Should I work with an external recruiter or send my resume directly to the company website?

Should you work with external recruiters if you see a position open at a company or go directly to the company website and post your resume?

Hi Rebecca,

I’ve got a quick question: A friend forwarded to me info on what looks like the perfect job for me. My friend heard about it through an outside recruiter and is ready to make an introduction to the recruiter. But I see the position is also posted on the company’s website with an inside email address for resumes. So I’m trying to figure out whether it would be better to try going through the recruiter or applying directly to the company, which I think would save them money. Which route do you think would give me better odds of getting noticed? I’m so tired of my resumes ending up in a “black hole”!

Rebecca’s advice: Please work with the recruiter first because they have a direct relationship with the hiring managers. Yes, in today’s market your resume might get stuck in the black hole (HR is receiving 400 resumes per position) on the company’s website.

Have your friend submit you right away and make the introduction for you. but remember to have them copy you on the introduction email so you can follow up with the recruiter. You don’t want to depend on your friend after that. You want to take ownership.
You should never ever worry about the money a hiring company has to pay a staffing or recruiting firm. They build it into their budgets every year. Hiring managers value working with external recruiters. External recruiters have the direct relationship with hiring managers most of the time. They can get your resume looked at immediately. Most of the time, recruiters can get you jobs faster than going through the company website.

Pre-interview research…

 Hello Everyone, I wanted to share an article with you that I wrote last month for another website. I hope you can get some great tips from it.

 

Pre-Interview Research: Five tips to investigate a company before the interview.

 

By Rebecca Martin

 

The goal of any job interview is to get to the next step which is the offer stage and land the job! The best way to achieve this goal is by being strategic, linking your experience and strengths to the requirements of the position throughout the interview process and by dialoguing with the interviewer(s). The more prepared you are the more relaxed and confident you will be.

 

Five tips for employer research

 

1.  Visit the Company Website – An organization’s website will contain basic information about products and services, company history, and leadership.  If available, spend time in the online press room reviewing the latest press releases and media coverage.  This information will get you up-to-date quickly.

 

2.  Consult Human Resources – Ask the HR representative to provide you with a list of the interviewer(s) and their titles.  Knowing their titles will tell you about the types of questions they will be asking.  For example, the operations manager may be asking you questions about day-to-day processes and how the position you are interviewing for relates to production and quality. 

 

Knowing their names will allow you to do some additional research to find commonality with the interviewer(s) and learn more about their educational and professional backgrounds.  See step three:

 

3.  Review LinkedIn – LinkedIn is one of the largest professional online networking sites in the world. Populated with 25 million members, it is a warehouse of information for job searchers. First, look for the people who will be interviewing you.  Study their profiles to learn more about the organization to which you are applying and look for shared connections and interests.

 

Next, search LinkedIn for people you know who work or have worked for the organization in question. This will help you with step number four:

 

4.  Network, Network, Network – Talk to people you know who have worked at the company or are familiar with it.  They will be able to give you information that you might not find on the company website such as corporate values, leadership and management styles.

 

5.  Search the Internet – Run a general search of the internet for information on your prospective employer.  You may find the company referenced in the minutes of civic groups or in legal proceedings.  Key the company name into Google Maps to find customer reviews.  Similarly, sites like Jobvent.com provide a forum for employees to praise or complain about their employers. 

 

Using these resources, you can find insight into company reputation, culture and values such as work life balance, volunteerism, and philanthropy.  Some of this information will help you during the interview, while other information can help you decide if this workplace is right for you.

—
Rebecca Martin, founder of  dear jane… lives in northern California where she works as a career coach and training professional. She believes that people can find jobs/careers that bring them enjoyment and prosperity. She blogs about the career search and produces The Best Darn Career Show posted on YouTube.

A poll taken from HR professionals about the BEST Job Boards to post your resume on!!!

 I just received a comment from one of our postings from this past week. Patrick recommended the information below so I wanted to post it for all of you to see.

As a career coach, I always recommend the top three sites to post your resume on if you are looking for a job. They are www.craigslist.com, www.monster.com and www.careerbuilder.com.
But based on Patricks information below, there are two more I would like to mention. Check them out and the link below and let me know how it goes. I will also test drive these as well and let all of our clients know about them. They are www.realmatch.com and www.jobfox.com

 

About.com surveyed human resource professionals and recruiters about which of the top 10 job sites they found the best candidates on, survey results here:

 

http://humanresources.about.com/gi/pages/poll.htm?poll_id=5763275227&linkback=http://humanresources.about.com/b/a/258241.htm

How to Work with Recruiters! Tips below.

1)     How to find a recruiter

·         Job boards – they will be calling you.

·         Job postings and descriptions – i.e. monster or indeed, recruiter’s names will be listed on posted positions.

·         From friends and colleagues.

·         Target list – call the company and ask hr or the receptionist who there recruiting partners are and how many they work with.

·         Google –online sources.

 

2 ) Tips to remember

·         Recruiters are your friends – they want to help you.

·         Recruiters know a lot about their clients and can help you close the deal and get the job.

·         If you don’t like the recruiter don’t work with them and move on.  You don’t have to answer any of their questions if you think they are too personal. But remember they are trying to learn about you and get you in a job.

·         If they don’t call you back, call them and don’t take it personally.

·         Don’t forget to write down their contact information and follow up with them.

·         If you are really shy and introverted you will need to work with a recruiter.

·         Work with 1-2 recruiters minimum.

·         When they call, let them initially drive the interview.

·         If it’s not a good time to talk to them, don’t answer the phone or ask them if you can call them back (we also are looking for professionalism from you too).

·         If recruiters don’t get a good read on you over the phone they won’t call you back. It       happens all the time.

·         DON’T FORGET TO ASK THEM QUESTIONS.

·         Great recruiters will only send 1-2 candidate’s resumes per position.

 

3) Questions to ask the recruiters to see if they are credible

·         How long have you been in the recruiting industry or been recruiting?

·         What type of clients and industries do you work with and recruit for?

·         Are you focused in a particular field, industry?

·         How long have you been working with your client?

·         How many resumes do you send for one position?

·         Figure out if they have a relationship with their client, if they do you will get quick and quality feedback from your interviews.

·         If they can’t help you, ask them if they can refer you to other recruiters.

 

Go to www.dearjane.info or contact rebecca.martin@dearjane.info

 

Don’t Stop Your Job Search During The Holidays!!!!

How to Conduct an Effective Job Search During the Holidays.

Don’t Quit your Job Search Companies are Hiring!

  

Myth: Companies don’t hire during the Holidays.

Fact: People get hired all the time during the holidays, the number of positions might not be as high but Hiring Managers are looking for candidates to fill positions by January 09.

  

Myth: Hiring Managers are too busy with Holiday Parties, Families, etc. and won’t have time to interview with candidates.

Fact: Not true, this is the best time to interview with hiring managers and executives because most of them don’t travel during the holidays so they are more flexible with their schedules.

 

Career Tips:

 1) Most candidates quit their job search during November and December, so their will be more job opportunities for those candidates who continue searching for their dream job.

 2) Stay positive because all Hiring Managers and HR professionals are more relaxed, flexible and willing to accommodate you during the hiring process. They have less stress during this festive and holiday party time.

 3) Remember, some companies and hiring managers haven’t filled all their 2008 job requisitions and they don’t want to lose them, so they hurry and scurry around to find candidates during the last quarter (assuming their fiscal year is aligned with the calendar year).

 

Remember, you can find jobs/careers that bring you enjoyment and prosperity.  Don’t forget to set yourself apart from your competitors; stop by and introduce yourself in person; call and have a live telephone conversation and BE POLITELY PERSISTENT!

 

 

 

 

Career Tip for the day! Refresh your resume – Don’t leave it hanging out there in cyber space

I want to let you know about the three job boards you should be posting on to get results. Recruiters only look at the last two days of postings. So you can’t forget to refresh your resumes every three days. What this means is that you need to go into your resume profiles on these sites and make changes to them and then save changes. This will refresh the resume and bring it to the top of the pile. My clients that do this have 3-4 interviews per week. People are getting hired everyday and there are a lot of jobs in the US despite what they say about unemployment. Hang in there and keep focused. Also, check out the job fairs at www.jobjournals.com.

You need to post on www.craigslist.com, www.monster.com, www.careerbuilder.com when looking for a job. Now if you are High Tech Professional you should post on www.dice.com and if you are in Bio Tech you should post on www.biospace.com.

Job Fairs – Are they Loser conventions?

I can’t tell you how many people get embarassed about attending job fairs. I had one of my clients in a two day training course call it a loser convention. I love job fairs and think they are a great way for job seekers/candidates meet hiring managers and human resource professionals and recruiters face to face. There are very good tips on how to work job fairs for example, you should always sign up before the event and get a full list of employers that are attending; do your research on the companies you want to target at the job fair so you sound prepared when you meet them; arrive 45 min early and make sure you are dressed like you are going to an interview.  Job Journals is a link that lists all the job fairs in the Greater Bay Area. www.jobjournals.com   Try out a couple you might find that you really like them and might get hired from one.   Employers are not at job fairs for their health or to skip out on work. They are looking for hot candidates to fill their positions.

Immediate job openings

•          Anticipated job openings

•          Contract/project work

•          Newly created positions

 

Employers attend job fairs primarily to:

•          Collect resumes -Source candidates

•          Interview candidates to potentially hire them (time varies)

•          Promote the company

 

 

 

 

 

Career tip for the day! Refresh, Refresh, Refresh…

Have you ever wondered why you don’t get a lot of phone calls after you post your resume on the job boards? Well the tip for the day is to remind you to refresh your resume every three to four days. If you leave your resume posted out in cyber space for more than a week, you will get lost in the black hole of cyber space. Recruiters, HR professionals, and Headhunters only look at the last two days of postings. So what this means is that you need to go into your monster.com and careerbuilder.com profiles and make a change to the resume section and then save changes and that will bring you to the top of the pile. For craigslist.com you will need to post a whole new resume. 

Believe me, you will be getting 2-4 telephone interviews and several emails per week if you are consistent with refreshing. Good luck and have fun.