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Top Secrets to Make Recruiters Find You

Top Secrets to Make Recruiters Find You

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Would you like to have r recruiters call you?  It is always great to have recruiters call you.  Over the years, I have had my share of opportunities from recruiters.   There are employers who have openings that need to be filled.  They usually find candidates who distinguish themselves and are referred to them, but it is no longer their only source.  Don’t you want that call?

Seven Tips

Internally – Most companies prefer to hire internally!  Many companies even have a mechanism to identify people for promotion.  They also post job openings for everyone to apply.  The key is to have your boss support a job change, promotion or transfer.

Industry Expert – Get involved in industry associations or write for an industry publication where you can distinguish yourself.  If you become an expert within your industry, you are more likely to learn about other opportunities and recruiter will notice you.

Networking – Networking is no longer just face to face, linkedIn has changed the landscape.  Don’t just rely on technology though, it should be used as a supplement to physical networking.

Social Media – Twitter particularly when used in business is another area recruiters look at to find candidates.  Industry forums may be another good place to be noticed.

Recommendation – Referrals and recommendations are important!  Someone that the recruiter, company or industry may know makes a difference.  Most industries are much smaller than you realize, a manager or vice president who has been there a while can make a difference.

High Profile – Find opportunities to contribute such as meetings, performance or special projects are great ways to stand put.  A few positive contributions may be enough to warrant a promotion.

First Step – Putting yourself out there by uploading your resume may be aggressive, but you will get attention.  It may even be from your own company.  I would be very careful about posting my resume online.

Top Secrets to Make Recruiters Find You

Final Thoughts

These are great tips to have recruiters call you, but they work well for networking and finding a promotion or job opening too.  Most people have difficulty promoting themselves in a corporate environment.  We are pretty good about asking our friends for a good hair stylist, attorney or plumber.  Somehow we fall down when it comes to asking about job leads. These tips will help you market or promote yourself internally or externally.  It encourages people to find you.  Either way, you won!  Your employer may recognize your talents or recruiters may see you as a candidate for an opportunity.

Photo by:  Flickr

 

Comments

    • It depends on your profession! You want to get attention when you are looking, but you want the right attention.

  2. Recruiters are all over me ever since I decided to get active on LinkedIn. Unfortunately though they are contacting me for jobs that are not ideal.

    • You still need to evaluate recruiters and their jobs. Over the years, I have been contacted by recruiters, most of which went nowhere.

    • Recruiters need contacts just like you need them, you still need to evaluate the recruiter and job.

  4. A lot of times it’s a numbers game. Getting your information in front of the most people will yield the best results, as long as you keep your target group focused toward your goals. In other words, don’t send your resume to a bunch of people who have in-roads in the restaurant business if you’re looking for a Wall Street job.

    • You have to be careful with recruiters because a lot of job searches are not exclusives. You also have to evaluate the recruiter just like they are evaluating you.

  5. I could not agree more. So often it comes down to being recognized by the right person, which is why networking is so key as well as other things. I know networking does not always come natural to me as I am introverted, but by stepping out and doing it you become more natural at doing it.

    • I would rather receive one call with the right job than a lot of interest that goes nowhere. This is why you need to evaluate the recruiter and the job.

  6. These are all great ways for a recruiter to find you. I need to work on fixing up my Linkedin. It’s looking a little boring lately.

    • Find your own way to develop a network. It starts with friends, prior employers and industry people you may know. Start with the people you know and get them to introduce you to others.

  7. Some great tips. Social media is an awesome tool for job hunting, but it can also be a double-edged sword. When used the wrong way – eg aggressively trying to find jobs and people to connect to – it can easily ruin your reputation.
    Our recommendation is to take things slow and gently.

    Rusty

    • Technology is a great tool, but misused speeds your end too! It helps if you think through what you are trying to accomplish. I often said you need a goal and a plan!

  8. One thing is for sure, so far this year the american stock markets as well as the value of the dollar has gone up. This seems to be a good indication that America has started on the road to recovery. There should be lots of business opportunities in the future.

    Rusty

    • The recession was a good time to start certain businesses. For example, you could have bought foreclosure properties or other real estate and turned them into rentals.

  9. All great tips. All my promotions have come from internal referral. I still need to get my linked in setup, and am planning on doing some writing for an industry publication soon.

    • Don’t wait, you want things in place and working for you before you need it.

  10. Internal promotion has been really key for me. As you said, my company likes to hire from within, and has a seperate application process specifically for internal candidates. Having a boss that supports you in the process is really helpful, but even if your boss doesn’t support you, the company should (if you do a good job).

    • When I worked for a Fortune 100 company, I remember having job postings. You had to meet certain minimum time in your current position to apply without your supervisor’s approval.

    • The key is to start with your friends and use their contacts. Social media just makes it easier.

  12. Great tips. I would ask friends to keep they ear open for openings in their company if it was one I was interested in to take advantage of internal job postings. I’ve found the majority of businesses first try to hire within before going outside to find a new hire.

    The benefit to me was a job, to my friend, a referral for helping find a new hire.

    • By using social media, you just extended your network. You are still asking a friend, but now you included his/her contacts.

    • It was always nice to get phone calls telling me about opportunities even if I wasn’t interested. As I tell my students and children, you want to be ready for those opportunities.

  14. I started seeing recruiters activities as well ever since I created my LinkedIn profiles. At this point I am not much interest. Although in the past I tried a few offers and it was too much work and no result.

    • It is still important to filter or determine the credibility or reputation of the recruitor They are interviewing you and you should interview them.

  15. I think your point on becoming an industry expert is especially good. Writing is an effective way to keep your name in the mix.

    • I agree, writing is one way. When I was a CFO, I worked a lot of vendors and sales people which created a reputation too. Conferences, industry networks and associations are a few more opportunities to show your skills.

    • Recruiters need to identify good candidates. If you stand out, they are interested in you.

  17. LinkedIn is great if you want that sort of attention – I’m not looking to leave though, so recruiting calls at work are pretty awkward. Happens a few times a quarter, heh.

    • Recruiting calls at work are never welcome! You still need to filter out the recruiters who are just pushing what they have though.

  18. I was always thrilled when recruiters called me. Sure, I wasn’t interested, but it was quite an ego boost to know that your work was appreciated enough that others found you desirable.

    • I know what you mean! I used it to extend my network and occasionally there were a position or two I was interested in.

  19. I think LinkedIn and social media as a whole are great ways to get recruiters to contact you. Even though I’m not looking for a job, I get a recruiter reaching out almost monthly via LinkedIn.

    • It is certainly one of many ways to get recruiters to contact ou and then you decide if there is some worthwhile to pursue.

  20. Hiring internally saves a lot of time and money but it is important to promote people who actually want to be promoted and not force it on people. I never thought about this until I had someone working for me who openly said he didn’t want to be promoted.

    • I think that should be part of the selection process. Some people shy away from more responsibility, particularly for other people.

  21. i have had recruiters all over me for years (mainly from Linked In), and like many others have noted– often the positions are not ideal. but i have had a few promising leads come out of those contacts, and should i ever decide that i wanted to switch jobs– i have made some nice contacts that i can reach out to.

    the best one was when a recruiter tried to recruit me into a job opening that was not just for my own company– but was for my own team within that company! i had actually helped write the job req. awesome!

    • I would find that funny! A really good recruiter knows more about the company and existing team. It is a good reason to really sort through the recruiters to find the good ones.

  23. You’re spot on with highlighting networking as a key to getting recruited for jobs or business opportunities. Most people are much more likely to work with or hire somebody they know personally, than a total stranger.

    • Referrals or recommendations is a good substitute which an extension of networking.