How do Recruiters use LinkedIn to find Candidates? And How do I get noticed?

LinkedIn has become the most prolific tool in the recruiter's arsenal.  There's something like 300 million users now, and if you're a professional anything, it's likely you have a LinkedIn profile. Other than just putting up job postings, how do Recruiters use LinkedIn to find candidates for jobs?

• Companies pay for it. With real money. Your subscription as an individual is free unless you opt to upgrade it. You may think that your visibility is limited to just those individuals to whom you're connected - wrong, Bubba. Companies pay some serious coin to buy a Corporate Subscription seat that allows them to find almost anybody with a LinkedIn page.

• The Corporate seat gives the company the ability to perform complex searches, for things on your page, including:

  • Keywords

  • Job Title

  • Geography within x miles of a zip code

  • Level of Individual (Manager, Director, Vice President, etc.)

  • And many, many other things

  • The Recruiter then searches through the results and builds a list of people to contact about a job. They then can create a form letter to send to the people on the list to gauge interest in a position and to request a resume. LinkedIn users can turn off the ability to receive messages, but most people don't.

  • The Corporate LinkedIn seat system then tracks any communications that they may have made with you through LinkedIn. Recruiters within a company can share their seat, so that the other recruiters can see what's shaking with your candidacy. I should note, this is confidential only to the company who has the seat, and can't be seen by other companies.

The bad news is that there isn't much privacy out there.  The good news is, if you are a passive candidate, and you've got a marketable background, it's not too difficult for recruiters to find you.  Here's some tips for getting noticed by Recruiters using LinkedIn.

• Take the text from your resume and copy the details into your LinkedIn profile. It will make you more searchable through keywords. It's a socially acceptable way to put your resume out on the internet without making your current employer panic (too much).

• Approach your LinkedIn profile as you would your resume:

  • Highlight accomplishments, not just duties

  • Front-load the most important information, including a compelling "Summary" section with a clear summary of who you are professionally

  • You can solicit professional recommendations for each job from peers and managers.  If people are willing to give them, ask for them. You can always decide whether or not to make the recommendation public.  This helps lend some credibility.

  • Make sure your skill keywords are reflected in your profile somewhere.  Are you an expert in Microsoft Project?  Include it.  Have experience in Compensation and Benefits? Include it.

  • How many connections you have doesn't matter to companies who buy a Corporate subscription. They can still find you. But there are some companies out there who don't pay for it, but still want to find you. In this case, the more connections you have increases your visibility.  Definitely an incentive to keep building your LinkedIn network.

Scott Singer is the President and Founder of Insider Career Strategies Resume Writing & Career Coaching, a firm dedicated to guiding job seekers and companies through the job search and hiring process. He is a Human Resources professional and staffing expert with almost two decades of in-house corporate HR and staffing firm experience, and is a Certified Professional Resume Writer (CPRW) and Certified Professional Career Coach (CPCC).

Insider Career Strategies provides resume writing, LinkedIn profile development, and career coaching services, including a free resume review. You can email Scott Singer at scott.singer@insidercs.com, or via the website, www.insidercs.com.

Working Effectively with Staffing Firms, as a Candidate

Okay, you're on the job hunt!  You've been contacted by a staffing firm about a job opportunity.  The recruiter has left you a message to reach out to them to talk about this position.  Exciting, right? Staffing firms (otherwise known as agencies) are hired by companies looking to fill positions.  They are engaged in one of two ways:

• Retained Search: This usually happens for about 10% to 20% of positions.  These roles tend to be (but aren't necessarily) senior managers or above. The Retained Search firm builds a slate of candidates that it presents to the client company, usually boiling it down to three to five of their top candidates.  The agency is paid by the company in installments (usually one third at the start of the search, one third upon presentation of their slate of candidates, and one third upon acceptance of the offer).
• Contingent Search: 80%-90% of agency searches are in this category.  This means that the agency presents candidates to the client company, and gets paid their fee when the candidate is hired.

The one thing in common between both scenarios is that the agencies need to fill the job to make money.  The contingent agency won't collect one penny UNLESS THE PERSON GETS HIRED.  And, usually, that contact person at the agency is paid on commission.  So they are hungry to fill the job in a time-effective manner.

Got it?  If they don't fill the job, they don't fill their belly.  It's an important distinction from the corporate recruiter who works for the client company, and whose paycheck cashes regardless of whether a particular job fills.

Here's some tips to make that relationship more successful and help you land that job.

• Remember that the agency works for the client company, not you.  The client company will pay them for putting the right person in the job.  The staffing firm recruiter may support your candidacy, and may be pulling for you, but they will keep talking to other candidates, also, because they may be a better fit.
• Treat the people at the staffing firm (as well as everybody - come on, you're not five years old) with respect and courtesy.  If they like working with you, they are more likely to pull for you.  If you tick them off, they will drop you like a hot potato. Treat them as if your career depends upon them. It may.
• Be very responsive to the folks at the staffing firm.  They call you, find a conference room immediately and call them back immediately.  And use phrases your mommy taught you, like "Thank you", "Yes ma'am", and "It's very nice to speak with you." If they ask you for an updated resume, send it within the hour (keep a copy on your smartphone so you don't have to use the company's computer). If they ask for references, ask them how many they would like and provide them promptly.
• Know your parameters, and stick to them.  Know how far you will commute, your salary requirements for the right job, your reasons for considering another position, and if you will consider a new position. What you say will be shared with the company.  If you change any of these parameters down the line, the agency will likely never work with you again.  And they usually have lots of clients, so that would be bad. Be up front with the agency about all the comp you get including salary and bonus, any potential increases, how your 401(k) matches, etc.  It will become important in the offer process.
• The agency may not be in a position to tell you who the client company is until a certain point in the process.  Respect this.  They are doing this because the search may be confidential, or because they don't want you telling them that you aren't interested, only to apply directly, cutting them out of a fee. If you think you might know (or actually do know) who the company is, and you've applied in the past, tell them.
• This leads me to warn you that once the agency introduces you to a company, your agency contact is the point of contact for you at that company going forward. Period. Only exception to this rule is sending thank you notes to the folks with whom you interviewed.
• Assuming that you've interviewed and the company is extending you an offer, the offer will likely come from the agency. You may or may not be able to negotiate the offer if it isn't within your original parameters through the agency, but don't assume that they will move heaven and earth to make this happen. Don't change your salary parameters at this point either, thinking you may have a super-strong hand. It will come across as disrespectful and dishonest. It may work, but more likely the company will move onto their next-choice candidate.

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Scott Singer is the President and Founder of Insider Career Strategies Resume Writing & Career Coaching, a firm dedicated to guiding job seekers and companies through the job search and hiring process. He is a Human Resources professional and staffing expert with almost two decades of in-house corporate HR and staffing firm experience, and is a Certified Professional Resume Writer (CPRW) and Certified Professional Career Coach (CPCC).

Insider Career Strategies provides resume writing, LinkedIn profile development, and career coaching services, including a free resume review. You can email Scott Singer at scott.singer@insidercs.com, or via the website, www.insidercs.com.

Inside the Recruiter's Mind - How to Get Your Foot in the Door (and Some Really Bad Ideas)

Job hunting is a pain in the butt. There's a lot of applying to jobs, networking, and other shenanigans. You may be applying to multiple jobs, but you are trying to find one job with a company to call home.

The Corporate Recruiter on the other end of the internet is trying to fill as many as twenty, thirty, fifty (or more) open positions at a time.

How do your priorities align with the recruiter's priorities?

These align if - and only if - you are the right candidate with the right skills and the right career objectives at the right compensation level and the right personality at the right moment to fill the job.

Meaning... if you aren't the right candidate; or you have the wrong skills; or your career objectives don't align to the role; or your compensation expectations are out of range; or interpersonal skills could piss off Bobby McFerrin on a good day... then you're not going to get the job, much less a call or an email.

Okay, let's look at why this is the case.

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Looking at why

Corporate Recruiters today receive job seeker (hereafter referred to as "candidate" or "applicant") resumes much like your own from a variety of sources.  The most common are:

• Candidate applications to positions posted on job boards (Monster, LinkedIn, Indeed, etc.)
• Candidate applications to positions posted on the company website
• Referrals from employees within the company who are kind enough to pass the resume along
• Searches in LinkedIn and other job boards
• Candidate applications to positions posted through their college
• Outside recruitment firms hired to help with the search
• Other places I can't even fathom to remember or think about - my brain hurts

If you think you're dealing with a lot of data in your job, try this on for size.  The average recruiter can receive anywhere from a few dozen to SEVERAL HUNDRED applications from the interwebs for an open position. Maybe even thousands of applications.  I kid you not.

Candidates have commented to me that they felt that their resumes went into a "black hole"after clicking "apply". They have asked me how many applicant resumes a recruiter typically looks at, and if they have a chance.

Corporate Recruiters are a hardworking bunch as a rule. They work diligently to review as many resumes for a position as they can.  They want to make sure they're not missing that one spectacular candidate who might be the perfect fit.

That said, while the recruiter will do their best to look at all the applicants for a role, that's just not realistic.  They need to spend their time effectively, and that means selecting applicants who most apparently meet the needs of the position while minimizing busywork.

Make the recruiter your advocate by making their life easier. They can (and will) make or break you.

So, I present to thee:

TIPS TO GET YOUR FOOT IN THE DOOR (AND SOME REALLY BAD IDEAS) WHEN APPLYING TO POSITIONS AT A COMPANY

The Good Ideas:

• Submit a well-structured resume with the following considerations:
  • A clear objective just below your name and contact information. The objective validates for the Recruiter that you have the interest in the role and have at least done the preparation to send the right resume for the right job. I once had a CEO who had a clever saying about strategy - "If you don't know where you want to go, any bus will take you there."  A lack of objective on the resume, or one that doesn't apply to the role, will knock you out almost immediately.
  • No typos, errors, or poor formatting.  Seriously. Use spell-check, have a friend proofread for mistakes, understand the difference in uses between "its", "it's", and "its".  Don't look like a lazy dumb ass.
  • Be succinct and clear in explaining your current and prior employment.  Dates, title, company, and location, followed responsibilities in 1-2 line bullet points.  Explain what you did and what you accomplished. Use metrics related to your job responsibilities.  Put jobs in order of most recent first.
  • Detail your education by telling where you went to school, your major, when you graduated.
  • Don't lie. At all. You will get caught - maybe not immediately, but it will come up in the background check and references, or perhaps even after you are employed. The dates of employment matter. Your job title matters. Your degree completion matters. Your criminal background matters. If you lie with the intent of trying to make the company fall in love with you so that they will overlook these lies at decision time, think again. Being caught in a lie will blackball you with the company, probably forever. I've had candidates lie about things that didn't even matter (i.e., claiming a degree when one wasn't necessary for the role), then finding themselves on the outside looking in. For what it's worth, if you get caught in one lie, the Recruiter will start actively looking for other inconsistencies.  Your candidacy will all unravel like a cheap sweater.
  • For those of you who took journalism classes, there is the concept of the inverted pyramid (good article on this here). In essence, when a journalist writes a news story, the most important concepts go up front, the least important parts of the story toward the end.  The idea being that an editor can just chop off  the parts of the story that don't fit the space allocated.  To put this in resume terms, the computer systems most companies use to track resumes offer an option for the Recruiter to glance at the top of the resume (usually the first half of the front page) to see if it's generally worth reviewing further.  Follow this same concept.  Most important stuff up front.
  • Leave the photo off your resume unless you are applying to a job outside the United States. It is against the law for companies to discriminate based upon appearance, and including a photo can sometimes make things dicey. Outside the U.S., a photo is common practice, so do it there. I'm sure this goes without saying but if you must include a photo, make it tasteful - you, in a suit, chest upward only. Be well groomed.  No drooling.
  • One to two pages, maximum.  Anything more is too much detail.  Unless you're a professor in academia - that's a different situation entirely.

Bus

The bus you could be taking...

• Respect the company protocols. If the company has a portal for you to apply, do it. Most companies do have such a portal. If you look up somebody on LinkedIn, and you think they might be the right person to contact (such as the hiring manager) send them one (and only one) message with your resume, thank them profusely for their time, and ask them if there is anybody else you should contact.  Then drop it.
• Be respectful of the Recruiter's time. They are not your friend, nor are they your personal job-placement agent. And they are frickin' busy as hell. If you try to get them on the phone or via email, proceed with caution. If you must do this (Must you? Really?), be brief and respectful, confirm that they got the resume and thank them for their time. Then do something else. Be judicious in the number of contacts you make.
• If you have a person inside the company to refer your resume, give them the resume then leave them alone. The hiring process may be outside their control. And perhaps you may or may not have the right skill set, and they're just being nice.
• Respect the Recruiter as the point of contact. Shopping around to individuals in other departments through contacts you found on LinkedIn can only step on the process, and make some folks angry.

The Bad Ideas: Do these if you really, really want to sabotage your chances with the company

• Show up at the lobby without an appointment and ask to meet with the Recruiter, or anybody for that matter. Even better yet, demand to meet somebody, then be utterly unprepared (no resume, poorly attired, chip on your shoulder).
• Keep in constant contact. Leave messages for the Recruiter asking for an update. Send repeated emails or written messages to everybody in the company and their mother. Go over everybody's head and send a note straight to the CEO after you've already spoken with somebody in the company. I've had candidates drop off food and goodies with their resume - it doesn't come across as ambitious, it looks desperate.
• Apply to every job posted. Twice. In the off chance that you may get noticed and contacted.  Let's be serious - if the job is for a marketing manager, and you've got no marketing and management experience, you have no reason to apply.  You're only creating more work for the Recruiter.
• Have your mother, father, Cousin Louie, or anybody else in your family who is not an employee of the company send in your resume on your behalf.  If you can't send in your own resume, well, figure out the rest.
• Over-leverage your "relationship" with an important mover and shaker within the company in your communication.  If you drop the VP of Marketing's name and talk about what close buddies you are, you can bet somebody will check exactly what kind of friendship you have.  Not to mention, if you are as close as you say, the VP would have walked your resume over to HR him- or herself.

Happy hunting!  I'd be interested in hearing your employment and recruitment stories, from both sides of the fence.

Scott Singer is the President and Founder of Insider Career Strategies Resume Writing & Career Coaching, a firm dedicated to guiding job seekers and companies through the job search and hiring process. He is a Human Resources professional and staffing expert with almost two decades of in-house corporate HR and staffing firm experience, and is a Certified Professional Resume Writer (CPRW) and Certified Professional Career Coach (CPCC).

Insider Career Strategies provides resume writing, LinkedIn profile development, and career coaching services, including a free resume review. You can email Scott Singer at scott.singer@insidercs.com, or via the website, www.insidercs.com.