by Stephanie Meehan

After all the interviewing is done, you have one more hurdle before you accept your next job offer: References.

Employers will want three to five professional references. A professional reference can speak about your performance on the job. If you're a recent graduate, professors able to vouch for your academic, communication and technical abilities can be strong references.

Good professional references may be recent supervisors, co-workers (not subordinates), customers, vendors or suppliers, pro-bono clients, or volunteer committee members. Don't list your close friends, minister and relatives They cannot give employers the information they need to decide if you should be interviewed or hired.

You want to provide professional contacts who know your work and think you're great. Your goal is to present several knowledgeable, articulate and enthusiastic references.

I have followed up with references who turned out to be the candidate's golf buddy or college roommate from way back. They may provide unique insights about the candidate, but for solid information about how the person solves problems at work, they are not much help.

Be sure your people are willing to provide a reference for you, and send them a copy of your resume. Furnishing an outline of your background and accomplishments is very helpful to anyone willing to speak about your strengths in the workplace.

When creating your list, keep in mind this is not an exercise in name dropping. It is wonderful to know important people, but if they are not able or likely to take a phone call during business hours to provide a reference, you need to find someone more accessible.

After you get permission to use each person as a reference, you need to provide your recruiter or hiring manager the following information about each one:

• Full name and title, if any. (Titles would include Colonel, Doctor, Professor, Judge)

• Phonetic pronunciation of the reference’s name (if required). For example: "Sienkiewicz" is pronounced: "sin’-cavage."

• Job Title

• Organization’s name

• Business mailing address including ZIP

• Daytime phone number including area code and the best time to call (if applicable)

• The reference’s private e-mail address (if available)

• The reference’s professional relationship to you (former supervisor, current vendor, colleague, and the like) and the number of years you have known each other professionally.

You may improve your chances greatly if you have a powerful LinkedIn page, particularly if your page includes recommendations and endorsements. If you have such a page, and you are satisfied it represents you well, you will want to include the URL to your page when you email the other information listed above.

Being discreet is something very important that candidates overlook at their peril.  Many times candidates say they are “actively” or “aggressively” looking.  What does that mean?  Is their resume everywhere online already? 

What they probably don’t realize is that by having their resume everywhere they increase their chances at a few jobs but very much limit themselves on many more positions that recruiters are working on at the time. 

This is a difficult market. If I were out of work, I would probably be on the job boards as well.  But overall, very few jobs are found using the Internet. Networking does play a big factor but posting your resume online usually does not equate to long-term career success. 

It isn’t always the case but there are 3 main types of candidates that dominate the job boards:

1. Unemployed – These candidates are out of work and struggling to find that new job. No one can blame them for being online.
2. Miserable at current position – By being online they are letting the world know “I’m not in that great of a job right now.”
3. Under skilled – The A+ candidates have companies and recruiters calling them and do everything they can to stay away from having their resume blasted.

Working with an executive recruiter can be a very valuable relationship for both the candidate and the recruiter.  This relationship that can last for years and provide you free career coaching and market insight.  It is a two-way street in that the recruiter needs to understand your needs, career goals and experience, and the candidate needs to show why he or she is a stronger candidate than others. 

Remember that an experienced recruiter can be a valuable career counselor.  Even if the recruiter doesn’t end up helping you find your next position, that person can be an invaluable resource in your long-term career.
 

With more and more people planning their next career move, I would like to address a few things that could be helpful in your relationship with an executive recruiter. Some things you can control and some things you can't, but there are ways to make yourself more marketable.

A majority of our client companies require a minimum of 2 years’ experience on the supplier side working on the account.  So if you have 3 years of experience in frozen foods and our client company is looking for 5 years of experience in sporting goods it usually isn’t going to be a good fit.  We certainly try to show client companies how you might be an appropriate fit and have valuable experience that might not exactly match their job description. But you’re up against other candidates who do have 5 years of sporting goods experience and who may be a better fit for the job.

More clients now expect candidates to walk in with a 4-year degree.  This isn’t always a deal breaker but candidates with a degree are usually considered more strongly in the current market. 

Some things you can control (e.g., finishing a degree), and some things you can’t control (your past experience). What are some areas that can make you more attractive as a candidate to be marketed by an executive recruiter?

• Have a great resume!  Not a good resume a great resume.  We want the client company to say “Wow – what a great background. Can we set up an interview?”  If the resume is difficult to follow and doesn’t show outstanding information then we usually don’t have a shot.  The candidates that say “get me the interview and I’ll get the job” are usually the ones cut earliest in the interview process.  Help us help you get that interview. Make your resume stand out from the competition.
• Interview with a recruiter the same as you would a hiring manager.  Since we are local we are fortunate to be able to meet a majority of our candidates. Prepare for the meeting and dress the part. Give us that feeling of professionalism that you would give on a interview.  I’ve met candidates with candidates wearing wrinkled clothing, caps, and who are chewing gum, etc.  No matter how good the resume is I want to know that you would represent our firm well on an interview and that you’ll be able to compete against other strong candidates.
• Keep me up to date on any changes in your status but don’t call constantly to see if I have an interview for you.  I can promise you if you are a strong candidate with a great resume you are being considered for multiple positions and will not be kept out of  any opportunity we can pursue.  Keep in mind the client company might have criteria restricting our search but a strong A+ candidate who is professional is always at the top of our. Too many calls and you can come across as desperate. A regular email to check in shows you’re organized and considerate.
• Send other A+ candidates our way.  Showing you value our relationship enough to refer your colleagues makes your stock go way up. (On the flip side – several times a week I receive referrals about someone’s cousin’s friend who lives in Cleveland who was a vaccum cleaner salesman and 10 years ago sold tennis racquets to Target.  It’s not that I don’t want to help, but I bet you get my point.)
• Don’t tell me you are a quick learner. I always assume that every motivated candidate is a quick learner. But companies don’t come to us for people who are trainable – they come to us for valuable work experience.
• Be discreet with your resume and any conversations we have about potential opportunities.  We know candidates work with multiple search firms. But I’m not impressed to learn a candidate is posting their resume or applying to positions on Careerbuilder, Monster, the Ladders, etc.  Why would a company pay a search firm to find someone who is sending their resume all over the place?

In difficult economic times it helps to have a strong relationship with an executive recruiter. It is also useful to understand how the placement process works. 

Our job as recruiters has to be one of the most misunderstood of any that I can imagine.  We would love to help every job applicant who contacts us.  But few candidates realize we are not in the market of finding people jobs – we find specific talent for our client companies. It’s an important distinction to understand.

Here’s how the process works. The client company gives us a detailed job description and wish list for positions that they are trying to fill.  This description might include number of years experience or experience in specific categories, sku count, or dollar volume.  For example, a company might say, “We are searching for a National Account Manager with 5 years of experience in Dept XX, with a bachelor’s degree, and experience as a Senior Analyst or Category Manager.” You may meet a majority of  those criteria but sometimes the one box you don’t check is a deal breaker.  

Remember: Companies use recruiters to find that special expertise – those candidates they wouldn’t find on their own.  They are looking for that hard-to-findcandidate that is in some way special. 

Our main focus is to find the best talent to meet the needs of our client companies. We are looking for those details in a background that show not only that you are qualified for a particular position but you would be a better fit than the other hundreds of potential candidates who also feel that they are qualified.

While a good recruiter will actively market you to their client base and contacts, the fact is that they can only place you in roles that they have been assigned by their clients. The good news? You have an ally to state your case for great jobs you likely would not know of otherwise. The bad news? Securing interviews for qualified candidates can take weeks or even months.

Companies know that their biggest asset is great people. It takes time to locate and meet the best people and determine who is the best fit for the team. Because there’s so much at stake, it’s rare for companies to make quick hiring decisions. Anyone planning a job search should take note and plan accordingly. 
 

by Mike Whittington

Choosing a recruiter is like choosing a doctor or lawyer. Find someone that you can develop a relationship with that will learn your background, interests, dislikes, and that will work on your behalf.

An experienced recruiter will have your best interest in mind while searching for that perfect job. A great recruiter will make your career change experience both successful and enjoyable.

Expert recruiters know their industry and specialty niche inside and out. They will discuss your background, skill set, and career goals with you in detail prior to making any recommendations or referrals. Successful recruiters understand the importance of helping you find a good “home." They are interesting in acting as your representative throughout your professional work life.

Because of this, a reputable recruiter will protect your confidentiality. He or she will screen out obvious mismatches and present only opportunities that are a good fit for you. Often they are privy to more information about a company’s culture and internal reputation.

The most important reason to use a reputable recruiter is that he or she works directly with the company and can market your background directly to the hiring manager. To approach the search from a “shotgun approach" - sharing your resume with multiple recruiting firms, job boards and corporate web sites - does nothing to lend credibility to your search. Posting your resume on job boards can leave you feeling that your application is “lost in a sea” of other resumes with no evidence that anyone ever reviewed your background.

One main reason to use one reputable recruiter would be for sanity. First, the reputable recruiter has a proven track record, professional references and  knows what he is doing. This creates trust at all levels - between you and the recruiter and between the recruiter and the decision maker.

The primary reason you use an executive recruiter is there is no substitute for professional representation. Having a professional representative with the connections and the skills to separate you from the crowd can be the deciding factor that yields or prevents an interview.

As you plan your job search strategy, here are some additional points to consider.

• Do you really want to be associated with the masses - or would you rather be perceived as confidentially and quietly looking to better your situation and leverage your career?
• It is a well known fact that candidates who are found on the job boards are perceived as second tier as well as potentially desperate.
• Candidates who have a good recruiter get valuable information about the client company and how to position themselves in the interview as well as throughout their search.
• Good recruiters not only will identify quality opportunities for their client candidates. They also play a priceless role in managing the process.