Seasoned recruiter, Rina Gami, shares her thoughts on how to build a trusted partnership with your recruiter.
As a recruiter I juggle a number of priorities every day. A lot of the time, the universal grievance from candidates who are looking for a new role, is they feel their calls are not returned or they are overlooked for roles. In reality, that may occasionally be true; we are all human and no-one is perfect. However, there are some occasions when candidates could position themselves differently to try and get a better outcome.
The recruitment industry is a people business, so let’s treat each other with respect and work on building that relationship. No-one wants to feel like a commodity or a transaction.
As an applicant, here are four things you need to focus on to help you build a long-lasting, trusting relationship with your recruiter:
- Replace that poorly written resume: before I decide to call you, the first thing I look at is your resume. How you present it says a lot about how you seriously you take your job search and the impression you will make on employers. This is the point where a large number of applicants fail, with a poorly written document. Any good Hiring Manager will disregard a poorly constructed resume and I am no different. I would rather give my time to those who have given their CV due care and attention. Typically, the poorest examples include a weak layout, spelling mistakes, too lengthy or (at the other end of the spectrum) too brief. There is a balance to be struck between importance and irrelevance. You do not need to go out and pay for a professional to put it together; there are a range of tools available online or reach out to your network – I am sure someone will kindly oblige. Get this right first time before you apply for any role. There is no excuse for a poorly presented resume and it directly reflects on how much effort you will put into presenting yourself.
- Do not be the serial applicant: stop applying for every job, relevant or not (most of the time). I understand you are keen to secure a role; the financial burden of not having a job is stressful. However, applying for every job is not going to help – a scattergun approach is not going to get the result you want. You are more likely to miss out on a role you could be really suitable for. If you are coming up in every application list, recruiters will just start overlooking your application. You are damaging your brand. Be selective about the roles you apply for; if you are unsure, reach out to the recruiter by e-mail, use their name (if you have it), spelling it correctly, or call up and find out if it is worth applying based on your experience. Start to build your network.
- Stop being pushy or over-selling yourself when applying for a role: trust us, if you are the right fit for the role, you will not need to go to such extreme lengths. It is in my best interests to present the best candidates to my clients, if you are the right candidate. Being pushy is not an appealing character attribute and from my point of view, it does not make you a desirable candidate for shortlist.
- Constantly calling – if you have called and left a message, give it a reasonable amount of time before you call back. Calling back five times in the space of two hours does not reflect well on your candidacy. Unfortunately, I do not sit around all day answering calls. As a recruiter I am balancing a multitude of priorities. If you have not heard back from me, there is a very good reason why. I may not have any feedback or an update for you. I may be in a meeting, interviewing, referencing, trying to generate other opportunities for you. Finally, I may be having a well-earned lunch break (after all we do need to eat as well). The list is endless…
At Konnexus our candidates are an essential part of our business. As much as we wish we could help every one of you, the reality is it is just not possible. We also cannot respond to everyone personally in the timely manner that you might expect, due to the sheer number of applicants and enquiries we have to manage every day. We try our very best every day to get back to as many of you as we can, and if we genuinely feel we cannot help you, we are transparent and tell you.
