7 Secrets to Making Recruiters Find You

The best recruiters out there pride themselves on being able to find you, not the other way around. So what if they haven’t called yet? Instead of calling them and coming across as desperate, do your best to get on their radar by following these 7 tips.

1. Get Active on LinkedIn

Here’s a surprise: recruiters use LinkedIn more than emails. In fact they probably click on the LinkedIn site about a hundred times per day minimum. So just by being on LinkedIn you’ll be able to be found by recruiters. Make sure you use the right keywords on your profile, get active in Groups and Events and you’ll be targeted very quickly.

2. Get Active on Twitter

Recruiters love Twitter as they can spray out their new roles to the market. Finding job opportunities onTwitter is very swift and takes very little effort. Follow the recruiters you know have the positions you want, by searching for your skill + recruiter + your location. Start adding value to them by doing some retweeting of their tweets, help them out with potential referrals etc. Before you know it, they will check out your online bio and see if you are keen on a new position as well. This requires you to have an employee friendly Twitter profile, clearly stating what you do and a link to your online bio somewhere.

3. Write and get read

Everyone likes to write but very few get round to it and publish anything. With the advances of technology, it’s never been easier to reach out so embrace this to the fullest. You can write an article in your favorite industry periodical, a letter to the editor of the local newspaper, a post on your company blog or your own blog. The key here is to write something that will get read by the right people (in this case recruiters). Ensure that you are credited with your name, title and company at the end of your piece to make it easy for the recruiter to look you up.

4. Speak and get heard

Next time you go to an industry event, try to secure a speaking slot either as giving a speech or just participating in an open forum, whatever it takes to get listed in the event’s directory. Recruiters are known to sneak in to these functions and to make contact with prolific people in the industry; public speaking is a brilliant way of being included on the hit list.

5. Get Referred

Being referred by an authority in your industry is a great endorsement for you. Even if you are not exactly what the recruiter is looking for, they will be interested in you have come recommended by somebody they respect. It’s easier than you think to get referred as recruiters pester their candidates asking for referrals all the time. If you make it known to the right people that you are looking around, they will be very happy to tell the recruiter as it gives them future kudos. To make yourself seem more sought after, pretend that the referral was made without your knowledge and you “weren’t actively looking for job, but will listen to what they have to offer”.

6. Online Resume

This is an optional one and not exactly a secret. Some would say don’t list yourself or upload your resume with online job sites like Monster, as you may come across as desperate. Other will say it’s the quickest way to get found. If you do it, be prepared to be bombarded with calls and emails from myriads of recruiters scouring online resources every day. To avoid irrelevant job offers, a good tip is to get the right keywords in your resume as it will be indexed and searched. And do activate the anonymous name and contact details setting allowing you to respond only to the relevant enquires.

7. Recruit Internally

Get yourself involved in the internal recruitment at your company. You will be working with HR and they will introduce you to the recruitment partners they use. This is very sensitive for the search partner but if you send out the right signals, sooner or later the recruiter will probe you on your career. Sometimes they can actually help you direct; sometimes it will have to be more indirect (involving a 3rd party) due to legal implications. The point is that once one recruiter knows and rates you, they will be able to help you in one way or another. Recruiting internally is also very useful to for understanding exactly how recruiters operate and how the HR hiring process works in general.
That’s it! You might also want to cast a glance at 5 Tricks Recruiters Use to Find You.
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Dos and Don’ts of Negotiating a Salary

“Copyright [2007] Careerbuilder, LLC – Reprinted with permission.”

As if the résumé writing and panel interviews weren’t grueling enough, now you’ve got to negotiate a salary before you can successfully end your job hunt. “If you want something, you had better negotiate for it.” That’s the bottom line according to authors Robin L. Pinkley and Gregory B. Northcraft in their book “Get Paid What You’re Worth.” They note, “Employers routinely will offer you less than they ultimately expect to compensate you with the expectation that you will negotiate.”

To help you nail the big bucks, heed these dos and don’ts.

Do arm yourself with as much information as possible by checking out industry Web sites for your occupational and geographic areas and others that specialize in salary information or the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Don’t overlook information from consulting firms. Mike Nichols, vice president of compensation, benefits and HRIS for Cendant Corporation, places the most confidence in surveys conducted by major consulting firms. “I frequently seek out surveys from Mercer, Hewitt, Towers Perrin and Watson Wyatt,” Nichols says. While most of the survey data from these firms is cost-prohibitive for an individual, there are a lot of good articles and information available from their web sites to help you understand how companies view and determine compensation levels.
Do withhold salary information for as long as possible. “Salary information is often used by employers as a screening tool. You want to keep all salary information away from a potential employer for as long as possible so that you’re not “screened out” before you even get your foot in the door,” suggests Denise Cooper, vice president of human resources for Peoples Energy in Chicago.

Don’t feel pressured to divulge a specific figure on an employment application. Instead, write “open,” “negotiable” or “competitive” on every application form you complete.

Do delay the salary negotiation process for as long as possible. Each minute spent with your prospective employer is another minute you can use to explore the job and the types of responsibilities it entails. This will allow you more time to focus on your strengths and accomplishments as they relate to the job and demonstrate your value.

Don’t be shy about outlining the skills and experience you will bring to your employer and how they will help the organization meet its goals or solve a problem. If there’s ever a time to toot your own horn, the time is now. Know what the value of your skills, experience and achievements are worth in the current marketplace.

Do let the prospective employer make the first move into the salary negotiation phase. Knowing what the salary range is for the job will give you an idea of the interviewer’s negotiating parameters and will help you gauge how much selling you may have to do.

Don’t give the employer an actual figure if you are asked directly about the salary you want. Instead, turn the question around and ask what salary range would be offered in the company for this type of job for someone with similar years of experience, level of expertise and knowledge of the business.

Do be honest about your current salary. Falsely inflating your pay or padding numbers is dishonest and can come back to haunt you when your new employer verifies your past employment . . . and salary.
Don’t act too eager to accept, even if the offer was more than you expected. Most employers have some room to negotiate and you should strongly consider making a counter offer. Pinkly and Northcraft found of the companies they interviewed, “Eighty percent told us that the job applicant who negotiates in a professional manner would make the best impression. Only 20 percent said they would be most impressed by the applicant who accepted the offer as made.”

Do be professional in your negotiations. Keep the salary discussion positive and upbeat by focusing on why you should be paid what you desire and the value the employer will receive in return.

Don’t let your current salary limit your viewpoint of what you’re earning potential might be. If your research shows that the industry is paying more than your were being paid, hold out for this higher amount and remind the interviewer of your qualifications and experience.

Do be realistic in your expectations. Some candidates have inflated opinions of what they should be earning. Consider the industry, the economy, your experience and the competition from other potential candidates.

Don’t let the employer rush you into accepting a salary that you know you’ll be unhappy with soon after you take the job. Let them know that the salary offer is less than what you desire by saying something like, “Taking my experience into consideration and knowing that I have the ability to jump right in and make a difference, I really feel strongly that a salary of $55,000 would be appropriate.”

Do aim high. Keep in mind that you can always lower your desired salary expectations, but it’s impossible to inflate it once you indicate what would be acceptable to you.

Last Updated: 24/09/2007 – 3:50 PM

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