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Column: Job Search 4: Other Marketing Avenues 1. Working with Recruiters at Search Firms The trick to working with search firms is to remember their role is to satisfy the employer who pays them by finding a hire who meets the employer's specs. Their role is NOT to get YOU a job. And the time to develop your contacts at such firms is before you are interested in changing jobs. Not only do most search firm clients want currently employed people as candidates, but knowing some recruiters is always a smart way to keep yourself current in your industry or career. There are two main types of search firms you could work with: contingency and retained. Contingency firms are the most common for entry- to mid-level jobs. They work with companies which pay them IF the company hires someone through them. Retained (often called Executive Search) firms work with more senior-level positions, and they work on an exclusive contract with a company to fill a specific position. Both contingency and retained firms often concentrate on one industries, such as non-profits, or one career sector, such as health care. Executive search firms generally find you directly. You may be in their files because of your role in a professional or industry group or via a referral. You can develop a relationship with a recruiter at such firms. But, most are overwhelmed by resumes sent in 'cold' and are unlikely to contact you based on that action if they do not know of you. If you know someone in executive search, do tell her about your job search. And ask for suggestions. If s/he wants your new resume, she will say so! In any case, you need to know the quality and reputation of the search firms you talk to or send your resume to. Unfortunately, anyone can call herself a recruiter, and some will just blanket the world with your resume without your permission. And some unscrupulous folks in the collections, background-checking, and identity-theft worlds do contact people and claim to be a recruiter. If you are interested in working with an recruiter, check out who are the well-regarded recruiters for your field. Ask hiring managers you trust for a specific recommendation. Ask HR folks you know for names of recruiters they contract with successfully. Talk to your peers for their experiences. Check out the Association of Executive Search Consultants at www.asec.org too. Then contact the ones who appear to meet your needs. Ask about their work and their speciality area of practice before you send them a resume. Remember, every conversation with a search firm recruiter is a form of job interview. If you are contacted by a recruiter, get all the information you can on what they are offering and what they do. Then, consider checking on the person before you get into too many private details. Good recruiters understand your desire to protect yourself and to work with the best. BUT, remember those in contingency search firms work on a very fast turn-around. If you are interested, say so. And get back to the person quickly. If you do choose to work with recruiters, be clear about your work goals and any limitations. Respect their time and efforts. Tell them if you are interested in a position they have open and ask them all the critical questions you can to be sure it is a potential match. Sell yourself professionally. Be responsive to their needs - including the possibility you may have to quickly modify your resume to more clearly highlight some experiences. Offer referrals if you know others who may meet their needs better than you do. Say 'no thanks' if the position does not interest you or is too far a commute, etc. Treat them as professionally as you want to be treated. 2. Job Fairs Job Fairs are offered by public and private groups, so you can find these advertised in the Washington Post, online job boards, and through various professional or community groups. Attend those that look interesting to you. Get there as early as possible, so you have time to comfortably meet with all organizations that interest you. If they offer seminars, consider attending for networking purposes. Take plenty of clean, crisp resumes to hand out. And have them easy to reach when you do. Fumbling looks unprofessional and having to apologize for poor or crumpled copies hurts your confidence and appearance. Take a pen, paper, and a bag/briefcase -- something to take notes on and to hold the information/handouts you pick up. Asking the recruiter for something to write on is not going to get you to the head of her follow-up list. You would be surprised how many people do not look prepared because of these simple items! Dress as you would for a job interview. If they publicize the participating employers, do a little research ahead of time to identify those that interest you. If not, take time at your arrival to go over the list and identify likely candidates. Visit those booths first and see if they have positions that interest you. Then, if there is time, look at the other booths to see if you have missed any potentially good options. Be prepared to say, in 30 seconds or less, what type of jobs you are interested in and why. Do not expect the company recruiter to figure out what might interest you. Know any questions you need answered to see if there is a match and ask them! Get the recruiter's card for follow-up. Network with other job-seekers there too. Leads come in many forms. 3. Open Houses Open houses are the organization equivalent of a job fair. Organizations with a large number of openings often hold a 'job fair' onsite. If the organization interests you, follow the instructions in their ad and attend. Treat these the same way as you would a multi-employer job fair. See 2 above. 4. Job Clubs There are a wide variety of job clubs. Some are run by churches or community groups, others are businesses, some are run by the state employment service. These often provide good leads and feedback on your interviewing skills. They can be especially helpful to keep you going during a long search. Outplacement services from your employer may include a job club; do attend. The Women's Center in Vienna, Virginia, and 40Plus, which has chapters around the metro area, also offer job clubs. See FortyPlus.org and the FiveOClockClub.com sites for more information on local chapters. 5. Gathering Marketing and other Search Leads A. Go to the library! Runyon's Corollary: Spending a few hours on the Internet often saves a few minutes in the library. Everything is not on the 'net. But your public library has a lot of resources. Take a look at various business periodicals for leads. Read trade publications. See where your targets (for networking and for jobs) meet and what groups they belong to. Check out the listings provided by the local economic development authority of all local businesses. Look at the business reference section's materials for appropriate topics. Review various business guides and SEC information. Check out their online resources. Often these are ones you need to pay to have access otherwise. Ask the reference librarian for sources or help. The Washington Post, Washington Business Journal, and many other local business/trade publications can give you insight into who is growing, what is happening, and where opportunities lie. B. Online Resources Yes, a tremendous amount of information is available online. Many sources target the metro DC area: WashTech.com and PotomacTechwire.com come to mind. Local groups like the chambers of commerce have useful sites; for example: Fairfax's is www.fccc.org. There are specialized groups like MDBio.org for the bio-tech industry in MD and ASAE.net for associations. Links to employers as well as a lot of useful info can be found at nvrp.org. A little research can find many that meet your needs. Some good basic URLs for job-hunting info include:
C. Professional groups websites Many groups have websites that offer job listings, job-referral lists, or contact names. Check out the ones you belong to and others that look of interest. Some have joblines to call or email notices to sign up for instead of web-listings. Some limit access to members but many do not. Most have local chapter links listed too. Some, like DCWW, archive list messages and you can check if other members have posted openings. |
