Executive Career Insights

How To Get A Date With A Recruiter

By now, you should know that to land a job in today’s highly competitive market, you will need to do more than send out resumes online. Maximize and leverage as many job search tactics and strategies that will connect you with key decision makers.

If executive recruiters are on your list as part of your job search plan, you should know a few quick tips on how to grab their attention and form a new relationship.

However, before you jump out there and start calling or emailing every recruiter listed on the Internet, you should at least understand their work world and some other challenges they deal with. Here are some for starters...

• They spend about four to five hours a day on the phone
• They make contact with at least 500 people every week
• They can receive anywhere from 500 to 1,000 emails every day (with social media communication at an all time high, that number can be much higher)
• They rely on their network for current industry information and market trends
• They are compensated for finding the right candidate for their client (companies)

 Keeping that mental picture of a recruiter’s daily challenges, which of the following strategies do you need to beef up to get a recruiter’s attention?

1) Have specific job targets

Most recruiters will be specialized by industry and/or function. For example, a recruiter may only work with healthcare professionals while another may specialize in placing executives in all industries. A recruiter’s primary goal is to make a placement, so if you are unclear about your job targets or you are open to any opportunity that comes up, a recruiter is probably not your best option.

2) Be clear and consistent in your marketing message     

Whether your first contact with a recruiter is by telephone, e-mail or a quick note through LinkedIn, you must be able to quickly articulate your core competencies and qualifications, the value you bring to the table and have evidence of your career achievements.

In case you're wondering, yes, yes...take the time to prepare and practice your 30-second elevator pitch.

3) Develop a comprehensive resume

If you want recruiters to work for you, you need to tell them everything and I mean everything about your career background - the highs, the lows and everything in between.

--Your resume should have the dates for every position (starting and ending) and the graduation years in the education section despite your age.

-- Top tier degrees should be listed on the first page of the resume and use a bulleted format to highlight your quantifiable accomplishments.

Tip: If you are concerned about revealing too much, you can create a separate resume that is just for recruiters only.

4) Get creative in your cover letter or direct email

Saw a recruiter-listed job opportunity? Grab their attention by inserting a table with two columns that compares your qualifications against the job requirements - make it easy for the recruiter to see whether you are match. With the overwhelming amount of candidates competing for the recruiter’s attention, don’t leave anything to chances.

5) Make your email subject line catchy

A compelling subject line message may prompt recruiters to open your e-mail right away. Use something to make an immediate connection - if you were referred by someone or met the recruiter recently at a networking event, mention that in the subject line.

6) Think twice about massive e-mail blasts

Technology can be both your friend and your enemy in a job search. The high volume of email have caused many recruiters to utilize email filtering and bulk mail programs. While you may have the opportunity to send your resume and cover letter to 500 recruiters, there is no guarantee that it will be seen.

In addition, there are some recruiters may choose to ignore resumes sent through bulk mail as they view the candidates as being unfocused.

7) Honesty counts

There are consequences to lying, omissions and misrepresentations made to recruiters. First of all, a majority of recruiters use Google, LinkedIn, ZoomInfo and other business and social networking sites to learn more about candidates. Consequently, being dishonest and hiding critical facts are the fastest ways to ruin a relationship with a recruiter.

For those who are executive recruiters, what other suggestions do you have?

 

About Abby, Executive Career Architect, Job Search Expert, Master Resume Writer

Ask yourself these questions:

-- Does your executive resume accurately describe your management style and leadership capabilities?

-- Is your executive resume rich with compelling Challenge-Action-Results success stories that indicate your value contribution?

-- Does your executive resume convey enthusiasm or energy motivating employers to contact you?

-- Has your executive resume been generating a stream of employer responses for the right jobs?

If you have answered no to any of these questions, you should be talking to Abby Locke. She is an executive resume writer helps senior-level executives to achieve career success through cutting-edge, brand-focused career documents and proactive career management strategies.

Her distinctive executive resume samples have been published in 14 national career publications...click here to schedule a resume consultation.

Seven Recruiting Trends To Watch In 2009

My recent discussions with active executive candidates revealed some of the growing obstacles and roadblocks they are experiencing in their job search efforts.

While it gave everyone an opportunity to express themselves and remove from job search isolation, there were definitely some comments that kept coming up. Among the biggest pet peeves that were expressed to me were:

-- Lack of response from companies who have received their resume and/or job applications

-- Insufficient qualified job openings that best match their career background, experience level and salary requirements.

-- Not securing enough interviews despite multi-faceted job search marketing campaigns

-- Too many companies putting on hiring freezes, changing the position requriements or shifting to internal candidates.

We all know that 2008 was a challenging year to say the least, but what is in store for 2009 - can it get any worse?

A recent survey by Careerbuilder.com suggested that while we can expect recruitments to lower in 2009, all employers are not completely out of the mix for bringing new employees on board.

"Instead, they are taking a "wait and see" approach to hiring, according to CareerBuilder.com's "2009 Job Forecast," which tracks projected hiring trends for the new year. The survey, conducted by Harris Interactive, surveyed 3,259 hiring managers and human resource professionals in private sector companies."

 

Check out the full article here - you will be surprised by some of the expected trends that include bigger paychecks and flexible work arrangements. All is not lost in your executive job search.

 

 

Still looking for an organized, reliable system for developing your executive job search campaign, see what the FastTrack Career Transition Mastermind program can do for you.

 

Blogging To Save Your Career Or Get A New Job - Now That's A Thought

Hmmm...now it's hard to ignore the fact that social media and networking play a critical part of our lives why not maximize it in your job search?

According to a report by Execunet:

"86 percent of executive recruiters have used search engines to uncover information about candidates, and as a result, 44 percent of those recruiters have eliminated a candidate because of information that was widely available on the Internet.

Conversely, 70 percent of executive recruiters reported to ExecuNet that finding positive information online improves candidates' job prospects and can therefore elevate them to the top of the consideration list."

Remember what I discussed in a previous post about online identity - How Do You Rank...Digitally?

Well, creating a blog seems to be a very popular and cost-effective way to keep your online presence fresh and demonstrate to prospective employers and executive recruiters, your thought leadership, industry expertise and strategic thinking.

However, before you run off and start a blog, there are several things you need to consider. Blogs take time, commitment, and focused energy (trust me, I know)...having no blog is better than having a deserted blog.

An insightful article in AdWeek outlines ten reasons why starting a blog can help you to stay relevant and updated in today's turbulent economy.

Please let me know if you decide to start blogging:)

Abby M. Locke
Executive Career Strategist
www.premierwriting.com
www.financeexecutiveresumes.com
www.premieroutplacement.com

Generic Executive Resume Objectives - Just Plain Bad!!!

I will admit that the standard, generic executive resume objectives drive me up a wall. Well meaning, intelligent job seekers spend so much energy writing "me-oriented" career objectives.

Some of my favorite resume objective blunders - do NOT send your resume out with anything like these:

Resume Objective: "To obtain a position where I can maximize my multilayer of skills managing my own successful business, successful sales executive, general contractor, marketing, training experience, office manager, office assistant, customer service, organization, and motivation."

Gee - that's a whole lot going on there - what are you seeking?

Resume Objective: "To contribute to the continual success of the administration utilizing my skills in management and supervision."

Okay - whose administration - the Bush administration?

Employers want and need to know how you will help them. According to a recent survey of hiring managers by Katherine Hansen, the author of Top-Notch Executive Resumes (with a resume sample from yours truly), the resume objective is one of many pet peeves. An excerpt from her report states:

"Most people in hiring positions do not read Objective statements. "Omit objective statements [because] the applicant, as a matter of principal, has no objective; the company has the objective," advised Kennedy.  "Whatever you write, your objective is to get a job," said Alison, a corporate recruiter for a specialized information provider.

"I can never figure out why people think employers are breathlessly waiting to provide them with opportunities. I am especially puzzled when it is in an executive resume," noted Joy Montgomery, owner of Structural Integrity in California."

Instead of stating the obvious combine a title header with a strong branding statement and summary section. Which candidate sounds better to you:

Candidate A: Seeking a challenging leadership position where I can utilize my strengths in manufacturing and production.

Candidate B:

SENIOR MANUFACTURING EXECUTIVE

Bringing World-Class Performance and Compliance To Manufacturing and Production Operations

Infusing global manufacturing operations with advanced, state-of-the art engineering solutions that streamline processes, curtail hazardous waste costs, and elevate environmental and safety standards

It's the same candidate, just a stronger message....remember it's all about what the employers want.

The Truth About Today's Job Search

If you have been feverishly launching a job search that seems to be getting nowhere, I want to know, "What have you been doing?"

If more than 50% of your time has been spent online responding to job postings or posting your resume to various career sites, I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but these are the facts:

• Your emails are most likely being deleted. It is simply overwhelming to the hiring  managers because they have too many emailed resumes from solicited and unsolicited resources.

• There are over 40 million (that's right) resumes posted through the major online career sites and the success rate is only between 1% to 3%! Still wondering why you are not getting responses?

• Seventy to eighty percent (70% to 80%) of job opportunities are filled through networking and personal contacts. No, your dream job is not waiting online at a career site for you to find it....furthermore, every 2 to 3 jobs you find online do not compare to the 7 to 8 other jobs out there you have not seen. If everyone is chasing the same jobs, how can you expect to succeed?

• Recruiters usually charge companies 30% of your salary to the companies who hire them, so what about the companies that want to hire without a recruiter? You cannot know about those opportunities unless you are actively networking.

Landing your "dream job" is going to take a lot more than online job search expertise. You have to be proactive and being proactive translates to researching companies, finding contacts through online social/professional sites like LinkedIn, networking at annual events and industry conferences, and finding the hidden job market.

One of my colleagues, Sue Campbell summarizes it well:

"There has been a lot of discussion over the last decade regarding the "Hidden Job Market." Does it exist? And if so, where is it and how can you get a piece of the action? The truth is, the "Hidden Job Market" isn't really hidden, and tapping into it simply requires a bit of outside-the-box thinking.

It doesn't mean you can forgo the routine procedures and protocols of an ordinary job search. It does mean throwing your net as far and wide as you're willing, in order to gain the largest amount of exposure and opportunities possible. Tapping into the "hidden job market" requires real effort and legwork on the part of the job candidate."

How To Get Recruiters To Call You Back

Partnering with a recruiter is one of the most effective ways to power your job search activities. Engaging the right recruiter is like having a second set of eyes reviewing executive opportunities that match your career background.

Before you jump out there and start calling or emailing every recruiter listed on the Internet, you should understand how they work, some of the daily challenge they face, and simple techniques you can use to make their jobs easier.

• You are not their only executive candidate

Executive recruiters can easily spend up to five hours a day dealing with potential candidates by telephone; they contact close to 500 people every week for further screening and interviewing; and they have the daunting task of sorting through 500 to 1,000 emails daily. 

• Have a specific job objective or goal

While a recruiter’s primary goal is to connect qualified candidates with hiring companies, he/she cannot assist you if you are unclear about the positions you are interested in; they can best place candidates who have at least 10 to 15 years’ experience in the same field.

• Have a strong online identity

More than 75% of executive recruiters use Google and other online resources to learn more about candidates before contacting them. Maximize resources like Linked In, Zoom Info, Ryze, Jobster can get you started with creating an online presence. 

• Try to minimize e-mail blasts

Recruiters receive such a high volume of emails that they often use extensive email filtering and bulk mail systems to streamline their incoming emails. While email blasting programs give you the opportunity to send your resume and cover letter to hundreds and even thousands of executive recruiters, there is no guarantee that it will be read.

• Develop memory-jogging subject line

When reaching out to recruiters by emails, use a common event, person or activity to make an immediate connection. If you were referred to the recruiter by a personal friend, or if you met the recruiter at a recent networking event, place a sentence in the subject line that would jog his/her memory.

• Prepare a well-defined message

Whether you are reaching out to recruiters by telephone, emails or in-person events, make sure that you have developed a 30-second elevator pitch. With hundreds of executive jobseekers contacting the same recruiter, make sure that your message stands out.

• Write a comprehensive, recruiter-only resume

Executive recruiters need to know the details about every position you held – even the ones that only lasted six months or the ones you got fired from. Include starting and ending dates for every position on your resume and keep the graduation years in the education section. Create a bulleted list to highlight your quantifiable accomplishments and place top-tier degrees on the first page of the resume.

• Create a career biography

Many executive recruiters like to review a career biography because they can quickly assess the jobseeker’s background and career progression. Write your career biography in a narrative format and include some of your top career achievements.

 

 

 

Abby M. Locke, Executive Director of Premier Writing Solutions (www.premierwriting.com), is a Nationally Certified Resume-Writer and Personal Brand Strategist who helps senior-level professionals and C-level executives achieve personal success with customized, branded executive resumes and career marketing documents. Her resume samples have been published in Top Notch Executive Resumes, Nail the Resume! Great Tips for Creating Dynamic Resumes, Same-Day Resumes, and Quick Resume and Cover Letter Handbook.