National Careers + Workplace Columnist for Examiner.com and also blogs at Radiant Veracity. You can also follow Stephanie on Twitter.

How can job seekers follow-up successfully. When does “follow-up” become stalking?!?

I’ve been dealing with this recently. I’ll start with an example of what *not* to do.

A candidate emailed his resume to me on Tuesday and called immediately “to be sure I’d received it.” He said that he wanted me to “find him a job.” I told him I needed time to review his resume against current openings and asked him to please give me a week before following up as I’m inundated with such requests.

He called the next morning and wanted to know if I’d reviewed his resume. I had not, and asked him again to give me a few days. I suggested that he follow up with me on Monday. On Friday he emailed stating that he would call shortly to “discuss what jobs I had for him.” I replied immediately stating that there is no need; I’d reviewed his resume and didn’t have anything for him at the moment and would keep him in mind for future openings. I suggested doing a search on LinkedIn for other financial services recruiters, reach out to them, and let them know the type of opportunity he’s seeking.

He immediately called and wanted to “discuss why I didn’t have anything for him.” I explained that my open positions are based on my clients’ needs and that right now his experience and skill sets are not a match for anything I’m working on. He proceeded to argue with me and kept telling me that he has “valuable skills” and will do “anything.”

I told him that if I don’t have a position that’s a fit, I don’t have it – and I can’t just pull one out of a hat! He became increasingly annoyed and wanted me to send him a list of my current searches so he could “see if he’s a fit for one of them.” I told him no, that I’ve got his resume, and I’ll keep him under consideration for future opportunities as they arise. He then offered me “a few hundred bucks” to find him a job. (We’ve covered this before…that’s not what recruiters do!!)

This job seeker was pushy and disrespectful. He acted with a sense of entitlement and frankly, based on his attitude and behavior, I would be extremely reluctant to present such a candidate to any of my clients.

Do you need help with your search? Follow this link to learn how I can help propel your job hunt!

Next: How SHOULD you follow up?

The other side of the hiring desk, pt 2: What job seekers should NOT expect from a recruiter

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desk2T80071032It’s important to know what recruiters are thinking, what they do and what they do NOT do if you want to work with one successfully. Read another my series of interviews with my friend and colleague Stephanie A. Lloyd, a Talent Strategies Consultant and Owner of Calibre Search Group in Atlanta, Georgia. She is a National Careers + Workplace Columnist for Examiner.com and also blogs at Radiant Veracity. You can also follow Stephanie on Twitter.

Read on to learn how to be more competitive in the job market!

What should job seekers NOT expect from a recruiter

Job seekers should consider that internal recruiters handle a large number of resumes on a daily basis. Chances are, particularly in a job market like this, they are bombarded with hundreds or thousands of applications from the company’s website and other job postings. Recruiters sort through those resumes and applications in order to find the few that meet the specific qualifications for each particular job opening. That takes a lot of time! Unfortunately, job seekers should not expect personalized treatment until they are identified as good candidates.

Recruiters are not resume writers nor career coaches. Recruiters are not here to “find you a job,” help you change careers or to help you figure out what you want to be when you grow up. (Miriam’s note: that is what career coaches do!)

For candidates who are good matches for a recruiter – how should they go about finding someone who would be a good match?

I would suggest starting with your network. Ask current and/or former colleagues and others you know who work in your field who they’ve worked with in the past that they trusted and felt comfortable with.

You can also check with your current and/or former employer’s HR department to see which firm(s) they like and work with.

Finally, don’t forget about social media such as LinkedIn and Twitter. Use search tools on both sites to connect with and reach out to recruiters in your field. Your initial contact should be a friendly and courteous introduction with a brief explanation of your background and career interests. Very often, even if they don’t have anything for you at the moment, recruiters will be able to refer you to other recruiters and resources.

Do you need help with your search? Follow this link to learn how I can help propel your job hunt!

The other side of the hiring desk, pt 1: Who should use a recruiter?

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desk1T10639243aFor the next few weeks, I will share a series of interviews I conducted with my friend and colleague Stephanie A. Lloyd, a Talent Strategies Consultant and Owner of Calibre Search Group in Atlanta, Georgia. She is a National Careers + Workplace Columnist for Examiner.com and also blogs at Radiant Veracity. You can also follow Stephanie on Twitter.

Who should use a recruiter? Who should not?

If you have had a stable, upwardly mobile career track in a particular field, are not a career changer and have specific experiences and skills that a particular recruiter sources, you may be a good fit.

It is easy to address the question of who should not use a recruiter. If you have been a job hopper, are trying to break into a field or are not particularly experienced or unique in your skill set, a recruiter probably will not be interested in working with you.

What should job seekers know about recruiters? Why do organizations use them?

The first thing to understand is that third-party recruiters (“TPR”) (i.e. executive search consultants, etc.) are paid by our client companies to fill a particular role or requisition for them. Our job is not to find people jobs; our job is to find the right person for our clients’ job(s).

Many times the reason a company chooses to go outside their internal recruiting organization and use a TPR to fill a job is that it’s a particularly difficult person or skill set to find, or maybe they are overloaded with openings and need assistance due to sheer volume.

There can be other reasons as well. Perhaps the recruiting organization is in flux, the need to fill the position is extremely urgent and speed is a factor, or perhaps the company’s recruiting strategy is to stay lean internally and supplement with outside firms as needed.

How do Third-Party Recruiters (TPRs) differ from internal/corporate recruiters?

TPRs don’t work for the company, we spend nearly 100% of our time on targeted search and sourcing efforts to find the right candidate for the job.

Third-party recruiters tend to specialize in a particular niche. For example, the majority of my work is in and around finance, accounting and banking/financial services. I have clients that may come to me for assistance with searches in these particular areas and may use other firms for searches related to IT, engineering, marketing, etc.

What should I expect from a recruiter and what can I gain from working with a recruiter?

As mentioned, our job is to help our clients (the employers) by filling specific openings. If we think that you might be a good candidate, there are advantages to working with a recruiter vs. trying to get in to a company blindly on your own.

We have relationships with our client companies. I have some clients I’ve been working with since 2001. I can help candidates prepare for their interviews with my clients, let them know what to expect in terms of corporate culture and provide specifics about the group and/or person they’ll be talking to – because I know them. Most TPR have placed other job seekers with the company and therefore have additional insight from those individuals.

Another advantage is that, while HR is dealing with potentially hundreds of applicants for each open position every single day that may or may not even get so much as a glance; we’ll typically present just 3-5 candidates for a given opening and those candidates will be thoroughly reviewed and considered.

Stay tuned tomorrow for more about what job seekers should NOT expect from a recruiter!

Do you need help with your search? Follow this link to learn how I can help propel your job hunt!

Plan your job search future…A future party!

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futureparty2905178289_c60350c5ed_mIn an effort to help job seekers break away from typical planning patterns and habits, today’s post offers a fun idea from my friend Cindy Petersiel, a business coach who blogs at Design Your Success. Cindy describes a “Come As You Will Be” party that her client attended:

Have you heard of these?  You come as if your life is 5 years down the road.  This gives the party goer an opportunity to really think about what she will be in 5 years.  Invitees were asked to dress as like they want to dress in 5 years.  Bring photos of the places they’ve traveled and their homes.  Conversation is expected to be as if you are 5 years in the future.

She goes on:

My client was nervously excited about the party.  As she got more and more into the process of pretending, she began to get more and more clear on what she wanted for her business and her life in the year 2014.  As the party approached, she had a real look at what success meant to her.  She had designed her own success (I love it!) and had a 5 Year Plan and Vision in place.

The benefits didn’t end there.  As she got into the idea and the play of the party, she began to really create a vision of what it would be like 5 years from now with her success.  She got to feel what it is like to be there. This told the subconscious portion of her mind that it IS.  And now, with with the subconscious portion of her mind thinking it is, it sees all sorts of possibilities and opportunities that she was blind to before. Actions taken on those possibilities become leaps forward toward the achievement of that – year plan.

Cindy suggests the following:

Use the power of pretend to create your own 5-year plan.  Host your own Come As You Will Be party.  Make it big or make it small, but make it fun and really get into it.

Here are some tips to give your invitees:

  • Ask yourself, “how do I want to be dressing in 5 years?”
  • Make a photo album of the places you’ve “been” and your home(s).  Be ready to talk about them and your experiences.
  • In your business, who are your customers?
  • What is your role in your business?  How is it different from today?
  • How do you spend your days?
  • What are your hobbies?

As you prepare for the party, jot down the ideas of opportunities and actions that will inevitably jump into your head.  It doesn’t matter if you won’t do them yet.  Keep them for yourself.

So, if you are stuck in a rut and can’t do anything but complain that your search isn’t going the way you’d hoped – take a break from the typical and jump into the spirit of fun and imagination. Make a vision board. Envision your future. Host a future party.

Need a little help ramping up your search? Read how I can help get your job hunt going!

photo by rafeejewell

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Envision your future to help your job hunt

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ladder on wall249101134_32ca4e0285_mMy friend Cindy Petersiel, a business coach who blogs at Design Your Success, suggested an idea I have been meaning to share, and “Job Search Future Planning Week” is the perfect time to share it! When you are looking for a job, knowing where you are going is the most important thing. As Cindy notes: “What good is climbing the ladder if it’s leaning against the wrong wall?” To help you figure out the right wall…

This is what Cindy says:

Envision yourself 5 years from now being featured in an article for a magazine or newspaper.   Ask yourself these questions:

What publication is featuring the article?

Who are you or what have you done to gain the interest of the magazine?

Now consider some questions that might be asked by the interviewer:

What lead you to this path in your life and in your work?  How have your core values influenced your path?  What are the steps that you took to get here?  What were the milestones along the way?  What do you love about your life and your accomplishments?  What have been the obstacles along the way and how have you surmounted them?  What has your work brought to you?

Notice that all of these questions are in the present tense.  When you answer them, keep that present tense.

So, what do you think? When you envision yourself 5 years down the road, what magazine is writing an article about you? Why?

Cindy suggests you think about:

Who have you become or what have you done that has captured the publication’s interest?   At the top of a piece of paper, write the name of the magazine.  Leave room for an article title – you’ll fill that in last.

Write out the interview questions above.  What other questions could there be?  Write them out.  Make sure you have about 20 to 30 minutes of quiet alone time and write out the answers to these questions.  Really pretend that you are there, 5 years from now.  Feel the pride and the joy.

Lastly, come up with a title for the article and write it at the top of the page.  This could end up being a battle cry or bolstering mantra as you move toward your 5-year vision.

Stay tuned for tomorrow’s idea to extend the fun and pretend to help you firm up your vision of the future!

Need a little help ramping up your search? Read how I can help get you going!

photo by anihatzis