How to be your own recruiter
“Could we connect for 30 minutes, and can you share the hiring landscape with me?”
I can’t tell you how many people reach out to me every week asking that question (or something similar). As much as I would love to connect with everyone, and find everyone a new job, that is just not an option. I don’t have enough hours in the day to do my job….which is business development (to find roles for you) and then interviewing candidates for the roles I do have.
If I took every call from every wonderful person who reaches out, I would have no time for business development so I would never have any roles to offer. My company is a boutique firm, we work on a select number of roles at any given time and those roles require a very specific set of skills and qualifications. We do this very intentionally so we can offer the highest level of support to our clients, providing them with best-in-class candidates (and so our candidates have access to the most exciting roles).
My capacity to help the many experienced, qualified, skilled people reaching out is limited. If someone reaching out to me doesn’t have the particular skill set needed for any of the roles we’re working on, I often don’t have any time in my schedule for an exploratory call. It’s not personal - there just isn’t the time. With that in mind, here is my step-by-step guide to help YOU be your own recruiter!
Update your resume!
Your resume is essential. This is the place to lay out your professional experience, qualifications, and education, as well as pertinent information such as the languages you speak or where you have passports/visas. Save the personal background and professional summaries for interviews.
You want your resume to clearly define and demonstrate your strengths. Make sure that you do this using data. You want to include specific metrics that highlight where you have made an impact (increased revenue by XYZ percentage, for example). These data points will minimize ambiguity and maximize the impact of your statements. Avoid flashy formatting - there is no need for photos or too much flare/pizazz. The goal is to deliver a clear, concise document that shows what you have to offer.
Freshen up your LinkedIn. If you don’t have one, make one. Make sure your LinkedIn includes your job history and some explanation of what you did in each position. Pick a professional photo - save the family photos for something else. You can show your personality on LinkedIn but we still want this to set a very professional impression. This is where the personal background and professional summaries you cut from your resume may come in handy!
Network, network, network.
Nurturing and expanding your network is one of the most beneficial things you can do for your career. Networking is a muscle you should work out regularly. It will get easier over time, I promise! Ask your network what the hiring landscape looks like; identify people you want to meet and learn from; approach them! Find in-person networking events to go to. Be open and talk to everyone you can.
Network online too. Share posts on LinkedIn. Comment on other people’s posts. When we step away from passive consumption, social media is a powerful tool to engage with your industry and build lasting connections.
Rinse & Repeat.
This will be a process of trial and error. Be resilient! Regularly update your resume and your LinkedIn. Find new spaces to network. Try and try again until you get traction. You will have ups and downs throughout your career. If you can find a way to take the down moments and turn that into inspiration, you can get through anything.
As much as I would love to take every call, my schedule just won’t allow it. So, for the times when I don’t have a role to discuss with you, and I don’t have time to talk, take these tips into consideration and see the difference they can make!
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