By Nicki Wilson
Skilled professionals will know the value of having a recruiter onside. Having a recruiter who is an expert in your field is key, not just for when you are looking for a new role, they can also be your eyes and ears throughout your career. They have direct contact with the employers, can mediate between you both, follow up, track, and hunt out the right profiles / prospective employers.
Specialist recruiters are so well networked they follow trends, and they never forget a candidate they have represented... trust me! Sometimes I will be in a meeting taking a brief and I physically think about someone and describe them and their background there and then securing a candidate a job interview without even showing a CV.
Go with a recruiter who is known to be a specialist in your industry. So many candidates send their CVs out to anyone with the job title ‘Recruiter’ and wonder why they don’t get a reply! Honestly this is a waste of your time. You need to check the profiles, the specialists and go with someone who knows the industry through and through. It should be noted because a recruiter does not reply does not mean they haven’t mentally (or technically) registered you for roles. The average recruiter receives hundreds of CV’s and messages every day.
Tips for finding your recruiter bestie:
Go to the agency’s website, and see what they specialise in
Check the recruiter’s profile on LinkedIn – it is their expertise after all, a good recruiter will have an impressive LinkedIn... (or they should!)
Do they have recommendations? Check who has recommended them... it will be a good indication of the type of clients they work with, it will also show their style is it very transactional, relationship focus, and do they get results?
Look for the key words in your industry -have they been in recruitment or a particular industry for a while? OK if you have a very niche role that may be a different story, but an F&B recruiter is going to be useless to an Oil & Gas mechanic… well unless the are married to an Oil and Gas recruiter... could happen!
Their updates, often recruiters utilise LinkedIn by posting updates about their roles, interesting articles etc. Show some love, if you always like the recruiters posts they will take notice of you too
Ask colleagues who they recommend, they may have been represented before or know who the best recruiters are to talk too based on their own experiences
Reach out to previous colleagues to see who helped them secure a role or ask previous employers which recruiters they used
Check industry specific platforms, groups, or job boards – many people will only visit these sites when job searching but this is a first point of call to seek out your specialist
Ask your recruiter for other specialists in the field – it’s likely if you speak to a recruiter, they will also know a couple of other great recruiters to speak too!
Industry events… always swarming with recruiters, say heyyy!
LinkedIn – add the specialist recruiters and their colleagues and keep your network active so you will not be missed when great opportunities come up
The best recruiters are embedded in the industry they specialise in, keeping in touch and dropping your recruiter a line every now and then is key to opening up the exciting new roles and opportunities!