HRMargo Social Media HR Evangelist

When job seeking, it’s a good idea to get inside the head of a recruiter, and think about the search the way they do .  Here’s my top 5 tips for taking a recruiter’s view of the job search process.

1) Hunt Like a Tiger: attend professional associations, network with your contacts, participate in linkedin groups, and don’t limit yourself to websites.

2) Be stealth like in your sales approach-yes I said “sales.”  A good recruiter knows how to pitch a candidate eloquently. There’s a new tool, verbal summary, that Jerry Albright makes available-you can attach a verbal description to your resume (it’s a powerful recruiting tool) he offered this free to job seekers on #HireFriday on twitter.

2) Pick up the phone. Don’t be afraid to do what phone sourcers do-Find out who the hiring managers are, and the people in their department. Don’t be afraid to contact them.

3) Learn how to develop boolean search strings my go to guys for this Glenn Gutmacher and Glen Cathey (also known as booleanblkbelt on twitter).

4) Develop a targeted company wish list (use your contacts to get referrals to hiring managers).

5) Always ask for referrals.  Twitter/Facebook/Linkedin are resources, but remember whether you are at Starbucks or at the Library, you never know when someone you meet might know of a position in your field.

Recruiters are masterful networkers.  They’re stellar hunters.  If you remember these simple tips, it might just open some doors.

One more tip, when contacting a recruiter, pitch what you can do for them, not what they can do for you.  Most recruiters have very specific job orders to fill.  Don’t be offended if you don’t fit the description.  If you think like a recruiter, and respect the boundaries, you’ll forge a great alliance with some of the nicest people around.

Check out ERE recruiter website there’s a great article that expresses optimism about the job market.

I was flattered by the HireFriday post by Do You Buzz Blog .  I hope you’ll check out HireFriday on facebook and twitter. The goal is to offer visibility to job seekers.  Here’s the guidelines for HireFriday.  There’s a lot of support out there, and we all want to help you in your search.

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