making the most out of recruiter matching

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Recruiter Matching

How to Make the Most Out of Your Recruiter Matching Campaign

From the Tech Job Market Zoo to the Corporate Goo...

How to Protect What You’ve Built So Far.

Never heard of Recruiter Matching? For more info, check

out our “2014 Technical Recruiting Trends

” presentation.

Let’s not just “wait and see” what happens; let’s optimize what we’ve started.

http://www.slideshare.net/StephenVanVreede/2014-technical-recruiting-trends

http://www.slideshare.net/StephenVanVreede/2014-technical-recruiting-trends


(1) Gone through the Recruiter Matching process and had a list of recruiters generated matching your specific parameters.

(2) Opted for the full-service option and had the full campaign run and now you are starting to hear back from some of the

recruiters on your list.

OK, so you’ve either:



What you do next is key!


In today’s market, we have to think beyond just one career move at a time…even if you think the next one might be internal…

Not just to “get a job” this time but to build in a recruiter pipeline for the next move as well.

We want to make sure that you use your recruiter matching wisely.



You want to provide yourself with leverage.


Recruiters don’t work for you, BUT

If you understand how uncertain today’s job market really is, you should be thinking more in terms of

“ongoing” career protection, at all times. And recruiters are one way to build in that protection.

they can still play a vital role in your career progression strategy.

By “uncertain,” I don’t mean lack of jobs. I mean, well, uncertain. Career moves are happening every 3 to 4 years. Even if you beat the odds, change is very much part of the market, especially in tech fields.

Of course, no one career advancement strategy is full-proof or should be considered the only approach. Recruiters are just one option, but if handled with care, potentially a very good one.






For 2 years in a row, tech recruiters have reported “a lack of skilled candidates as their greatest challenge and

social media as their greatest opportunity.” (study by Bullhorn)

This should be good news for properly positioned technical pros…


So now that you are equipped with the right recruiters for you, let’s optimize what you have.




Step 1: Making the Most Out of Your Respondents.

If you opted to have just the list compiled without the campaign, you will first need to go ahead and contact

the recruiters on your list.

Don’t get too concerned about the number of responses. It’s quality we’re looking for here.




Here are the typical types of responses:

1. Automated “don’t call us; we’ll call you”2. List of follow-up info or steps you should take3. Genuine response about possible opportunity

4. Offer to stay in touch or chat some more

Ignore the first one for now; let’s just focus on responses 2-4.




Here’s what to do BEFORE you respond:

In today’s social media world, the “power of connection” has probably never been stronger.

So you want to try and maximize that by putting social media to work for you.



Probably in a way that is a bit different from how you have

been using it.

But this is where social tends to be most useful.


Step 2: Look up your responding recruiters in 2 places.

1. Look them up in your college alumni database.

2. Look them up on LinkedIn.

For now, only do this with ones who’ve responded.



You may sign up for

this through

your university.

We don’t need a lot of responses; we just need to make

the most of the promising ones.


Looking them up gives you two options:

1. Possibility you are both alumni 2. Possibility you share LinkedIn connections



It might seem silly, but don’t underestimate the significance of these two things as conversation starters.

Social media fans, which

most recruiters are, put a lot of weight into the

idea of connection.

And the alumni connection has

long been a strong one that

very few people take

advantage of.


See this process in action:“So I launched my recruiter matching campaign back in January. Right away I was concerned about the timing of it because it was just after the new year, and I

knew that things could be slow to get started.

At first, I received a lot of automated bounce backs. But I also received about 10 ‘real, live’ responses.

So before I responded, I did a little homework and was able to find some ways we were actually ‘connected.’ One recruiter went to the same college, two others were connected with my 1st-level connections on LI, and another actually worked for the same company I did way back in the day.

Once I found that out, I responded to these fours recruiters first, and then I responded to the other six. In the end, I had much better engagement with those four than the other six just by harnessing our connection. I landed interviews through two of the four.

I did get a good offer through one of them but decided to turn it down for something else I found out about through a colleague. However, I’ve maintained the relationship I started with the two recruiters who landed me interviews, and one of them has already contacted me about another opportunity!

I plan to keep these discussions going moving forward as I like your idea of having that pipeline. Oh, and I also had other nonresponder recruiters contact me over time. I did my homework again, and I’ve had a couple recruiters keep in touch since then.

I’m hoping that all of this means that next time I won’t need to pay so much attention to worthless job boards and can just keep focused on my peer and recruiter networks.” (Glen T., Plant Manager, Nashville, TN)




Step 3: Respond to the alumni ones immediately.

Obviously, you might want to mention that you went to such and such university in your correspondence.




Step 4: Now respond to the LI shared connection ones.

It’s OK to mention that you noticed that you share some connections on LI. It’s even better if you really know the

person you share the connection with.



Recruiters have lots of connections,

many of whom they don’t really know. That’s OK. Do this anyway.

If a recruiter is both a fellow alumnus and shares LI connections with you, then put him or her at the top of your list.


Why Am I Doing This?

I know. It feels weird. But it’s not as weird as it feels. Again, it’s a conversation starter…

AND

It will help make the interaction less formulaic with the recruiter. Of course, it still doesn’t mean the

recruiter will have a position for you; the point is you are getting

beyond the form letter response.




Step 5: Provide the recruiter with the information he or she requested in the response.

Don’t forget to pay attention to what was asked for and to provide that in your response to the recruiter.



Don’t let too much time go by in responding. Your research can be done fairly quickly so

that you can respond in a timely fashion.


Step 6: Now respond to those with no college or LI connection.

If you look back at Glen’s story, you will see that he went a step further and checked out the recruiter’s LI profile and noticed

that with one, they had both worked for the same company at different times. So he harnessed that when responding.




Step 7: Make sure you have a good calendar app.

Does this sound like a lot of work? Thinking the job boards are easier? (Maybe, but much less effective, statistically speaking.)

BUT this is where long-term vision comes in. Don’t just think about now and how fast this will work. Think about the next search too. Just like you should nurture your peer network, you need to do the same with your recruiter network.

Why? Because recruiters are “out of sight, out of mind” people. Sure, they might contact you one day if something comes up and they remember you. Or they might not.

You don’t need to become best friends. Just keep in touch from time to time to let them know you are still out there.

Now let’s set up reminders to touch base with these recruiters. Set up a 1-week reminder if he or she does NOT respond to your response.

If he or she does respond, then plan to follow up every couple of weeks until your job search has ended.

After that, schedule to follow up at least once a quarter.



Job boards, even when they do work, are for “one-and-done” job searches. They are short-sighted in that they only address your career here and now. That doesn’t make them worthless, but be careful not to fall into the trap of relying on them all because

setting up networking pipelines is a lot of work.

The best jobs come through peer networking followed by recruiter networking. Period. And these are things you can maintain to build in career “protections” for later on. Job boards will never do that.


What about all those nonresponders?

Step 8: Now go back and research the nonresponders using your alumni database and LinkedIn.

Prioritize the recruiters based on these connections. Start with the alumni ones first.

Contact them again; this time referencing the connection.

Recruiters are people too…No, really, they are! They like being

connected as much as the next person.

A little bit of the right preparation can go

along way!




Step 9: If you share a LinkedIn connection…

If the recruiter responds and begins corresponding with you that way, give him or her a brief description of what you are looking for and ask to set up a time to talk.

This time try asking your shared connection to make an Introduction on your behalf through LinkedIn. By doing so, you get around just email and have a second point of contact through LI.

Most recruiters will be more willing to speak with you on LI if given an introduction.




Step 10: When this next set of recruiters starts to respond to you, set up follow-up reminders in your calendar app like you did with the first group.

If a recruiter continues to not respond to you, that’s fine. You only want to spend time on those who are responsive anyway…because they are the ones who are the most likely to have a need for someone with your background at some point…if not today, maybe sometime in the future.

“I’ve had a 300% increase in recruiter attention on LI, and finally for the right jobs.”

Tom H. (Network Engineer, Seattle, WA)




Did I Need Recruiter Matching to Do All This?

Couldn’t I have just looked up recruiters on LinkedIn and done all this without the list and/or the campaign?

ANSWER:

Yes. But if you think looking up basic info to respond to your “prematched” recruiters takes time; just think about how much time it would take to filter the LinkedIn recruiters and determine

which ones were best suited for you. Most professionals never build a recruiter pipeline unless maybe a recruiter or two happens to contact them out of the blue...or they

try to contact recruiters but they don’t know how to “sort” or “weed” through them. You’ve given yourself that leg up.




For more ideas on how to maximize recruiter matching, contact me, Stephen Van Vreede:*



*We are pleased to now offer our “Job Search Retainer” solution that can be used in conjunction with Recruiter Matching to help assist our members with optimizing this solution even more as well as with other aspects of their job search. We do reserve a limited number of

members at a time, so please indicate if you would like to discuss this more so that we can discuss timing and availability.

**If you are interested in having a Recruiter Matching campaign launched for you, this service is exclusive to ITtechExec members. We offer this solution as part of our technical resume portfolio packages once a member’s messaging has been fully developed. We do not

recommend this service until an effective resume solution and optimized LinkedIn profile have been developed.

“I have a good set of recruiters that search for opportunities and supply them at will.”

Mike K. (PMP Los Angeles, CA)

mailto:[email protected]

mailto:[email protected]


Silly me. I thought an MBA and hard work was my ticket…

(A Note from Stephen Van Vreede, Co-Founder of ITtechExec)



When I first started my career, generally I didn’t know anyone who actually paid to have their resume (or résumé, for the purists among us) written, much less for “career services.”

And at first, throughout most of the early part of my corporate life, I moved from internal position to internal position without the need to invest in resume or other career services, eventually landing a director-level role with a large GE Capital, multi-site inbound call center serving the logistics industry.


But then the job market began to change, and job security was, well, less secure.



So I decided to go back for my MBA and some certifications (sound familiar?), which cost me thousands and thousands (and thousands) of dollars (just ask my lovely bride who helped pay for them!).

It was a great experience, but after I graduated, the job market wasn’t much better, competition for internal promotions was greater, and I wasn’t theonly one with an MBA.


That’s when I was introduced to resume design and career services.



I came to recognize that the time and resources I had already spent on my career were worth protecting. The market was too uncertain and changing too rapidly for me to continue to go it alone.

At this point, I had already invested in someone to handle my retirement,another someone to do my taxes, and another someone to find me the right home. It wasn’t such a stretch to think that my career mattered as much, if not more, than these other things. After all, without it, then I couldn’t afford the retirement or the house (and yes even the taxes).


I began to see where resume/career services could play an integral part…



in not only helping people to secure jobs but also in building in protections to the careers we’ve all worked so hard to achieve.

As a result, my wife and I began our own firm in 2001, and we molded our solutions to be more than just a resume-writing service.

We wanted to do better. We knew we could. And we do.

You can read more about our story at http://stephenvanvreede.com/.


To learn more about ITtechExec or our other solutions:



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Or call Stephen toll-free at 1-866-755-9800; email at [email protected].

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