Many professionals and executives would like to work with a recruiter during their job search, but they’re not clear on what a recruiter can and cannot do for them. My friend and colleague Debra Porter is a professional resume writer and career coach with experience as a senior technical recruiter. She has generously agreed to offer advice for working with a recruiter to move your job search forward.
Debra Porter
Guest post by Debra Porter
CEO, The Dolce Agency
CEO, ExecuClass Professional Résumés and Career Coaching
Your employment search has started and you have enlisted the help of a recruiter. Partnering with a recruiter can be beneficial because you may have an opportunity to apply for positions that are exclusive and not being announced online or listed with multiple job boards. Managing your search while working with a recruiter is very important, and you’ll want to ensure that you are in control of your search throughout the entire process.
Here are 5 tips for partnering with a recruiter:
- Continue a parallel search:Understand that enlisting the help of a recruiter does not mean that they are obligated or responsible for finding you a job. Seeking help with a professional recruiting agency is an attempt to enhance your current efforts, not replace them. Remember, recruiters will have access to only a limited number of positions, so you will need to keep your current job search going by additional means.
- Be specific with preferences: A recruiter can help you the most when they know exactly what your terms are; therefore, you should make sure they have an understanding of your employment preferences. This could be anything from geographical location to minimum salary requirements or consideration of a contract versus permanent position. Discussing your expectations up front will help the recruiter pinpoint positions that would be of interest to you.
- Require advance notice on all submittals: This is probably the most critical thing you can do for a number of reasons. Companies often have exclusive contracts with recruiters for a specific position, and in the case where a company receives your resume through your own efforts, as well as through the recruiting agency, they will have to decide who they received the information from first. If there is a debate, it could mean that the submittal (your resume) becomes invalid. You also want to make sure that the recruiter is not careless in the submittal process, attempting to submit your resume to every open position. It’s important this is understood between the two of you, so that you can feel confident that when you apply for a position on your own, that it’s not a double submittal.
- Discuss when you will receive updates: Recruiters are often inundated with calls, and it may be hard to get in touch with them. Establish a schedule for updating each other to ensure that both of you exchange new information on a regular basis.
- Develop a 90/10 rule: Maintain 90% of your search directly, and leave only 10% in the hands of a recruiter. It is not in your best interest to become a spectator to your own job search. Instead, maintain a very active role in the process. Seeking new connections, searching online, contacting previous managers, attending job fairs, and volunteering are proactive things you can do to increase leads and keep a full pipeline of opportunities.
If you have questions about working with recruiters, please enter them in the comment field below or contact Debra directly. Debra is the Founder and CEO of The Dolce Agency and ExecuClass Professional Résumés and Career Coaching. The Dolce Agency specializes in content marketing and management for businesses seeking to increase brand awareness while capitalizing on multiple media outlets. ExecuClass Professional Résumés and Career Coaching specializes in providing C-level and Professionals with career advancing documents, professional résumés, biographies, and career coaching services.
