Key Points Recruiters Want You To Know

I just read an article by Emily Ceskavich, a sourcing specialist and a content writer for Social Hire. She writes about “11 Things Recruiters Want You To Know”. I have included the original article below with the points I found most relevant (8 pointers) with some extra comments below. 

Here are her key points: 

1. We want to meet you!

Successful recruiters are constantly looking to add people to their talent pools. The more people we are connected with on LinkedIn, the more people show up in our searches when we try to fill a position. We may not have a position for you at the moment, but we might get one in the future. A colleague could have one. We may move into a company that specializes in your field. We may be at a networking event and meet someone who is looking for someone just like you. Opportunities can be found in the most unexpected ways.

If you send a request with a respectful message in the field summing up your experience (or status if you are a student about to graduate), what kind of position you are looking for and that you would like to join our talent pool on LinkedIn, then your request will be accepted. If it isn’t, then that recruiter is either not active on LinkedIn (one of the Deadly Sins of recruiting) or they are not doing their job right.

**All it takes is some thought going into your messages on LinkedIn and you will see an increase in your acceptance rate.

2. Check your grammar.

There is no situation in which poor grammar, slang or non-capitalized present you as a serious professional. Once a relationship is established, some recruiters and candidates feel comfortable adding an occasional smiley to their emails, but even that I would reserve for close coworkers.

**Grammar is very important. Always triple check an email before sending, to ensure that you come across polished and professional

3. Only give us references whom can provide us with insight into you as a professional.

Friends and family may sing your praises to high heaven, but that doesn’t help us. The references you give us (when we ask for them) should be coworkers, colleagues, bosses or clients. The only exception to this is if you are in school and have not held a job before. In that case, ask your favorite teachers or professors if they’d be willing to talk to us. As an educator, they know your work ethic, desire to learn, how you communicate, handle problems and how you interact with others which makes them great references if you do not have any professional ones.

**This is very important and saves a lot of time toing and froing getting your correct and professional references. Take note when we ask for your references- ideally these are supervisors and managers only.

4. We probably won’t call you on it, but we know when an excuse is not acceptable.

Even if you are telling the truth, cancelling an interview with less than 24 hours’ notice or not showing up is unacceptable. Some recruiters will reschedule, but that will always be in their minds. If another candidate comes along who is qualified and is respectful of other people’s schedules, we are going to change focus to them. Other recruiters may not even reschedule and just figure that your lack of preparation for the unexpected reflects a weakness that cannot be mended with a second chance. With that said, think of anything that can cause an issue. Call a neighbor or sitter and ask her if she will be available at the time of your interview in case your child gets sick. Plan an alternate route to the location of the interview in case there is an accident that causes a traffic jam. If it’s a phone interview, charge your phone a few hours before if you are going to use your mobile. Type the location into Google Maps, drag the person to the point on the map so you can see the street view and then look at what’s around the building so you can find it when it comes time to get there for your interview. You can also see where parking is.

**It is not a great impression when the day before, or day of, a candidate cancels their interview. We understand that the unexpected happens, so please ensure that any issues are rectified in advance. A lack of preparation on your behalf is not the best foot to start off on. 

5. We are more focused on your strengths than your weaknesses.

The reality is that you are often more concerned with your areas of weakness than we are. Unless it directly impacts your ability to perform the job we are looking to fill (e.g. a cashier not being a “people person” or a medic not knowing how to perform CPR), we are looking beyond the weakness itself.

For example, I have a hard time remembering information if I don’t interact with it. When I was recruiting, I could tell you exactly where each of my job candidates was because I had been working with them and their files. However, I may forget something that was said in a meeting not even 30 minutes after. When asked in interviews, “What is your greatest weakness?” I added what I was doing to compensate and strengthen that weakness. In my case, I always take notes. For me, the physical act of writing down key points of the conversation helps me remember the information even if I never look at my notes again. It doesn’t hurt to have a written record of everything, either. I have also been reading up on short term memory and trying some strategies to improve mine.

Recruiters and hiring managers want to see how well you know yourself and that you are trying to strengthen your areas of weakness.

**We want to focus on your strengths and we want to know that even though you may have a 'weakness' you know how to counteract that with outlining the things you are good at. 

6. We are interested in your professional life, not your personal one.

It is the hiring manager’s job to ask about your interests or see if you would fit in with the company’s culture. My job is to find out if you have the skills, experience and passion for the position I am trying to fill. And then get you that interview with the hiring manager. The only outside-of-work information I need is that which affects your professional life. Do you have a car or reliable transportation to get to work every day? Are you planning a vacation or know of any days that you will need to take off? Have you ever been convicted of a crime? I’m not saying be a robot and don’t share your personality, but keep the personal information focused and to a minimum. I do not need to know that your Labrador hunted a bunny and you feel bad about it. Also to this point, do not call us by pet names like “babe,” or “honey.” It is inappropriate and frankly, a little offensive.

**Please keep it professionally relevant, with the recruiter and with the potential employer. If we ask, then that is fine, otherwise keep your personal life personal.

7. Keep us in the loop if you are planning to take time off.

If you are working with a third-party recruiter (someone from a staffing agency or recruitment firm who doesn’t work for the same company you are working for) and use our website to submit your weekly time card, we need to know if you are planning to take time off. It saves us a phone call later when we see a blank timecard.

**Yes, please keep us informed. It makes our job and your life at work much easier.

8. We want you to follow up once or twice a week.

Unless we give you a specific day or time frame to follow up during the hiring process, give us a call or send us an email once or twice a week to check for interview feedback, ask about the next step, offer your help with unreachable references, etc.

**We love that you want to help us help you find a role. Being proactive and keeping in touch demonstrates efficiency with your job search, but please don't be over the top. An email or phone call every couple of days can be overkill. 

The original article can be found here:

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/article/20140908140317-176606497-11-things-recruiters-want-you-to-know

For information on jobs in the Cayman Islands visit our website www.steppingstonescayman.com