Rita Ashley, Career Coach. Field tested advice for executives.

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By rashley, May 26, 2009 10:35 am

Why executives should avoid being part of the herd

Would you use the lottery as your investment strategy?  Are the odds appealing?  Do you feel lucky, well, do you?

That’s exactly what you do career-wise when you submit your resume to random recruiters and recruiter groups; play the job-search lottery.

Recruiters post appeals for resumes every where from LinkedIn groups to Craigslist.  They frequent sites trolling for resumes to add to their stash.  Do you have any idea how they use them?  Do you know what happens to your contact information?

Chances are the job you want is local. Chances are the recruiter representing the company you want to work for is also local.  Why then, would you seek representation of random recruiters in distant locations, perhaps even distant countries?  And why would you seek representation along with a herd of others from across the country?

Doesn’t it make more sense to stand out from the crowd with personal contact?  As a hiring authority yourself, were you not always more interested in people to whom you were introduced rather than a faceless resume that found its way to your desk?  Who would you invite for an interview?  Someone who made the effort to find you, learn about your company and the opportunity or someone who simply sent in a resume through a random recruiter?

Hiring authorities tend to spurn unsolicited resumes submitted by recruiters; and that is what most of the cattle-call recruiters do.  They collect resumes and submit them anywhere they know there are openings.  They don’t necessarily have the job search, they are playing the placement lottery with your resume.

While that seems appealing at first blush, it is actually quite damaging to your search.  Once a resume lands in a company through a recruiter, whether the company invited submission or not, no other recruiter and certainly not the individual, can submit credentials.  You are effectively locked out of any jobs from that company because they chose not to deal with that recruiter.  And there is no way for you to stand out from the crowd; in fact you rarely know where they have sent your resume.

Once a recruiter has your resume they retain the right to earn money if you are placed where they present your credentials.  That is why some recruiters submit your resume to various job boards with their own contact information instead of yours.  You have lost control over your resume and wound up in the hands of someone who knows neither how to represent you nor how to represent the job opportunity.

If you are a sales executive the affects of bad representation are doubly damming.  You are expected to get to the right people with the right message.  What message do you send when a recruiter unknown to the company slings your resume about?

Why run the risk of being shut out, ignored or scammed when there are recruiters who actually have searches for jobs for which you qualify?   Don’t take the line of least resistance, you are not a lazy executive, so don’t be a take-the easy-way-out candidate.

The good news is, there are many reputable recruiters who do not engage in such opportunistic activities.  Learn to connect with the right recruiters.  There are many types of recruiters and the ones you want are established, respected by their clients and typically, looking for you through their network.  Learn how to be found.  No matter how compelling your resume, without an introduction, the best recruiters will ignore you.

Executives: Retain control over your resume; send it not to cattle-calls or any public forum. Participate, network but don’t expose your resume.  Use your LinkedIn profile to attract attention.

Ready to deconstruct your job search?  Use Job Search Debugged to remove the obstacles.  Learn how to vet recruiters to connect with the one that will place you.

Time to revitalize your network?  Read Networking Debugged to improve your results.  Learn how to connect with the right recruiters.

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By rashley, May 13, 2009 2:28 pm

Executives, are you using the same job search techniques you did when you were a manager or individual contributor?

Six figure income executives visit a different job search landscape from that of individual contributors and managers.

Over eighty percent of executive jobs are filled through some form of networking.  Thus, the tsunami of advice to job seekers to use social networking sites, job boards and resume submission-based recruiters is simply wrong.  Don’t get caught in a wave of desperation and give away your executive edge.

Here are just some of the errors I encounter weekly:

Executives send their resume to anyone with an email address. I am a job search coach yet half of the people who contact me to learn what I do send me an unsolicited resume.  I am not a recruiter, do not place people and have no direct access to employers.  I asked one sales executive why he sent his resume and his answer was, “You never know.”  Not a great strategy for an executive job search.

LinkedIn profile is the resume. Why would anyone call to ask for your resume if they have already read it?  There is no texture or color, just a resume.  The profile is an opportunity to create buzz; it is a marketing opportunity, not a biography.

Executives succumb to recruiters who cast gill nets for resumes on public forums.  How can you distinguish yourself with a mass resume acquisition process?  Recruiters who place executives have connections to those executives.  They expect to be introduced by way of their network; they do not use job boards or cattle calls to locate the “A” players their clients require.

Not knowing how to get an introduction, many executives resort to unsolicited email or even Federal Express to convey their resume.  As hiring authorities, when was the last time you responded to a spam-like email with a resume?  Bet you didn’t even open the attachment.   It is not unusual that subsequent emails will be blocked as spam.

And that resume you mailed, FedEx or not, will land on an admin’s desk and be forwarded to HR, not the manager.  Who knows what happens from there.

Cold calling the hiring authority sounds better than it is. Assuming you can even get through, making a pitch to an executive is typically seen as an aggressive intrusion.  Again, remember how you feel when someone pitches to you during your busy work day.  It is unlikely you will be invited to send your resume or interview, plus, the person you called is annoyed with you and will remember your name.  If you find another avenue to present your credentials, they are now seen as damaged goods.

When did you learn how to conduct a job search? Looking for a job is something most executives rarely do.  Most “A” players never have because they were always recruited.  They rarely had to ask for introductions, leads or find a recruiter.

So how do you become as expert at job search as you are at doing your job?  The successful look for advice from experts, ask for help and listen to any critique they can garner.  But there is so much bad advice out there, how do you know what will work for you?

Vet the advice the same way you would vet any vendor; check references.  Ask if you are the target audience.

Examine their credentials.

• Do they have experience hiring people like you or working directly with hiring authorities (Not HR)?
• Have they been an executive?
• Do they have a track record and time in service?
• Is that resume writer experienced with hiring people who do what you do?
• What do hiring authorities say about resumes from that service?

Be especially careful with advice you find on public forums. Most of it is directed towards people less senior in their career.  There are more of them and that is the sweet spot for most advice and employment service providers.  Much advice is offered by people who consider their advice, ‘giving back’ not realizing they don’t have the experience or world view to know if their advice is appropriate for others and in this job market.  It is akin to the CTO taking the advice of the product manager on how to architect an IT revitalization.

Take care to protect your brand. If you are a qualified senior executive, be selective in your job search techniques; you are judged by the company you keep and your process.  Vet the advice and vet the people who represent you.  Be as selective and careful in your job search as you are when you run your organization.

My solution: You wouldn’t be reading this blog if you weren’t looking for job search advice.  You checked my bio or have read my blogs and LinkedIn comments so you know you can trust my insights.  Now it’s time for you to take aggressive action on your job search to get the interviews you want and the offers you need.  Deconstruct your job search process and rebuild it from the ground up.  Purchase Job Search Debugged to walk you through an effective executive-level job search. Learn from hiring authorities and an industry insider who tells you where the rocks are and how to avoid them.  The book is specific to executives and has received rave reviews from my clients as well as general readers.

Join my LinkedIn group, Employment advice for executives.  Use the search box under find a group and enroll.  Executives only, no recruiters or other service providers.  Just advice, discussions and job lead sharing.  Ask questions, tell folks what resources work for you and gather with peers for support.

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By rashley, May 3, 2009 5:50 pm

Executives, Would you like to be caught for that big six figure job?

Let’s say you want to catch a sturgeon. Each day, you pay someone dearly to motor a boat to deep waters where there are sharks, deep sea anglers and dragon fish; lots of activity, many fish, but not one sturgeon in the bunch.   You are worn out and demoralized from trying.  You use your best equipment and you know you know how to fish; but still, no sturgeon.

If you want to catch a sturgeon, you have to fish in cold water lakes and rivers. Submitting your resume to job boards, corporate websites and all those LinkedIn recruiting sites is a bit like fishing for sturgeon in deep ocean water.

This is not another fish tale; you want to land a job? Go where the employers are looking for candidates.  You have to know how to be found because they are certainly looking.  There are jobs out there in spite of what the media and your unemployed friends tell you.  All those products need to be created, marketed, supported and sold regardless of our weakened economy.

Don’t believe for one moment that you chum the waters with resumes to countless job boards, resume sites and corporate websites.  All that accomplishes is you bloody the waters to become prey for sharks.  Those public resume aggregators receive thousands of resumes from job seekers; you have no opportunity to stand out from the crowd, to be seen.  And many are scams, identity thieves, and just plain bogus.  That’s why you rarely hear back and if you do, you rarely make it to the first interview.

Referred and recruited candidates trump random submissions every time. It is your job to do everything you can to get found, to be wanted.  Know the resources sophisticated employers/recruiters use and increase the possibility you will be lured into an interview.

One very smart internal recruiter caught the biggest fish possible for her employer.  Her success demonstrates the typical methods hiring authorities use.  She ignored all the website-submitted resumes gathering dust on her virtual desk; in fact, she never looked at them.

Her company had an EVP spot and needed an excruciatingly specific track record and skill set.  She knew the best use of her time was to talk to only those people with that skill set.  She located the top five companies who had the metric she needed then located the names of the execs responsible for that success.

She used a variety of resources to vet her suspects.  She first examined the corporate website for a bio and product information. Next, she used LinkedIn just to get an idea of former employers, quality of references and an overview of how these suspects saw themselves as represented by their summary.  She then looked at blogs and any number of other internet contributions from each of her suspects.  She needed someone who was beyond reproach technically, but who had a leadership style that demonstrated collaboration.  The tone and type of contributions (brand identity) she discovered narrowed her search to only two candidates whom she called to introduce herself.  She used a Boolean string to find direct contact information which interestingly, was also on the blogs she read.

Executives and technology leaders are in a different class from most candidates.  Do not be confused by all those recruiters who cast gill nets for new connections and make an appearance on every public forum trolling for submissions.  You are a rare breed and the recruiters who can place you are not to be found in their ranks.   If you are a big fish, avoid these recruiters.

Many jobs will be filled by the hiring authorities themselves through their network and online efforts which are not largely different from the resources recruiters use.

Quality employers and recruiters look for successful executives and technology leaders to recruit.  They have a network of long-term connections; they are not hit and run artists who collect (and ignore) resumes.  And these recruiters make anywhere from 20-30% of all executive level placements.  These are the recruiters by whom you want to be caught.  You have to swim in waters where they fish.

Blogs: Many experienced recruiters prefer to set alerts and search blogs for quality candidates. They use Boolean strings to isolate exactly the skills and requirements they need. They look for comments made on specific topics and they look for blogs on point to their client’s needs.

Clearly, if so many recruiters, both internal and external and hiring authorities in general, are looking for quality candidates on blogs, you need to be found there.

1. Answer questions using your full signature and LinkedIn profile address.
2. Write a blog of your own and keep it professional and on topic for your brand identity.
3. Create strategic alliances with other bloggers topic-adjacent and share links to each others sites.
4. Answer questions, start discussions and link to your site as a news article on LinkedIn and use your blog as part of your signature.

Social networking sites: Clean up and maintain your LinkedIn profile.  It is the first place people look once they have your name.  And some crafty employers use LinkedIn search tools to find people with certain former employers, titles and skill sets.

Twitter, Facebook and  others are, in my view, best used as a job search resource by job seekers young in their career.  You will read a lot about how they are used for job search, but your job search is different.  There are fewer jobs for executives and technology leaders than individual contributors and those employers tend to use more sophisticated options.

That having been said, do maintain your profiles and use the sites to promote your personal brand.  It’s like chicken soup, it couldn’t hurt.

Conferences and trade shows: Most companies set aside time and resources during conferences to cast a line to hook great candidates.  On more than one occasion when I was a recruiter, I was invited by clients to attend conferences with them to look for and qualify suspects my client could interview for key positions.  Today, even more resources are spent at conferences to locate industry-specific experts.  Be one.

1. Attend all conferences, trade shows and seminars where your target employer may be.
2. Volunteer to promote or organize the event
3. Offer a strategic employer your services to assist with booth duty
4. Attend your brand-specific topics and ask provocative questions
5. Come to each session early and linger to meet people
6. Stay in the radar of conference organizers as a prospective speaker or moderator
7. Write a brand-specific white paper to present or have available to attendees

Community: Many hiring authorities look to the community, both business and other for prospective employees.  They want to connect with people with shared values and interests.

1. Volunteer in organizations for which you are passionate
2. Attend business community events and engage.  Working to create and lead programs is a better advertisement for your brand than simply attending.
3. Participate in every and all alumni group for which you qualify
4. Become a mentor.  Get better visibility by helping others who succeed.

Your network: Job search by multiplication is accomplished through your network.  Employers ask the people they know and trust for referrals.  Big fish swim with other big fish.  Be that referral.  It is not enough to let your connections know you are looking for a new job.  You increase the chance they can actually help if they know what help looks like.

1. Hone your elevator pitch so everyone knows what you will be hired to do
2. Ask only for what your connection can deliver easily
3. Remember to return the favor
4. Stay connected but don’t badger; pay attention to their needs not just yours
5. Connect with and maintain relationships with a few good recruiters
6. Contentiously maintain your personal brand

And most important, maintain the big-fish attitude. If you are unemployed while looking for that next great job keep your spirits up; unemployment didn’t change your credentials or the value of your experience.  Just like that 100 lb sturgeon, focus on what you are going toward, not what you are going away from.

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By admin, April 7, 2009 12:03 pm

While the job-search world is filled with competent and effective recruiters, my email from angry candidates who have dealt with the worst of the lot and responses to my LinkedIn threads shout there are a lot of bad recruiters and harmful recruiting practices candidates encounter.  Offenses are not just borderline-ethical with traps set for unsuspecting candidates; the field is populated with incompetent recruiters who believe recruiting is an easy way to make a fast buck.

How can this be? Barriers to entry for recruiters are invisible.  Anyone with a telephone and a voice can call themselves a recruiter.  They may not last long in the profession, but their truncated longevity doesn’t mean you won’t encounter them.

Bad apples taint the waters and the good recruiters, those who provide such an important service that easily, over 35% of executive-level jobs are filled by them, have to wrestle with the general perception recruiters are just like used-car sales people.  Not much anyone can do about that other than keep their own practices above reproach.

Candidates are at risk. While I have cautioned how to avoid a bad recruiter to protect candidates, sometimes you just can’t tell the recruiter is incompetent until after you submit your resume.

After the fact. Once you have given the recruiter your resume and she seems unable to give you the information you need or has difficulty representing you with her client, it is time to take charge.  You don’t want to offend the recruiter because he is the gatekeeper and can harm your efforts to get face time with his client.

Example. One example from my coaching practice, names changed to protect, demonstrates how to work with a recruiter who is incompetent or inexperienced and still get what you need.

Wendy found Bill’s contact information on LinkedIn and wasted no time phoning him about a job opening she heard about.  The job had been open for three months and she felt the company would welcome an unsolicited resume from her.  She didn’t have the search but was certain with Bill’s resume, she could get the assignment.  (This is called the Trojan horse method and is encouraged in many recruiter training sessions.)

Wendy contacted Bill with a vague job description and a few made-up statistics about the job and the salary range.  Bill sent Wendy his resume and the only precaution he took was to tell her not to send the resume anywhere but the hiring company without asking.  She readily agreed and as soon as she had the resume, Wendy called the company in question.

She had not interviewed Bill nor did she have a grasp on how his strengths with the Agile software environment were important skills the employer would find compelling.  Somehow, she landed the search based on this one (and only this one) resume.  Later, when Bill asked Wendy questions about the job and why it had gone unfilled for so long, she revealed her ignorance.

What to do. Time for Bill to take matters in his own hands.  He consulted LinkedIn.com to see who he knew who would shed light on the company and the opportunity. He contacted his favorite recruiter and asked him what he knew about the company and job. There are few secrets among headhunters in the local search community. Bill discovered the hiring company’s various interviewers had conflicting priorities which was why they had little success filling the spot in a town filled with probable candidates.

Bill located former employees willing to support his interest in the company.  He was thus able to get a bead on the issues and formulate an interview plan in spite of Wendy’s ignorance.  He still needed her support and proceeded with caution.

Advice: Talk to Wendy face to face if possible. Tell her you want to make her look good so the more information you have when you meet her client, the better. Is there anything about the corporate culture or team she can share?

Don’t ask: Do you know their biggest priority?
Ask: What did they say to you to communicate their biggest priority?

Don’t ask: Why haven’t they filled the job?
Ask: What do they have to see to fill this position based on their past attempts? What did they say was missing?

Ask: When you spoke with the person to whom I would report, what impression do you have about his/her style? Their energy level? This question gives her the opportunity to reveal the level of her contact which you need to know.

If Wendy does not have direct contact with the actual hiring authority, she may invent answers or repeat the canned comments from HR. Keep in mind, if HR had the right fix on the priorities, the job would be filled by now. That’s why your own research is imperative. You can’t rely on Wendy’s answers for what you need to know to conduct a great interview.  Try to get as much as you can.

Ask: Is there something HR said more than once when they talked about their difficulty finding someone on their own?

Ask: What did you see in my background that told you I was a good fit?

Ask: I want to make sure we are talking from the same play book. What do you have in mind as the most important part of my background to get them interested in me as a candidate? Was there a comment made by the company about my resume and experience?

Ask: What if anything did they say to you that would suggest my experience managing teams in a variety of countries is of value? Use this approach for any characteristic you feel she needs to accentuate when she makes your appointment.  It is a subtle but accurate method to groom her comments about you.

Ask: I always send email thank-you notes to people with whom I interview. Is there any reason you’d be uncomfortable with my contacting them directly? Once Wendy says, “No, go right ahead,” you can follow-up as need be in the future with emails and phone calls. Don’t go around her, always copy her on emails and always let her know if you have contacted or otherwise spoken to the company on your own.

There is hope. “Every group of inexperienced recruiters has one or two really great future recruiters and one or two that will end up in an internal HR department somewhere. Candidates would do well to remember that and not burn bridges before they’re even built.” Emily B., Senior Recruiter

Wendy may be naïve’ or inexperienced and even unprofessional, but she is still a gatekeeper and she is representing you. One negative word from her and you may be removed from consideration. Ask the recruiter the right questions in the right way. Don’t be dismissive as she learns her role, but don’t be handicapped by her ineptitude.

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By admin, April 2, 2009 12:44 pm

One estimate of  job openings filled by recruiters is over 35%.  The percentage is higher for executive-level positions in the $100,000+ salary range.  Clearly, cultivating a professional relationship with a recruiter or two is an excellent career development strategy.  But how do you avoid exposure to the wrong ones?  I believe knowledge is power.  The more you know about how and why recruiters set traps for you, the easier you can avoid getting caught.

A crafty recruiter or a representative from a ‘resume mill’ can entice you to send your resume because they are trained to handle any objection you can produce.  Unless you verify an actual search for a real company, don’t send your resume.

1. Vet the recruiter immediately. Ask for the recruiter’s company name and contact information.  If the recruiter is vague or unresponsive to your direct questions, they are bogus and up to no good.  Request the hiring company name and the job description.  If they can’t supply all this information, there is no reason to go forward.  If they can, offer to get back to them after you have a chance to think about the opportunity.  Use that time to ascertain the validity of the recruiting company, the company with the open req and the job.  If you still have doubts, call the company in question and ask if they work with that recruiter.  If the recruiter cannot supply the information or objects to giving you time, run away.
2. Protect your contact information.  Resume mills are or sell your resume to resume aggregators.  These resumes are then used to cull contact information which is subsequently sold to the highest bidders.  Don’t include your home address and use a public email such as gmail.  If you submit a resume, it is lost in space and you will never hear from the recruiter again no matter how terrific the match to that imaginary job.
3. Job boards are not your friend.  The recruiter submits your resume to job boards. Resumes are stripped of your name and contact information and the recruiter’s contact information is substituted.  If someone is interested in your credentials, they have to go through the recruiter and split fees.
4. Cover the earth.  Resumes are sent to prospective employers at random and nationwide with the recruiter’s contact information, not yours.  Most companies do not follow-up on unsolicited resumes submitted by unknown recruiters.  They flag the resume and file it.  When a genuine presentation of your credentials occurs by you or your recruiter of choice, your resume is cast aside because of the previous connection.
5. The Trojan horse. Recruiters contact a company with an open req and pretend to represent you.  If the employer takes the bait, the recruiter can say they have the search.  While this sounds like an opportunity to get exposure with someone else doing the heavy lifting, it is just the opposite.  Candidates from recruiters known to the company get higher consideration.  The recruiter doesn’t know you so he can’t represent you (or the company) with any usable knowledge.  And worse, if the company rejects the recruiter, they flag your resume so neither you nor another reputable recruiter can breach that company’s defenses for consideration.
6. Is your resume part of their quota? Some recruiting companies have a resume quota for their recruiters.  This encourages new recruiters to get resumes with any story possible.  This is where the complaint “The recruiter didn’t even understand what I do,” comes from.  Your resume is submitted to their data base with no real understanding of the job you want or the special circumstances.  You can contact these recruiters till the cows come home and never get a response or follow up.  In fact, the likelihood that recruiter is still employed by the recruiting company after a year is very low. These recruiting companies can advertise and boast of a database with over xxx# current resumes.
7. The oldest trick.  A recruiter trick as old as the hills is to court an unsuspecting candidate with the ‘perfect’ job then ask the names and contact information of their boss or direct reports; the real target of their search.  While this is clearly a short-term solution, many recruiters cannot see past the next placement.  You will never hear back but your connections will.

New recruiter scams and bad-actors arise weekly.  It is up to you to protect yourself from bad recruiters.  The best way to avoid the disappointment and harm done by these disreputable folks is to vet them before you ever send a resume or give any information…regardless of their pitch.  No opportunity is so critical that receiving your resume can’t wait a day or two while you research the recruiter.

If a recruiter asks for a fee, they are not a recruiter.  By definition, no recruiter should ever charge the candidate; if they have a search, the company pays.  If they charge, that makes them an employment agency, not a recruiter. Again, run away.

Don’t let your desire to find a plethora of resources cloud your vision about recruiters. If you chose the wrong one(s) they can do serious damage to your self confidence and your search.  There are many excellent recruiters hired by companies to source qualified candidates. Learn to tell the difference and you will avoid all the angst and anger the recruiting’s bad apples spread.

This just in:  GadBall reports on scams where job seekers lose money and their identity.

Rita Ashley, Job Search Coach
Author: Job Search Debugged
www.jobsearchdebugged.com
ritathejobcoach@gmail.com
My clients get hired; not a guarantee, it’s a track record.

For more insights on recruiters, purchase Job Search Debugged. 

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By admin, March 25, 2009 10:38 pm

Based on responses to recent blogs and LinkedIn threads I wrote, I learned there is a lot of anger and vitriol directed at recruiters.  When I was a recruiter, I was a valued member of the business community who worked with investors and executives to build their companies and departments.  They consulted with me, dined with me treated me with respect. We worked together on boards, forums and industry events.

When I hear horror stories about how some recruiters behave and conduct their business and the resulting anger their behaviors provoke, I am disheartened.

Folks in job search mode need the best resources available; that includes recruiters known to be reliable, honest and effective.  Considering the hundreds of recruiter-bashing comments I read, I decided to help folks make a good effort to weed out the good from the bad and suggest a few warning signs to help  avoid getting involved with a recruiter who will not help you cross the finish line.

Good recruiters are part of the business community and how you treat them may have an affect on your opportunities.  Always be courteous regardless of your interest in the job they call about.  Statistics vary but the estimated range of executive level placements made by recruiters is between 25% – 35%.  Learn to spot the good ones.

Ask these questions:

1. Is this a search you have been invited to conduct?
2. Who is your contact within the company?
3. Have you worked on behalf of this company before?
4. What sort of searches?  When?
5. What part of my experience tells you I’d be a fit?
6. Do you have a job description?
7. What will you do with my resume?
8. What is the name of the hiring company?
9. What is the name and contact information of your company?
10. Will you supply references to me?
11. May I see the job description with which you are working?
12. Is there a charge to me for your services?

Notice the kinds of questions the recruiter asks.  Is she fishing?  Are his comments too general?  Does she understand the job description and how your background relates?

Warnings:

1. They ask names of your bosses or direct reports
2. They charge for representing you
3. They ask for personal information not pertinent to the job
4. They have no idea what you do

If you are not satisfied with the answers, be polite and end the conversation.  If you are satisfied and want to proceed get the basics.

Your best protection against disreputable and inexperienced recruiters is to avoid the job boards; their favorite hunting grounds.

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By admin, March 24, 2009 7:50 pm

What’s wrong with recruiters?

A recent post on LinkedIn regarding what to ask a recruiter when they cold call about a terrific job opportunity generated so much recruiter-bashing that I am compelled to learn more.

Why do so many people have such bad things to say about recruiters?  Are there that many bad practices?  Are there not enough good recruiters to cancel out the bad ones?  This is such a hugely emotional issue I hope this post can serve to air some of the issues and some of the solutions.  I will make it available on LinkedIn as well.

The reasons I hear most often are

1. Recruiters don’t get back to you
2. I am just a paycheck to them
3. They don’t tell the truth
4. They don’t really have the jobs search they contact me about

What do you have to say?  If you are a recruiter, be sure to chime in on how candidates can avoid interacting with recruiters who won’t treat them well.

Ritathejobcoach@gmail.com

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By admin, March 23, 2009 12:37 pm

The delight with being recruited sometimes eradicates judgment.  If you are a six-figure income executive, chances are you will be recruited on the telephone by recruiters not known to you.  The recruiter calls with a terrific job opportunity and the timing is right, the position exactly what you want…and you forget to get the details about with whom you are dealing.

Here’s a check list of important information you should get when a recruiter calls:

1. Get all the contact information immediately.  Ask for correct spellings, web sites, phone numbers and any other details.
2. What is your relationship with the company?  This is another way of asking if they actually have the recruiting assignment.  You’d be surprised how often recruiters go on fishing expeditions.
3. Are you working with the hiring authority directly?  You want to know how valid the information is.  If it is filtered through HR, the answers are watered down and often, not current.
4. Don’t ask if they are on retainer.  Do ask if they have an exclusive arrangement for this search.
5. Have you worked on behalf of this company before?  This gives you a clue about the validity of the information and the probability they have the ear of the hiring authority.
6. What should I expect?  This is a way to learn the time frame, the recruiter’s style and how you can make the recruiter’s job easier.   This also alleviates the stress of wondering when you will hear back.  Set that expectation up front.
7. Ask what the recruiter believes is the most compelling part of your background for this job.  This opens a discussion that reveals the recruiter’s understanding for the position.  It also gives you what you need to write a proper cover letter.

Establish a professional relationship at the beginning and much of the anxiety of working with someone you don’t know dissolves.  If you are still leery, ask for references.  You don’t want to disclose all your personal information to just anyone.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Rita Ashley is a career and job search coach for executives. In the last two years 98% of my clients achieved their goals within six months. Is it your turn? Contact me directly to discuss a customized solution.

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By admin, March 19, 2009 5:47 pm

You did all the right things and followed all their advice.  They promised a response and the air is still dead.  What can you do?

Five complaints about hiring authorities and gatekeepers who don’t follow up in a timely manner:

1. “The recruiter said she’d get back to me yesterday and I still haven’t heard.”
2. “I know I nailed the interview, why haven’t I heard back?”
3. “I submitted my resume and I know I qualify. Why didn’t someone call me?”
4. “She told me to call her and I did.  That was last week and she hasn’t responded.”
5. “I really want this job.  What is my next move? No one responded to my last three pings.”

The hardest aspect of a job search is you have so little control over other people’s actions and the outcomes.   You work very hard to be a good candidate and even have all the right credentials.  How on earth can you get the promised feedback?

Mostly, you can’t.  The more frequently you ping your company contact, the more annoyed they get.  Consider how you feel when you are hiring someone.  Do frequent emails or phone calls from candidates change the outcome?   Gatekeepers and hiring authorities are generally so focused on hiring the right candidate they often fail at the simple courtesies.

But don’t take any of this personally.  Here are but a few reasons you didn’t hear back:

• You are dealing with a recruiter, not the hiring manager.  She may not have the mind share and face time required to push this through
• The hiring managers may be otherwise occupied
• This may not be a high priority hire
• They may be trying to arrange schedules to bring you in and have hit rocks
• There is an in-house candidate they are giving first shot
• The recruiter is not a favored nation and other recruiters with other candidates get priority

No matter what the reason, there is little you can do or say beyond your second outreach to spur these folks to action.  There is a lot you can do to annoy them and take you off the list.  Even if you do get through and they tell you of a genuine reason they didn’t get back to you, it behooves you to pursue all your employment opportunities in parallel.  Hearing back will feel good, but it should not affect what you do every day to uncover opportunities.

All this having been said, your experience informs you how to behave when you are once again hiring people. The simple courtesy of an email saying, “We are still working on filling this position and are pleased with your continued interest,” will go a long way.

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By admin, February 2, 2009 3:17 pm

The nature of the beast

A seldom anticipated aspect of dealing with recruiters is they know things you don’t think they can possibly know.  It is highly likely you are not the only person with whom the recruiter has spoken from any of your previous employers.   It is safe to say any recruiter who serves a specific niche’ occupation is wired into the gossip and rumor mill of same.  Warning:  Don’t take credit for things you didn’t do.  Take credit for the mistakes and poor decisions.  Chances are the recruiter will find out via the informal network or already knows.

When you talk to a recruiter, you are talking to the business community at large.  When your name comes up for searches or even polite conversation, comments will be made.  It behooves you to manage your relationships with recruiters as though you plan to be part of that community in good standing for the duration of your career.

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