Articles - Career / Personal Development

1. Be Realistic - Recruiters are one way to get into your choice company when looking for a new job. However, they are not nor should they be the only way you take. My advice is that you work multiple recruiters and be honest about it, because the recruiters will find out eventually.

Get involved and build your social network, and be active in professional associations.

As recruiters, we’ll do our very best to find the best match and create that win/win scenario. Ultimately it’s up to you to make things happen.

2. Candid - Discuss your priorities for a new role with your recruiter. Be candid; you won’t hurt our feelings. We’re not the hiring manager we’re your partner throughout the processes and opportunities. We expect for you to speak up! 

If you had to make a choice today, what’s more important to you: money or location, title or responsibility, growth opportunities or work–life balance? If you don’t know, then we can’t help you on these choices, because everyone’s choices aren’t the same. However, we can ask questions to help you decide for yourself.

This is one of the most important exercises to do when you first even think of looking for a job. It is fundamental. Without knowing your own priorities you may jump out of the frying pan and into the fire.

That’s not what you want to do. So prioritize. It’s our job to help you think of these questions and your job to ask them of yourself — and then answer them truthfully.

3. Open-Mindedness - Recruiters offer our best, most objective counseling and feedback. These may come in many different ways:
1. Advice on your resume for specific position.
2. How to answer questions effectively in an interview.
3. What’s the hiring team is really looking for in their ideal candidate. We’re here trying to help you show the best version of yourself in the presence of the hiring manager.

So, take a deep breath and listen.  Most of the time, we do know and when we give you suggestions, please listen and understand that we’re here to help you show your best side. Do not get defensive, and please do not show up to the interview and do the exact opposite that we counseled you not to do.

4. Respond - Return your recruiter’s calls and emails. What I mean by this – it really doesn’t necessarily mean drop everything and respond right away! I know we all have lives. Of course, if we’re talking about a job offer or salary negotiations, then yes, it’s pretty much drop everything. So, if it’s more general, like seeing if you’re working or not or how you’re doing in your current job, this is not a drop-everything communication.

A candidate’s taking a lot of time to respond to something important — for instance a job offer or subsequent negotiations — is to the hiring organization a revealing sign that the candidate may not be that interested in the position. Many times an offer has been rescinded or has come to being rescinded because the candidate took too long to respond. 

Recruiters know that most job seekers are looking at multiple opportunities at the same time. For this reason once a hiring manager makes an offer to you and you and take too much time to respond the hiring manager (like it or not) assumes you must not be interested, otherwise, you would have been more quicker to say yes or no.

FYI - If you have to think about it more than a day or two then it’s too long by many corporate standards, then it’s a no-go in their mind. You’ve done your soul-searching, you’ve gone through the process, and now you have the offer: if you’re interested, don’t play hard-ball! get on the phone to your recruiter and give your answer.

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About the Author

Kay Kelison is a seasoned researcher and social media strategist; creative, strategic and passionate with 12+ years of exceptional experience with such companies as T-Mobile, Amazon, Wachovia, Saltmine, Start-Ups, and is a Principal Sourcer/Research for Bing/Online Division Services for Microsoft. Knowledge of web 2.0 technologies and social media platforms. Proven aptitude identifying opportunities, implementing solutions, and increasing visibility through video, blogs and social networks. Experience with international teams and diversity initiatives.

Responsible for strategy and development of marketing Internet-based social media / social networks communities, including the development of Mobile Recruiting, Blogs, MySpace, Facebook, Linkedin, Twitter and online video spaces such as Vimeo, YouTube. Accomplished Published/Speaker engagements which include executive round tables, business marketing and leadership teams, MBA, and SourcCon, etc She is a part of the Pacific Northwest Sourcing 7 SIG which is a sub-group of Pacific Northwest Recruiter Association, this group is to enhance our local strategic Talent Engagement community by leveraging expertise in the areas of Sourcing, Research and Social Media to attract the right talent to our organizations.

Kay Kelison CIR, ACIR, CDR | Talent Sourcer

Advertiser and Publisher Solutions Group (APS)
Office 425-707-2702/  kaykel@microsoft.com / advertising.microsoft.com

and her blog http://kaykel.posterous.com/

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