When you’re looking for work, you’ll almost inevitably find yourself dealing with recruiters. It’s a tricky relationship to get the best out of: lots of people have had bad experiences with recruiters in the past that colour their perceptions and make it hard from them to work with them in the future.
It’s important to remember, however, that recruiters are professionals like anyone else, and a productive relationship with them needs to be based on mutual respect, and appreciation of each other’s needs. Your need is relatively simple. It might be difficult to accomplish, but you want a job that crosses a minimum threshold for salary, uses your skills and meets any other criteria you have. The recruiter’s needs may be more complex, and relate to how they work, the current job market and who else they have on their books.
As with so much in life, the key to success is communication, so today we’re taking a lot at some of the key issue to help you communicate with your recruiter better.
Finding the Right Recruiter
The most important step is to do some research before you start and find the right recruiter for you. Think about the niche you want to work in, or the specifics of your job and find a firm that serves that niche. If you’re making strides as an Interim Manager, going to a generic recruiter will be a frustrating experience when you should be with an expert like Savannah Interim who have a network of employers looking for someone with precisely your skills.
Know Your Needs
It’s not a recruiter’s job to discern from your CV a job you’d be happy in. If you’re looking for a new job, you need to do some reflection first so you can to recruiters with a clear idea of what you’re interested in.
Think about the kind of job you want: if it’s similar to your career to date, this makes the process simpler. If you’re looking for a change, be prepared with examples of skills you’ve developed in your previous jobs that would apply to this new direction.
You can also think about your preferences for the kind of company you’d like to work at: whether you’re at home in start-ups, or more established, larger companies, and so on. Being able to give a clear picture of the direction you want to go in, areas you’d be prepared to comprise and areas where you absolutely will not. The clearer a picture of your needs you can give a recruiter the easier it is for them to find you a job, and the more confident they can be that they’re not wasting time putting you forward for jobs you would ultimately reject.
Communication
Finally, establish a good routine for checking in with your recruiter. You might prefer a quick text every day to make sure they haven’t forgotten you, but they’ll have established routines for dealing with a stable of clients, and if you’re demanding special treatment you’ll need to justify it with very special skills. Ask the best way to stay in touch and how often, to work out a routine that suits you both.