Recruiters are often seen as a necessary evil and certainly don’t have the best reputation (!) however not all recruiters are made equal! After spending most of her career either being a candidate or a client of recruiters, five years ago Claire Coppard changed course completely and became the Co-Founder of a recruitment agency, Kode Digital Recruitment.
"It was quite the leap but of all the things I have learnt, one is that there are lots of things you can do when looking for a new job to make sure you get the best out of your relationship with your recruiter so I wanted to share these five tips with you.
1. Pick the right recruiters or agencies to speak to and if possible speak with specialist agencies in your field.
A good recruiter knows the market they work in and can give you honest up-front advice. They should be able to help you understand what the job market is like at the moment, what skill sets and experience are most in demand and offer advice on your CV.
2. Be clear and honest.
Want flexible working? Want to be able to work from home? Have a minimum salary you’ll accept? It’s always best to explain to a recruiter exactly what your non-negotiables are, that way they won’t put you forward for roles that don’t match your requirements and you won’t have to deal with any awkwardness when you get offered a job you can’t or won’t
accept.
3. Keep your commitments.
Every time a recruiter puts you forward for a role they are essentially vouching for you. If you don’t follow through with calls/interviews it not only reflects badly on you but
on the recruiter as well. A recruiter won’t put a candidate forward if they don’t feel they can trust that candidate to show up.
4. Referrals.
It’s a funny one but a very good way to stay in the good books, and at the front of a recruiter's mind can be to give a referral. If they contact you about a job that isn’t right for you but you know someone who would be interested then let them know.
Likewise if you know someone who is hiring and needs some help filling a role, let them know. Not only will you be their favourite candidate and therefore much more likely to be first on the list to be put forward for new positions but lots of agencies offer a referrals
scheme so you could get a bit of a bonus too.
5. Be open to feedback.
A good recruiter will always try and get proper feedback for you from any interview you have or even whenever they have submitted your CV (although keep in mind that sometimes this is not always forthcoming from companies). Be open to hearing what they have to say. Feedback isn’t always easy to hear, and trust me, it’s not always easy to give either, but
if you want to get better at interviews or improve your CV and ultimately land your dream job you are going to need to hear it, take it on board and act upon it.
Changing jobs can be incredibly challenging and can feel a bit daunting at times however, if you can find a recruiter who knows their stuff and you click with then stick with them. Be honest, direct and friendly and you could end up with someone championing your career who genuinely wants to help you get the role you want."
To find out more about Claire and Kode Digital Recruitment , please click here.
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