We're getting back to the basics with some Recruiting 101. What is a recruiter? Why should you care? What can they do for you? Why do you need recruiters? Am I having an existential crisis?

So turn to chapter one and highlight, underline, and circle the phrase "START WITH RECRUITERS." Trust me, if you only learn one thing today, let it be that. Recruiters should be your secret weapon and your starting point in the job hunt. They have the inside scoop on the job market, can help you spruce up your resume and LinkedIn, and take some of the heavy lifting off your plate. So why waste your time slapping your resume on every job posting you come across, hoping something will stick? Instead, send your resume to a few recruiters and let them work their magic. Trust me, you'll get much better results for the same amount of effort.

If you have 18 minutes to spare (that’s roughly enough time to take a for funsies ride up and down the elevator and make a cup of coffee), here’s a link to the podcast:

https://open.spotify.com/episode/6u6wc0BWUTsNX8nsfLXO6l

If you’re more of a “give me bullet points or give me death” kind of learner, I got you:

• There are two types of recruiters:

  • Agency

    • Primarily commission-based recruiters that appear like Beetlejuice when you say Ruby on Rails three times

      • Pros: Wide knowledge of the job market from working with multiple companies; filling lots of positions at once; can be used as a tool to improve your resume, interviewing skills, etc.

      • Cons: You have to constantly keep in touch with them; they’re juggling lots of different applicants; they might forget your name that ONE TIME…

        • If you’ve applied for a job and haven’t heard back from us just copy and paste this into an email:

          • Hey [name], I haven’t heard from you in the past week. I understand that I may not be a good fit for the role. Could you please let me know if this is the case so I can move on with my job search?

  • Corporate

    • These are the internal recruiters hired by companies. They have a deep understanding of their specific company's qualifications and needs. Like the troll you have to talk to before crossing a bridge… (don’t take that too personally, there are lots of beautiful trolls out there)

      • Pros: Not commission based, so they function as both a recruiting and HR type role for the company; they will be invested in the specific company they work for; they have a slightly outside perspective in the recruiting world as they’re not usually filling tons of positions at once

      • Cons: They’re not as informed or as involved with the job market as a larger whole; they’re not a buffer, sounding board or advice giver to help you better land the job

Tips on how to use recruiters to your advantage:

• Networking Tip

  • Find 3-10 recruiters in your area, connect with them on LinkedIn and send them a note.

    • Most recruiters will be willing to help you if you engage with them. Whether it’s an intro email, a quick polishing of your resume or a tip to improve your Linkedin

    • Do this BEFORE you start slapping your resume on job postings. It’s free.

• BCC Trick

  • If you’re interested in a specific job posting, pick 5-10 of your favorite local agency recruiters

  • BCC them all in one email

  • Pull up the job posting you’re interested in and write a seemingly personal message

    • For example: Hey! I came across this job posting on the internet. Are you working with this company or know anyone there?

  • Now you have a multitude of potential connections all from one email

• Communication

  • Don’t call recruiters.

    • We’re probably in a meeting anyway. Instead, just send us a text or email

  • Check in with us.

    • We talk to a lot of people. Help us make sure you’re one we talk to regularly