How To Work with Recruiters

When recruiters and hiring managers are looking to fill a role, they’re trying to tick as many boxes as they can when searching for and interviewing applicants. They’re looking for matches in skills, relevant experience and team culture fit too. The easiest way you can help them tick those boxes is to be what the job needs you to be. Here’s my 4 tips on how to work with recruiters.

 

Tip #1: Package and Productise Yourself

Typically, when you productise, you’re making or developing a product into something marketable and for sale, whether it be an idea, a process, a prototype or an area of expertise.

You collect the various attributes and parts, the features and benefits and package them all together ready for sale. When something is in a neat package, it becomes easier for someone to understand what it is, what it does and what makes it valuable.

And so, just like a product, you too can gather up your key skills and experiences into a neat and focused package for a potential employer.

When deciding on how to effectively package yourself, you want to really define and get specific on the following key areas:

• What you’re going to call yourself (professional label)
• What is you exactly do for organisations
• What your specific skills and capabilities are
• What makes you valuable.

 

Tip #2: Define Your Label

The quickest way to help them tick the necessary boxes is for you to pigeon-hole and package yourself. In other words, be what they need you to be so you can fit into their temporary little box.

Make it easy for them to label you because if they can’t do this quickly enough, you will end up in their ‘too hard basket’.

Tip #3: Sound the Part

When it comes to productising and packaging yourself, wrap yourself in the language of that role or industry in all your personal branding material such as your resume and LinkedIn. Using the correct language and terminology will make you much more accessible to your audience, in this case, Hiring Managers, HR and Recruiters.

Here’s an example, if you are a graduate accountant and you are looking for a graduate accounting role, then be exactly that, a graduate accountant, in all your personal branding material. In other words, be exactly what they need you to be and use the language and terminology that a junior accountant would typically use in that role.

 

Tip #4: Act the Part

The same thing goes when looking for a promotion. If you’re wanting to climb the career ladder,  then be what they need you to be for that promotion. Start early by talking (language) and acting like someone who is already in that role job as it will make it easier for your company to promote you if they can easily see alignment. In other words, productise yourself for that specific promotion.

Sharpen your focus and be what they need you to be and once you are in the role, you can then let them know about all the other skills you have and you can once again be a unique snowflake.

 

If you’re looking to build or better communicate your Personal Brand, then check out my post on the 6 Signs of a Healthy Personal Brand