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How to make recruiters like you
16 June 2009By Sarah Butcher
COMMENTS
None of this will make any difference to a recruiter. The only thing that will is being a good candidate and having a good CV. If you don't then if you buy me lunch I still won't call you. Read all comments »You may not like recruiters. You may think that they are like estate agents or journalists. You may even accuse them of being parasites. But if you want a new job, it’s counterproductive to antagonize them and productive to get them on your side. Here’s how to do it:
• Put yourself in their shoes
All the recruiters we spoke to would like to point out that they make their money by placing candidates. If they don’t place anyone, they won’t get paid. If they think you are a strong candidate they will therefore be nice to you. If they don’t think you’re a strong candidate, don’t blame them for passing you over.
“Don’t take it personally,” says the head of one financial services recruitment boutique. “Remember that we need to be viewed as useful and essential by the client and therefore we can only put forward candidates matching the job description and who are of a higher calibre than the client is able to source directly.”
• Spell out what you have to offer
Most recruiters receive hundreds of CVs a week. They don’t have time to read them all in detail. Therefore, if you’re applying for a job use the covering letter to spell out precisely why you’re a good fit.
“I am at the buzz word-driven end of a buzz word-driven industry,” says one recruiter. “You need to make it very obvious that you are suited to the role. For example, just because you’ve worked with credit derivatives, I do now know that you can do copulas.”
• Don’t expect them to pay for everything
Recruiters will often suggest a meeting in a coffee shop. You may feel they should pay for anything you consume, but you will endear yourself better if you volunteer to pick up the tab.
“When a candidate offers to pay, it makes me feel that they have got some value from the meeting,” says one recruiter.
• Regularly update your CV
This is not so much about getting recruiters to like you as getting their computer systems to like you.
“Most CVs are entered into computer systems and most of these systems operate using a combination of recentness and relevancy,” says a recruiter. “If you make a small change and send it through to us again, it will move to the top of the queue.”
• Find someone to refer you
On the whole, recruiters will like you more if you are referred by someone they respect (preferably a client). This does not always hold true, however.
“People who are referred are often a bit needy. You have to ask why they didn’t come through directly,” says a recruiter.
COMMENTS
Bigfellah, Operations, Tue 16 Jun 09
I am a 60 year old English male, alive, healthy, intelligent, slightly over weight but working on that (It doesn't affect my abilities) But seemingly in the world of the RC or HH... I'M DEAD!!
I have been avidly applying for jobs for the past 6 months to no avail!
I am so annoyed and frustrated at being patronised by recruitment agencies in trying to obtain gainful employment that fits my experience! Why am I told that I am "over qualified" for a particular role? To me that means I can do the job. Why am I told that I "would be bored" in a particular role? I can decide if I am bored or not. Then they say “Don’t take it personally.” Sorry but I do take it personally otherwise why would they say it otherwise?
"Remember that we need to be viewed as useful and essential by the client and therefore we can only put forward candidates matching the job description and who are of a higher calibre than the client is able to source directly.” Why do you think I apply for an advertised role? I have read the brief job description and matched it with my CV! Yet the RC or HH will tell me that I am not suitable!! Age discrimination is still rife in the City and RCs and HHs know this!
wombat_markt, Wed 17 Jun 09
I find it perturbing to speak to twenty something recruiters who start with 'tell me about yourself' or 'where do you see yourself in five years' and still get excited over 'top tier' candidates who have sat in positions of responsibility and oversight during the biggest financial balls up in many a year and are quite happy to revolve them back into a job by singing their praises and are overly mindful of the salary band and their retainer..... just hope they are not going to manage your pension fund. Alienate recruiters?... Can we shoot some of them?
Add your comment »Oh dear, HR & Recruitment, Wed 17 Jun 09
Bigfellah-60 years old and desperate to work-Oh dear.
Add your comment »Recruiter1973, HR & Recruitment, Wed 17 Jun 09
@ Bigfellah - actually a topic worthy of some debate rather than the usual recruiters bashing.
Of course age discrimination is alive and kicking in the City, perpetrated by the banks unwillingness to consider anyone who is past their mid 40s rather than it being recruiters making that call.
As it is often pointed out here by unemployed bankers, recruiters by their very nature are fairly mercenary and take the approach that a fee is a fee, whether that comes from placing a 23 year old or someone is 60 is pretty much irrelevant.
I would never discriminate on the basis of age, however have had clients basically tell me that they don't want anyone over a certain age, giving excuses such as "they wouldn't be a good team fit".
Roger, Accounting & Finance, Wed 17 Jun 09
@ Recruiter 1973
Have you ever found the moral courage and honesty to tell the candidate(s) about the client's excuses?
If you did candidates could then pursue this through an employment tribunal.
If you didn't you probably broke the law as well as the client.
Age discrimination persists because people like you can't accept that you are discriminating on the basis of age.
Small business banker, Corporate Banking, Wed 17 Jun 09
I hope to see many of these outfits go out of business by the end of this year. Indeed I have withdrawn financing from some of them already....
Add your comment »Recruiter1973, HR & Recruitment, Wed 17 Jun 09
@ Roger
On a number of occassions where I have a very good relationship with the candidate I have been honest and told them that its just not likely they will be considered and given them the reason. Sadly, for most experienced / older (however you want to phrase it) candidates this comes as no shock. The most common response is that they wouldn't want to work for a firm that took that approach anyway.
There is very little value in banging my head against a brick wall and wasting time trying to get people a job where they are never going to get one, when I know that there may be other clients out there who will consider a candidate based on what they can do not how old they are. This is where I focus my efforts
Grumpy old man, Accounting & Finance, Wed 17 Jun 09
I would like to add to Bigfellah's gripe as a late 40s English male who has spent the last 20 years abroad and is looking to come back to the UK. "Been away too long" is the automatic response before they complain they can't find anyone with the skills and hire a Pole instead.
My own complaint is with those who do not reply to applications or e mails - beyond an automated response if you're lucky - and are always "in a meeting" when you make a follow up call. I speak several languages, including two less common ones, and it is quite obvious from applying for positions requiring these languages, and ticking most if not all of the other boxes, and then not getting any response, that they do not read the CVs properly, (and yes I did get mine rewritten: total W.O.M, as it has resulted in less interviews than my old one did, which I wrote myself). It is not good enough to say that they receive hundreds of CVs, - it is their job to read them - or that they are busy - so am I. Being polite works both ways, and any application deserves a reply. It was actually quite refreshing to get an old-fashioned rejection letter: needless to say it was from a direct recruiter, not an agency.
me, Trading, Wed 17 Jun 09
btw I couldn't be bother to respond to someone who actually can't get it.
and @ ponterotto I don't know what your native language is, although I can probably guess, but ponteretto means something else. Retto is not colon!