5 step guide to working with recruiters

Over the last two years coaching, my clients have said, "Anna your knowledge in how to work with recruiters is GOLD! 🥇

You might be like me, you came to LinkedIn to network to new opportunities!

For the last 15+ years I have worked in Agency Recruiting & Corporate Talent Aquisition and have loved every minute! Today, I am passionate about sharing my unique perspective on how to effectively work with recruiters. Not all recruiters GHOST people!

What are recruiters looking for today?

As an active Recruiter I am excited to share with you insights I am seeing in the market today. The landscape of the job search is changing daily but I invite you to keep this in the forefront of all your activity as you begin or in the throws of an active job search.

Focus on CONNECTION.

How do you define connection? The act of connecting: the state of being connected through a casual or logical RELATION or sequence of ideas. How about a person connected with another especially by marriage, kinship or common INTEREST.

We (Recruiters) are looking for:

• Concise presentation of your Career Story
• Optimized LinkedIn Profile
• Partnership & Collaboration
• Successful outcomes -- a Win/Win for both YOU and the Recruiter. Teamwork makes the dreamwork! 😉

Step 1 Treat each new encounter with a recruiter as a fresh start.

You are invited to let go of any and all baggage that you may have had from previous Recruiter experiences.

Over my career I have worked with ALL types of Recruiters and we are all good humans and genuinely are doing our best to create results for the talent we interact with.

Best ways to accelerate opportunities with Recruiters is with a positive and eager mindset.

Many recruiters get a HORRIBLE reputation these days because of "Ghosting." Over my career I have learned that most recruiters Agency and Corporate are running extremely lean and are working more openings that they are probably comfortable with.

Often times, it is literally impossible to get back to everyone. However, there are ways you can stand out, be memorable, foster connection with Recruiters and gain visibility to more opportunities!

This leads us to Step 2...

Step 2: Understand the type of recruiter you are engaging with.

There like 31 flavors of Recruiters available out there these days! By the way, my favorite ice cream is mint chocolate chip but I LOVE all these types of Recruiters. Share your favorite icecream or type of recruiter below 👇.

There are FIVE most common types of Recruiters.

• Corporate / (In House) - this is the most common type of recruiter that most are familiar with. Salaried employees who are paid to find, vet, hire and retain employees for the company that they work for. Usually they don’t get bonuses or kickbacks for hiring you - it’s just their job.
• Staffing Agency - These are excellent resources if looking to augment your income, while you network, and keep up relevant skills and experience. If you are hired by the staffing agency you will actually be an employee OF the staffing firm, but you will WORK AT the client’s company and be supervised by someone at the client site. You are considered a temp, contingent or contract employee.
• Why do companies use Staffing Agencies - access to more talent, heavy work load, peak seasons, special projects AND they can avoid paying costs such as vacation, medical expenses, and benefits that would be paid to full time employees.
• Contingency/ Direct Recruiter - Corporations use these types of recruiters when they can’t handle the workload for the hiring demand. This recruiter does ALL the work upfront without getting paid - all the recruiting, screening, interviewing, and arranging interviews with the client company and key hiring authorities. They ONLY get paid if they fill the position. The recruiter gets paid 2 ways: 1) Flat fee 2) % of the salary offered to the candidate - industry standard is 20-30% - may be less now due to covid. You will see the positions advertised as Direct Hire.
• Retained / Executive - Similar to a contingency recruiter but the client company pays a retainer fee (fixed upfront) to have them “perform” a dedicated search. A portion of that fee is paid whether they find a candidate or not - remainder due upon successful hire. These are higher level positions - VP’s, CEO, CFO, CHRO, Chief Legal Officer ect. Retained Recruiters might also be called Executive Search Firms.
• Outplacement Firm - hired by employee or organization that is doing layoffs. Outplacement is used for people who have been laid off, downsized, displaced, or possibly fired. Employers will hire coaches or outplacement recruiters to help candidates find jobs in order to ease the burden of having lost a job. They help with resumes, cover letters, interviewing skills and career counseling.

Step 3 Level up your career story. Got a BFF Personal Branding Statement?

Recruiters screen about 6-15 people a day. As an active recruiter when I am screening someone that knows what they want, can explain their resume with ease, and focus on stories related to accomplishments and impact my heart rejoices and I get excited about representing the candidate. 💗😊

When you have clarity, and can NAIL basic interview questions like "Tell me about yourself," while communicating concisely you are 10X'ing your chances your resume and details end up in the right hiring authorities hands.

• When you start to answer a question -- mention which company you are referring too first before you go into the STAR or PAR answering sequence. That way the recruiter can follow along on your resume.
• Set the stage for the interviewer with each question you answer.
• Always focus on accomplishments, transformation, impact along with numbers and metrics.

When you demonstrate confidence, clarity, and conciseness you make it EASY for the Recruiter to capture your AWESOMENESS which makes it easier for them to be your advocate to the hiring teams.

Step 4 Prepare for your interview.

As a part time Recruiter I conduct 6-10 phone interviews a day. For this newsletter I am going to focus on best practices for prepping for PHONE interviews. More on ALL the other types of interviews in my signature course coming soon. (Career Misfit to Badass Job Closer) enrollment opens 12/1.

The goal of the first conversation is to MUTUALLY determine if the opportunity is a good fit for you and the Recruiter!

• Your ENERGY matters!
• Let the interviewer lead the conversation but don't be afraid to ask for direction or clarification. Recruiters are humans, we put our pants on the same way you do -- try to remember that and don't let your nerves get to you!
• Set the stage with each position you speak about.
• Example: "When I was with ABC company, a 200 person, advertising firm, I was a coordinator in the digital department that had 6 team members, I was responsible for..."
• Do your RESEARCH. It's such a BUMMER when I am about to do an interview with someone and they look good on paper but then show up to the call unable to articulate understand anything about organization I am recruiting for.
• WHY you want to research the organization? It shows the recruiter that you are diligent and engaged. We also look at this as a statement of how you might work for the organization.
• Have statements prepared if you are asked, "What has prompted your interest in this position or organization?
• Always have your RESUME in front of you when on a phone interview. You must know your resume inside & out!

Believe it not, I have had this happen multiple times.

• Send a THANK YOU note! Interviewing is an exercise in SALES and you want as MANY touch points as possible, and a follow up simple thank you is a great touch point and statement of your professional courtesy and organizational skills.
• Don't be afraid to show a little personality, certainly personalize it if there were takeaways from the conversation you can reference.
• Reference the position you spoke about (remember Recruiters are working 20-30+ openings at a time)
• Use assumptive close language in the thank you to keep the momentum going.
• Set a reminder to follow up appropriately.

Step 5 Optimize your linkedin profile!

There are a million people on LinkedIn who can tell you HOW to Optimize your profile but I am giving you the insights that we (Recruiters) need to see to FIND you and advocate for you!

• 70% of employers check social media profiles of Talent they are vetting in order to learn more about them.
• Create a custom cover image or banner -- this is your modern day digital business card or billboard let your awesomeness be SEEN!
• Build your headline to include key words that are focused on the roles you are targeting. NOT just the role you are in.
• Use your ABOUT section to highlight your career journey. This section is where you can let your PERSONALITY shine. Remember "Connection" & Relatability builds trust, and makes you memorable.
• Tell us what you do outside of work. Share hobbies, passions, and side hustles!
• Use your ABOUT section as an "impact statement" that compliments your resume.
• RECOMMENDATIONS -- this is an area many forget about. Why do they matter? Recruiter's love recommendations because it helps them tell the story to the hiring teams. When you include those recommendations you are making it EASIER for the Recruiter to marketing you within the organization or with their clients.

Loving this info, and want to chat more? Click here 👉 https://calendly.com/anna-morgan-careerbff/book-a-job-search-accelerator-call

2006 was the year I created my linkedIn account...

Like most people, I only came to LinkedIn when I needed to look for a job or to update a new position.

It wasn't until 2019 did I start to realize the super special amazing power of this platform. I hired an expert LinkedIn Business Coach (Judi Fox) and started learning how to use LinkedIn in a more powerful way to amplify my leadership voice which allowed me to make genuine connections with super cool awesome people.

When I experienced my own layoff May of 2020, I had been active on the platform since Nov 2019. My post about my layoff and announcement of what I was doing move forward went viral and I had JOB offers in my direct messages! Additionally, I had tons of inquires, guest coaching engagements, referral agreements, and podcast appearances!

LinkedIn is the BEST career insurance out there! Now, as your #careerbff & Job Search Accelerator coach I guide job seekers to optimize their profile so it's attracting Recruiters & Hiring Managers while they sleep! Additionally, sharing the behind the Recruiter's curtain insights to serve job seekers so they can fast track opportunities!

Thank you for subscribing to "The Recruiter & Career Corner" Newsletter with Anna Morgan your #careerbff. 🙏💗

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