Recruiter: How to work with one successfully

If you haven’t worked with a recruiter (or even if you have!), here’s the best way to set yourself up for success (aka get a job!) when working with one.

What a recruiter can do for you

A Recruiter has access to jobs!

Crazy, right? Some of those jobs you might see posted by the employer, but some client partners work solely through a recruiter because they don’t have time to look at resumes, etc. Your recruiter likely has a large network as well, which is something that could become a big benefit for you.

They get to know you

Recruiters gain an understanding of your strengths, preferences, potential, hard/soft skills, etc. All this allows them to become an advocate for you.

Feedback and advice

With resumes, interviews, and anything else job-search related, they can help. And they’re great at giving you feedback to help you perfect your skills. If you hadn’t already guessed it, these things could also help you with your own personal search, not just the search you’re doing through the recruiter.

What you can do to help them

Timely responses to requests

For one, they’re probably going to ask for references at some point. And if they’re successful in finding a job for you, there may be paperwork involved. Do whatever you can to turn all this around in a timely fashion. Otherwise, it just delays the process and could even affect your start date.

Stick with your recruiter

This doesn’t mean you can’t do your own search! Instead, I’m advising that you not go around your recruiter to contact the hiring manager of the client company directly on your own. From the standpoint of every relationship involved in this little puzzle, it ends up creating challenges. Let your recruiter handle the heavy lifting on all this.

Keep it real

It’s actually a great idea to be honest with them. When it comes to likes, dislikes, skills, etc., let them know! Tell them what your goals are, whether they be short-term or long-term (or both!). This truly helps them to help you. And if they’re calling you about a job you don’t want, it’s ok to say no and tell them why that’s not the right match.

Stay in touch

This one is pretty important. If you’re not hearing much from them, shoot them a quick email or give them a call. It’s the best way to make sure you stay top of mind for when your dream job just happens to cross their desk