Although this is my first official attempt at blogging, I wrote this in response to a contest challenge from the great Scott Ginsberg (The Nametag Guy). Hope its beneficial here.
I think being HIRE-able is a big deal. And it’s a lot more than just being a job seeker. It’s also being RECRUIT-able. If you are RECRUIT-able and HIRE-able, you increase your probabilities for success greatly. So how do you do this? Let’s start with how you don’t do this:
- Don’t send your resume, unsolicited, to every possible company and recruiting firm you can think of…10 times. This seems obvious, but I think it must be human nature to just assume that a lack of response indicates that you just keep knocking on that door. Don’t do it, it completely dilutes your stature as a candidate and makes you appear desperate. And especially don’t send it for more than one job with the same employer or recruiting firm in hopes of getting noticed…it comes off as a Hail Mary and will keep you from being RECRUIT-able
- Remember the dating rule of who wants it more. They have to want you more than you want them. They have to want to RECRUIT you, and then HIRE you. The entire job search process is just like dating, going from first noticing the other person, to dating them for a while and really getting to know them (and trying to see if there are any skeletons in the closet), and eventually proposing marriage (aka, The Job Offer). How would you respond to someone who kept calling you and sending you e-mails asking for a date? Especially if they really didn’t fit the profile of what you were interested in? To be HIRE-able , be RECUIT-able, and consider how you are playing the dating game with your potential employers.
- Don’t only assume that posted positions are what’s open and also don’t assume that every executive recruiter or search firm out there cares as much about your confidentiality and the first impression of you as you do. Be very careful who you send that resume to, and always demand to know exactly where it is going and when, every time. It is still shocking to me not only how some companies allow recruiters to work with them, but how the recruiters expect to get paid from presenting you as a candidate. In working on a search for a very well regarded asset management firm, and taking the time to properly screen and make the best presentation possible for my top HIRE-able candidates who made themselves perfectly RECRUIT-able (more on how to do that coming right up), I found that the company had already received each candidate’s resume, unsolicited from 3 different search firms. The candidates themselves had no idea and were flabbergasted. The company had no interest in them. They didn’t want to date someone who was banging down there down their door in desperation. The travesty of it all was that the candidates had no idea how it had happened. They became un HIRE-able to the firm because of how they were presented, and un RECRUIT-able to me because they had been sent everywhere on the planet by some desperate recruiters attempting to get lucky.
So the big question is, now that we’ve heard some horror stories, learned a bit more about dating (if your single, hope this helped a bit), and hopefully gained some insight into thinking on the other side of the fence, how do I become RECRUIT-able in order to become HIRE-able, and how does this ultimately increase the probability of great things happening. Remember Scott Ginsberg’s quote, “The only thing in life you have control over is yourself”.
- Get smart. Even if you aren’t actively looking for a job, accept the fact that you most likely will be someday, and that being open to new opportunities is a very smart thing to do. If you want to develop a relationship with a recruiter, send them a note and then call them. Let them know that you aren’t actively looking (actively looking = desperately looking = this person sent the cv out to everyone=recruiter isn’t adding value to client by dealing with this person =un RECRUIT-able=un HIRE-able) , but that you are very opportunistic, know a ton of people, are very well connected in the industry, and think that a mutually beneficial relationship may make sense. As crass as it sounds, the reality is that no matter how nice of a person we are talking about, people will always take action because it matters to them, not you. The smart move to make yourself RECRUIT-able and HIRE-able, is to develop relationships with people who can help you when you need it, by giving them something first. If you approach a recruiter mentioning that you know someone who recommended them, that you aren’t actively looking but are opportunistic, and that you are very networked and can be of help to them as a means of developing a mutual beneficial relationship, that is a smart way to become RECRUIT-bale and HIRE-able.
- Remember to also be FIND-able in order to be RECRUIT-able and HIRE-able. Linkedin and social networking is huge for recruiting. Why? Because of easier access to PASSIVE candidates. This means both corporate recruiters and executive search firms. Why passive vs active candidates? Because passive candidates are RECRUIT-able, making them more HIRE-able. Why, you ask again? Several reasons. First, refer to #2 above. Passive candidates are considered most desirable because it is assumed that they are creating value in their positions and not actively looking. The company wants someone like them more than the person may (at least appearing so at first) want them. What does that make them? RECRUIT-able and HIRE-able. Make your profile on linkedin complete and search-able. Be RECRUIT-able. Even if you aren’t looking, and think that you are so incredibly desirable that adding to that profile will only bring on an onslaught of calls from people trying desperately to spam you, do it anyway. Because when you find yourself going from passive to active, you’ll wish you had a personalized network of people to help instead of a bunch of job ads and unreturned calls. When recruiters sell their services to companies, and when internal corporate recruiters justify their value to the organization, the first thing they talk about is recruiting passive candidates and candidate pipelining. Not who can read through the most resumes sent in response to a job ad. If your hiding, it’s tough to be RECRUIT-able.
- OK, OK, so there are a lot of people who have to be active job seekers, how do they make their situation more advantageous? Well, first refer back to what not to do. Second, do some research and some good old fashioned networking. Remember that all of these same principles apply in terms of dating and who wants who more, and that people act to benefit themselves. But going back to the original issue of being RECRUIT-able and HIRE-able and being an active candidate not by choice…you must approach people to garner support and recommendation (someone to tell that company they would be lucky to date you), and you must research the companies themselves. Perhaps presenting yourself as someone who is very selectively considering new opportunities, already has several irons in the fire, but wants to make sure that they have evaluated all relevant situations with select companies. The research you do should entail the companies you want to work for, the people there who know people you know, and the people there you want to know. Even reaching out with the “selectively looking” approach to employees in the department you are interested in working for and making an introduction can garner you a lot of relevant information and most likely a direct intro to someone responsible for finding and RECRUITING candidates, who may be interested in speaking with someone like you, an attractive candidate who is RECRUIT-able and most importantly, HIRE-able.
To be HIRE-able, you have to be RECRUIT-able. To be RECRUIT-able you have to be VALUE-able. Don’t ever let anyone diminish your value. Your value can come from helping others, being visible, and doing your homework, which is not only good job hunting advice, but I suppose it’s one of the great lessons of life that seems to apply to almost any situation (even dating!)
Contact me with any questions or comments, I’d love to hear from you. Here is the link to my blog: www.capitalmarketsrecruiting.wordpress.com
Matt