Opinion
An insider’s guide on the best ways to impress a recruiter
By Roxanne Calder
There are 3.5 million recruiters globally and growing, and in tech alone, more than 90 per cent of companies use recruitment agencies. With the advancement of AI for screening and streamlining and the ratio of 200-plus applicants per job, it can be difficult to be seen. So how can you impress?
You need a recruiter. Better still, you need your recruiter, someone trusted you can go to every time. There are some ground rules to understand, though. A recruiter’s job is not to find every candidate a job. It is to fill every job with the best candidate available, and this may not always be you.
Recruiters vet hundreds of job applicants. Here’s how to stand out.Credit: iStock
A good recruiter considers the whole picture, including all interactions, communication and experiences. After all, their clients are paying and trusting them for their careful selection.
When they endorse you, it’s their name, reputation, etc, so they have to get it right. Here are five ways to impress a recruiter:
1. Make yourself known
Call the agency or company if it’s an internal recruiter. Be prepared to answer questions on the spot about your experience and resume. Answering these questions well might get you past the 250 other resumes and straight to an interview.
If you don’t get to speak with the recruiter, leave a message and follow up with an email and connection on LinkedIn. This is the first step in establishing rapport and a relationship. When leaving your message, be considerate and avoid coming across as demanding or entitled.
2. Respect their time
I have never met a recruiter who completes a to-do list, and a spare five minutes is a gold rush. So be thoughtful and aware of their time; it’s precious, as is yours.
When formatting your resume, craft it to the job you are applying for. It helps to get you across the line quickly and efficiently. Additionally, it shows your effort and care, and that counts.
When you make time for an interview, show up. If running late, let them know. If you need to postpone or cancel an interview, advise ahead of time. Of course, sometimes this can’t happen, but it is how you acknowledge and communicate it.
3. With advice and feedback, be like Oliver
More, please, and make sure you ask for both. We are selective about who we provide advice and feedback to and don’t give it to everyone. If we have gone out on a limb and delivered advice you might not want to hear, it’s because we believe in you to take the feedback onboard or have enough respect for you and feel you deserve to know.
If you respond in a defensive, rude or defiant way, it discourages us from giving you more advice and can make it challenging to work with you. Our advice and feedback are the inside scoop – don’t waste it.
4. Honesty and transparency always
It’s the only way we can assist you with the right working environment. If you don’t want to go forward for a role, didn’t like the interview, company or are concerned about any aspect of the job, tell us.
Without great candidates, recruiters can’t be successful.
When you are close to an offer with our client and you know it won’t be for you, tell us. Waiting until the last minute wastes everyone’s time, can put egg on our face and runs the very real risk of us losing credibility with our clients (and for you, too).
One of the innate gifts most recruiters have is our elephant-like recall, so please don’t ghost us, especially when it has to do with a job offer.
5. Do what you say you will
It says everything about your reliability, dependability and competence. If you commit to sending an updated resume, testing or following up on your references, do so.
These form indicators for us to determine how reliable a candidate you will be with our client. Missing deadlines will make us concerned you will do the same on the job.
It can be a godsend to have a good recruiter in your corner. Equally, without great candidates, recruiters can’t be successful. On a personal note, working with candidates, understanding their potential and seeing them achieve gives me purpose and joy.
Most recruiters feel the same. To make this happen, we need relationships. Relationships are founded on mutual experiences and trust, and it is essential for both parties to uphold these values.
Roxanne Calder, author of ‘Employable – 7 Attributes to Assuring Your Working Future’ (Major Street $29.95), is the founder and managing director of EST10 – one of Sydney’s most successful recruitment agencies.
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