As career development professionals, we know how important it is to have a plan when looking for work. I equate finding a job to going on vacation – you would have a plan when you embark on a dream vacation to Italy. When you are in a job search, it’s equally important to be prepared and know what your destination is and the road map to get you there.
To help clients develop a job search plan, you likely spend a fair amount of time helping them understand where they can look online for work – job boards such as Indeed, CharityVillage, LinkedIn, FlexJobs and others. You also very likely spend a lot of your time helping clients understand the role networking plays in a job search, and the power of reaching out to others to explore new career paths, gather information about an organization and uncover job opportunities that are not posted on the job boards.
Are you also helping clients understand how they can leverage recruiters as a part of their job search strategy? And how working with recruiters is a relationship-building approach – the type of approach in which clients need to invest heavily to land their next job?
Recruiters hold the bag on loads of opportunities that could be a good fit for your clients, and yet this a frequently overlooked element of the job search strategy.
You can help your clients better understand the role a recruiter can play to support their job search, and dispel any myths they may have about the recruiting world.
Here are some common myths:
- Candidates have to pay a fee to work with a recruiter. Not true – only the organization pays to use the recruiter’s services to help find them top talent. What this means for clients: they can engage with a number of recruiters, not just one. For free!
- Recruiters will look for jobs on behalf of candidates, alleviating the candidate’s need to do the looking. Not true – recruiter relationships need to be stewarded. What this means for clients: it’s important to reach out to touch base and see if there are any new jobs where they could be considered.
- Recruiter jobs are secret and not posted. Not true – some recruiters (such as ExcelHR, AltisHR and Robert Half) post their vacancies online. Jobseekers can even search by keywords, location and other criteria to find positions they would be interested in. What this means for clients: they need to register with the recruiter (set up an account and upload their resume) to apply and be considered for these roles.
If you have limited experience with recruiters, you may be wondering how you can guide clients to incorporate recruiters into their job search strategy. I reached out to Lindsay Moorcroft, Talent Sourcer for ecobee in Ottawa, for her insights. Here are 5 strategies and approaches to help your clients reach out to recruiters and access positions they might not see on job boards.
1. Know the type of recruiter you are connecting with and message accordingly
Your client needs to understand what type of recruiter they are aiming to connect with. Is this a corporate recruiter (who recruits only for the one company they work for) or an agency recruiter (who is recruiting for a variety of companies at once)? Corporate recruiters will only ever be recruiting for specific roles at their company, so clients should be familiar with this company and either target a specific open role or share their interest in the company for any future openings.
If your client is reaching out to an agency recruiter, their initial message should be more focused on introducing themselves, sharing they are looking for work and that they are hoping to work with a recruiter to help them find opportunities. This messaging would work in this situation: “Hi Sarah, how are you? I noticed you are a recruiter who seems to work on a variety of roles in the tech space – I’ve recently decided to look for a new opportunity and would love to leverage a recruiter to help me out. If it makes sense for you, I would love to chat to see if the types of roles I am looking for match what you normally work on. Thanks!”
2. Make deposits into recruiter relationships
All types of recruiters are valuable to connect with and network with, as they often have large networks and kind hearts. Recruiters want to help folks land their next job and are often willing to help where they can. Jobseekers should avoid blindly connecting and messaging recruiters with an expectation of support. At the end of the day, recruiters are people too, and as with any relationship, clients can’t expect to take without first making a deposit into that relationship. Avoid sending the first message without context and asking for a resume or LinkedIn profile to be reviewed.
3. Use kind, non-pressuring, authentic language in your messages
Clients can first connect with a recruiter and send a message sharing their “why,” then start the conversation. Build the relationship by also engaging with that person’s content (commenting, liking, sharing), noticing things on their profiles (besides them being a recruiter) and connecting over that (maybe your client and the recruiter both went to the same university), and notice any common connections. Be genuine, be curious, be polite and create a foundation for the relationship. Using ‘no-pressure’ language helps the conversation feel more genuine and respectful. “If you have time,” “If it makes sense” or “No rush” are some great examples.
4. Do research on companies, role types, salary data (and other information) that align with the client’s interests before reaching out
Clients should know what type of job they are looking for, what their minimum desired salary is, what company values matter to them and, if applicable, what specific job they are interested in. Make sure that their resume is up to date (include metrics and value statements).
5. Stay active on LinkedIn
Clients should comment on posts, share posts and even draft their own posts so recruiters can understand their personal brand and what’s important to them. Remember – people are found on LinkedIn every day, and recruiters scour the platform regularly for top talent. Your clients will want to be part of these conversations. And even if clients don’t get a response to their initial message right away, there is still a lot of value in continuing to interact with that recruiter’s content, so clients can still be at the forefront of a recruiter’s mind.
With these strategies, clients can incorporate a new relationship-building activity into their job search, and gain access to positions they haven’t seen before. Working with recruiters is not a guarantee of finding a job, but their expertise, connections and industry knowledge can significantly enhance your client’s chances of success. Clients can maximize the potential of these relationships by maintaining open communication and establishing a collaborative partnership with recruiters. You can help your clients access this missing piece of the job search puzzle.
