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Eight Things You Need To Know About Recruiters / Don’t Waste Their Time—And Yours!

Executive recruiters can be great allies in a job search. However, those who choose to rely on them often find they wasted a lot of time in their job search. It’s important to understand who recruiters are and how they work so that you can have a mutually-beneficial relationship.

1) Understand That They Aren’t Working For You

A recruiter might be a great human being and care deeply about matching you with a good job. But you need to know that recruiters get paid by the company, not you. That’s a good thing for your bank account, but it also means their ultimate responsibility is to the company who pays the fees, not to you. Sure, good recruiters strive to make everybody happy. But most of the time, they will not actively market you. If they can match you with a job order from a company, they’ll do that. But they won’t be looking out for you beyond that. The exception is when someone has a rare skill set for which there is a big demand.

2) Find Out if You’re a Viable Candidate

Companies pay executive recruiters a hefty fee, somewhere around a fifth to a third of the candidate’s salary in their first year on the job. Companies only part with that kind of dough for people with very specific skills and backgrounds. They usually want top performers who have a stable work history in their industry. They’re looking for a tiny percentage of the available candidates, which means most of us are not what they’re looking for.

Don’t get me wrong. This doesn’t mean that you’re not talented or that you’re not a great employee. There may well be lots of employers who would love to hire you. But recruiters may not be the vehicle that will take you to that great job.

Here’s a quick example to illustrate. A client from Glencoe (we’ll call him James) was an outstanding executive—a true top performer. But he was laid off when the bottom dropped out of the market in his industry. He decided to change industries, and was confident that recruiters would find him a great job as they had in the past. James spent ten weeks waiting around for calls from recruiters. Those calls never came. Finally, he got one of the recruiters on the phone to ask why no one was presenting him. The recruiter said, “You don’t have any experience in this industry. I would lose credibility with my client companies if I presented you.” James wised up, found a career coach to learn how to approach employers directly, and soon was hired into another great job.

Do include recruiters in your job search plan, assuming they see you as a qualified candidate. Research to find the best recruiters.

3) Don’t Treat Your Recruiter Like a Career Coach

If you’re confused about what to do next in your career, don’t talk to a recruiter about it. Sure, some recruiters will help you because they’re good people, but as I’ve said, it’s not their job to resolve your career issues. Their job is to find highly-qualified candidates who are eager to help them fill job orders.

Generally speaking, if you need coaching on your resume, LinkedIn profile, or verbal presentation, you should use a career coach. Some recruiters do help with these things, but you’re usually better off having a coach who is responsible to you.

4) Be aware that there are different kinds of recruiters.

All recruiters are not alike.

Employers hire Retained Recruiters to find top candidates. These recruiters are guaranteed payment for finding candidates. They generally deal with searches in the $100,000 to $500,000 and up range.

A Contingency Recruiter generally works with searches for positions ranging from $50,000 to $100,000 range. Their compensation is not assured. They may put in a lot of hard work and walk away with nothing for their efforts because employers only pay them if and when they hire a candidate that recruiter has presented.

While contingency recruiters can be very helpful, there are pitfalls. First, you don’t want to get caught in a tug of war between two or (shudder) more than two contingency recruiters, with each claiming the fee for hiring you. A client from Highland Park lost a job because of a very ugly and unprofessional spat between two recruiters who both claimed her. The employer decided to steer clear and hired someone else.

If you’re after a job at a larger company, the fee paid to the contingency recruiter will generally not impact the hiring budget. But, if you’re talking to a small- or medium-sized company, being represented by a contingency recruiter may put you at a disadvantage. The employer may think, “If I hire a candidate who found me without using a recruiter, I can save that big recruiter fee.”

What does this mean for you? Be sure to ask if the recruiter is working on a retained or contingency basis. Some recruiters do both retained and contingency. If you find the recruiter is working on a contingency basis, be clear about which positions you’ve found on your own and which the recruiter has found on your behalf.

A third type of recruiter works in staffing companies. Their job is not to find the cream of the crop, but rather to find people who are good, competent workers. IT is just one area where these recruiters often work. They’ll hire when a company wants a number of workers for a few months or so.

Lastly, corporate recruiters work to find employees to present for internal jobs within the company where they work.

5) Be sure your self-preparation is top notch.

You can’t rely on the recruiter to do it all for you. You have to first impress the recruiter and then the employer. If you can’t speak powerfully about yourself or your resume is mediocre, you’re not going to get the job.

6) Introduce yourself

It’s helpful to make a crisp introduction by phone that will make a clear and memorable impression. Since they get a lot of phone calls, be patient and persistent to get through. When you reach the recruiter, ask what kind of interactions they prefer. You don’t want to be a pest, but the recruiter may appreciate a call every so often to let him/her know you’re still looking.

7) LinkedIn Deserves Special Attention

LinkedIn has become the recruiter’s bread and butter. Many spend much of their day searching for candidates on LinkedIn. If you don’t have a great profile, you’ll get passed over. Cutting and pasting your resume into LinkedIn is just not good practice. You should spend twice as much time crafting your LinkedIn profile as you did for your resume. If you don’t know what you’re doing, hire someone who does.

8) Be Your Own Recruiter

A job search is too important to delegate to recruiters—unless you’re happily employed, but open to new opportunities. You must be in the driver’s seat in your search. Talk to recruiters and get their help, but don’t rely on them. You should be your own recruiter, beating the bushes for opportunities with an effective networking campaign. This is especially the case in a tight job market when employers find top candidates knocking on their doors without having to pay recruiters.

Don’t neglect direct approaches to hiring decision makers, direct mail approaches, networking approaches, ads, postings, and so on. Think about where you would like to work and connect with people at those companies. This is a better approach than waiting for a recruiter to contact you, and hoping you’ll like the company who is hiring. You can also tap into the hidden job market—finding opportunities before they are advertised and those that never will be.

An anecdote from one of our clients

A client from Evanston recently struck gold in the hidden job market while networking with a vice president at a large corporation in his area. The VP spotted some experience on our client’s resume that intrigued him. In a recent job, our client had managed a certain type of program. The VP said, “We’ve never had a program like that here. I think it would be a great idea. Do you think you could start one?”

Our client gave an enthusiastic, “yes!” There was zero competition for that job.

Take responsibility for your own job search. What happens to you and your career is much more important to you than to someone else.

Steve Frederick and Jack Chapman have been helping people find fulfilling work with great compensation for over 20 years. Call us 847-673-0339 or send an EMAIL 
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Telephone Job Interviews: Avoid Sounding Stupid

Have you ever had a telephone job interview nightmare like this? The phone rang just as Marie stepped out of the shower. She wrapped a towel around herself and scurried to grab the phone. Surprise! It’s was an employer calling for a job interview. As she tried to pull herself together, the mailman rang her bell, causing the dog to bark furiously. This woke up her baby, who wailed to high heaven. As she grabbed the baby and tried to quiet the dog, she babbled foolishly. The employer wasn’t impressed and didn’t schedule her for an in-person interview.

Do you hate phone interviews?

OK, so you hate phone screen interviews. I don’t blame you. But they’re a fact of life and you can take control of them.

Find another time to talk

If the appointment isn’t scheduled, you can ask to talk at another time. Don’t speak when you’re caught off-guard if you can avoid it. Marie could easily have said, “Thanks so much for calling. Unfortunately, I can’t talk right now. Can we schedule the job interview later today (or tomorrow)?”

Of course – know about the company

Be sure you’ve done your homework about the company and how you might be able to help them. For really important interviews, prepare your research even more thoroughly.

Have Your Surroundings Prepared

Make sure you have a quiet space where you won’t be interrupted with a reliable, static-free phone, or a mobile that doesn’t drop calls. Since they can’t see you, you can have your resume, research on the industry and the company, talking points, and a list of questions for the employer – all at your fingertips for quick referral. Having your computer ready for a quick Google search is an added plus.

Be ready to speak your success

Be sure to have a number of stories ready that demonstrate how good you are. Keep them to about a minute in length and include the situation you faced, your actions, and the results of your work.

Be enthusiastic

Take a tip from good telemarketing professionals:  have a mirror by your phone to remind you to smile. True, they can’t see you in a phone screen, but a smile can be “felt” over the phone. Be sure to sound upbeat. You can give your voice more power by standing while you talk.

Keep salary issues from killing your chances

Many times, phone screeners will ask you about your earnings or expected salary. Employers often use money issues to eliminate candidates, so postpone talking about money, if you can. You might say something like, “I know your company pays its employees fairly, so I’m not that concerned.”

Or: “I’m very excited about the possibility of working with your company, and I don’t feel comfortable talking about money just yet. I don’t want to get screened out for earning too much or too little.”

[Be sure to read Jack Chapman’s book “Negotiating Your Salary:  How to Make $1,000 a Minute.” It’s the national “bible” of salary negotiations.]

Don’t talk too much

It’s a big turnoff when candidates talk nonstop. Be sure to be concise and ask good questions. Try to find out what’s really wanted and needed. Find out what the boss’s biggest problem is – and say how you can help solve it. In fact, that’s another place to use a brief success story from your past to illustrate your know-how.

Be sure to ask what’s next

Don’t hang up without finding out how you can follow up. Ask about the next steps and if they need anything else from you.

Take notes

Be sure to take notes what you’ve talked about so you can be aware of that when you go in for a follow-up interview.

Thank you note

Promptly send a thank you email/letter to all participants in your interview. Make them personal, not formulaic.

With proper preparation, you can make even the unpleasant phone interview work to your advantage.

 

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Eight Ways To Sabotage A Job Interview

Man waiting for job interview trying to look calm
Waiting for the job interview

You’ve heard the obvious job interview advice: don’t be late, dress appropriately, and don’t curse your former employer. You’ve been around the block-you know this stuff. In fact, you can take our Interview Quiz and see how well you do.

So how else might you sabotage your interviews? Here are eight ways you might be shooting yourself in the foot–and losing the offer.

1)Talking techno-speak to the wrong people

If you’re in a technical field, remember that some interviews may be conducted by non-technical people–HR for instance. Because of this, you need to be prepared to speak in “dialects”: one for the technical people and one for the people who need plain English.

Some job candidates don’t understand what a turnoff it is to listen while someone drones on and on, using words and concepts they don’t understand. Don’t make their eyes glaze over. This is particularly important for those whose jobs involve communicating with non-technical people.

2) Not doing your job interview homework

This is a chance for you to score some extra points. If you know in advance who the individual (s) is who will be conducting your job interview, read up on him/her. With LinkedIn, company web pages, and other Internet sources, there’s ample opportunity to come to the interview armed with a good idea of the backgrounds, accomplishments and passions of those conducting your interview.

3) Not researching the company

An even worse turnoff is someone who doesn’t know what the organization is about. Therefore, the more important the job, the more time you should spend on research. Of course, review the company’s own website, but search for other sites to see what you can find, especially if the company has been in the news. Check the web sites of competitors to find out more about industry trends. Sites like Glassdoor.com can give you good inside information from company employees about company culture and even how they conduct a job interview. Most of all, find out about the company’s mission, strategic goals, and new developments to understand where the company is headed.

4) Not being able to articulate your skills

I’ve seen a lot of very accomplished people who can’t clearly identify their skills, especially people who haven’t had to look for work in a long time. In addition, they have been so busy doing, that they haven’t had to think about articulating what they it is they’ve been doing to be successful. Fumbling around for something to say during a job interview is hardly going to impress the hiring decision maker.

This is a time for some real introspection. A lot of people find this to be a tough process. Get some coaching if this doesn’t come easily. Unless you can clearly articulate how you produce value, your chances of getting hired are close to nil.

A good example is a technical writer who worked for a software company. She talked about herself as a technical writer. But as we delved into her accomplishments, it became clear that she could produce value at a much higher level. For example, she observed and talked to scientists using the product and found what they REALLY wanted, as opposed to what her company THOUGHT they wanted. This saved her company a fortune by eliminating work done to create features they didn’t need, and helped produce a superior product.  Therefore, she now talks about herself as someone who “saves lots of time and money by eliminating the guesswork about what end users want and need.”

5) No good, concise stories

Many people make very impressive accomplishments sound ordinary. Others have stories that go on and on–boring! Still others just get tongue tied. You should have at least eight clear and concise stories that powerfully show you in action. I call them CCAR stories (Context-Challenge-Action-Results), while others call them PAR stories (Problem-Action-Results). Don’t just tell them WHAT you did. Take it a step further and answer the question, “Why should people care about what you did?”

One client organized a move of an office with 30 employees. Her story stopped there. That doesn’t work. After probing, I learned that the move was carried out without a hitch. While the new office could have been a chaotic mess, thanks to her efforts people were able to hit the ground running on the first day in the new location. Her story injected energy into her job interview.

6) Cocky attitude

Don’t be one of those people who go into a job interview with an “I’m so great” attitude. They may know they’re good at what they do, but they inadvertently communicate that they’re somehow above the process. I’ve heard too many hiring decision makers say this about older workers in particular. Be sure to check your ego at the door.

Are you the type who thinks you’re really good at interviewing? Do you tell yourself, “I’ll just wing it”? This is a recipe for disaster. Roll up your sleeves and attend to those preparation details you may be taking for granted.

BE SURE TO READ OUR POINTERS ABOUT PHONE INTERVIEWS

7) Not having a good answer to sensitive questions

Are you ready if an awkward question confronts you during a job interview? If you don’t handle these questions right, then you’re dead in the water. The good news is that most of the time, you know what these questions will be in advance–so be prepared! These are questions like:

Why were you fired?
Why the gap on your resume?
Why have you been out of work so long?
What have you been doing since you lost your job?

Follow these steps:

  • Listen to the question. Make sure you understand exactly what the interviewer is asking and why.If you’re not clear, ask for clarification.
  • Take time to think. If caught off guard, pause a moment and give a thoughtful response.
  • Use Positive Information. Put yourself in a favorable light. Be truthful, but remember, you are marketing yourself. Don’t volunteer negative information. For example, Jane is moving across the country to reunite with her high school flame, but she should keep such private details private.
  • Refocus attention by asking a question of your own

Don’t let the conversation linger on your liabilities. Take the initiative to refocus attention by asking the employer a question.

8) Not being prepared to talk about money

They may screen you out because you were making too much or too little, concluding that you won’t be happy with the salary or the job demands exceeds your skill level. This is a big topic for another day. Be sure to read Jack Chapman’s book, Negotiating Your Salary: How to Make $1,000 a Minute.

One last thought for your job interview

Finally, remember that thorough preparation wows employers and makes you a top candidate.