Keep your friends close
➔ There are many pathways to finding a job with networking being, arguably, the best approach. Of course, the best approach is the one that gets you the job. That said, keeping all your options open is sage advice to the savvy job seeker.
With that in mind, consider that roughly one position in eight is filled through a recruiter. A recruiter may not “get you a job” – ultimately, you still have to do that yourself – but a good recruiter can make your life (and job search) a lot smoother and less stressful.
And, recruiters are great resources. If you need to know what’s going on in the job market, who better to speak with than a recruiter? Recruiters have their ears to the ground everyday. They see the trends. They’re aware of the seismic shifts. They know where the bodies are buried and where the gold can be found.
Interview with a twist
Interviewing with a recruiter can be much different from interviewing for an actual job. First, there is the preparation. There is no company, per se, to investigate. Conversely, but more important, you need to exhaustive homework on yourself. To be truly effective, that recruiter needs to know as much about you as possible. What you want. What you don’t want. What you’ll accept. What you can and can’t do. And, where the warts are. When you bare your soul to a recruiter, you’re helping him do his job.
Before you enlist a recruiter, you need to know what kind of recruiter you’re looking at. The three major types are corporate, retained and contingency. It would take too long to explain the differences here and now, but you need know with whom you’re working.
One last thing to remember, recruiters have great memories. If you can’t help them as a candidate yourself, if you can refer them to someone they can place – you’ll make a friend for life.