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Love them or hate them most jobseekers will use recruitment consultants to find them a job at some point in their career. As they can play a very important part in getting you your next job I thought I would post a brief article on getting the best out of your new “temporary” best friend.
The best place to start is to understand the pressures and motivations that a recruitment consultant is under; this way you are better able to present yourself in a way that makes them work best for you.
As almost everybody knows, recruiters tend to earn a lower basic salary which is then supplemented by commission that they earn by filling vacancies. Their goal will be to place as many people as possible in as many jobs as possible to earn as much commission as they can.
This may seem cold hearted but that it the simple fact of the matter. Regardless of what they say this is how they are targeted, driven, get promoted and ultimately earn a living.
Of course, the majority of recruiters add professionalism, ethics and a genuine desire to help you succeed to make the process as pleasant as possible. These are the good guys and when you find them, never be afraid to thank them and refer your friends to them. Unfortunately, as with all industries, there are the “sharp operators” and recruitment has its fair share. Remember that not every recruiter has access to every job so never be afraid to sack them and register elsewhere.
Getting the best out of a recruitment consultant starts by a bit of thought into the job you want next. As recruiters as very target driven and usually very busy they will sadly only have time to engage with the jobseekers they believe have the best chance of getting a job (remember their targets).
As such, it is important that you are truly committed to finding a job and as such only apply for roles that you are genuinely interested in. To do this, you must sit down and think about your situation….. points to consider will include:
- Why am I looking for work?
- What do I enjoy about my current job?
- Could my reasons for leaving be addressed by my Manager?
- What is the most important thing in my next job?
- What type of Company do I want to work for (industry, size etc)?
- How far do I want to commute?
- Where do I want to be in 5years?
- How will my next job prepare me for the next job I apply for further down the line?
- What do I want to earn and are my expectations realistic?
- Do I have a CV that is well written, inviting to read and that portrays me in the best light for the job I want to apply for?
The list goes on but remember that a recruitment consultant wants applications from jobseekers that intend to accept a job if offered. Whilst there are endless variables to consider and you can never be sure until you have been to interview etc, you can improve both your and their chances of success by honestly appraising what you want out of your next job.
Having contemplated your next move you should have a pretty good idea of the job you want next including salary, location, skills, type of company etc. Armed with a good CV it is important that you then start searching and applying for jobs. Remember that you should only apply for jobs that you are genuinely interested in and want to be considered for. Spamming your CV out to every job you see will quickly get you ignored by every agency you apply to. Once a consultant recognises your name and sees your CV in application for 10 different jobs that have different requirements etc they will probably just delete your CV and move on…. A complete waste of time for everybody.
Note: A serious application with a strong CV will get their attention quicker than you may realise. They want to fill their vacancies as quickly as possible and if they genuinely believe you are the person to do that then they will become your best friend very quickly….. This may seem shallow but ultimately it is a win:win:win situation. You find a job that you love, the client finds a committed and well matched employee and the consultant earns his commission…..
Of course, getting to job offer can be an epic journey in itself but I firmly believe that organisation, honesty and communication skills are essential here. A few points to consider:
- If a recruitment consultant asks where you are interviewing – don’t tell them. Regardless of how they dress it up they are only asking you so they can approach the clients themselves with a view to introducing their own candidates – ultimately increasing the competition for you. Sure, they may talk about marketing out your CV and wanting to avoid duplicate submissions but this should not be an issue if you follow the next point.
- Your CV is a valuable document; it contains personal information and should be treated as such. You have a right to know where your CV is being sent. When talking to a recruiter you must insist that they tell you the name of their client – assuming you want your CV sent to them – remember you are entitled to know where your CV is being sent. If they refuse to tell you then state that you don’t want to be considered for role and will refuse to attend any interviews for vacancies that have not been discussed with you in full previously. They may tell you that they cannot tell you but this is rarely the case… The truth is that they are afraid of you divulging client names to other recruitment agencies that will potentially contact the client and submit their own CV’s. By following point 1, you will be demonstrating your integrity and showing them that you can be trusted.
- Having dealt with points 1 and 2, the consultant will be building up an impression of you; hopefully a positive one; i.e. a jobseeker who knows what he wants, is honest and will not mess around or play games. This needs to be reinforced by point 4.
- Keep accurate records of what agency has discussed what roles with you. A part of point 1 is true in this case; i.e. duplicate submissions. Nobody likes to have their time wasted, as such, assuming you follow point 2 – always tell a recruitment consultant if a vacancy has already been discussed with you – it will save everybody time.
- Give honest and critical feedback after an interview. If you are keen then tell them – if they think you are likely to accept the job then they are more likely to push for you. Being non committal or taking days to ring them with feedback gives the impression that you are not particularly interested – potentially making the recruitment consultant favour another jobseeker instead of you.
Despite the undeserved bad reputation that many recruitment consultants get due to the shady practices of an underhand minority it is important to realise that they are normal people like you and me. They will have mortgages to pay, children to clothe and food to buy… To do this they need to earn money….
Understanding their motivators and the signals you send out to them will go a long way to getting them on your side, getting your emails and phone calls answered and hopefully securing that dream job!
Good hunting!
Good SEO Executive and PPC Consultants are in high demand – however, so are client expectations and as such it is vital that you prepare effectively for your interview. Employers may be crying out for your skills but don’t think for a second that they will recruit you just because they are desperate – with high levels of client accountability they still need and want to recruit the best.
Having said that, whether your skills are agency side or client side, they are pressing the right buttons to get you to interview stage – you can safely assume that the company are interested in what you have to offer, they have read your CV and they have liked what they have seen. You will also have lost much of the competition, as less than half of submitted applicants reach this stage.
Having established that you have the fundamental qualifications for the job, you have to build upon this and impress the interviewers with your personality. Technical skills aside, the purpose of an interview is for the employer to meet you in person and evaluate whether your personality will fit into their company. This article focuses on the non-SEO side of the interview - don’t be put off by this though; we have seen many jobseekers with great skills not be offered a job because employers felt they wouldn’t gel with the team, were hard to manage, were not 100% professional, were not presentable, were late, unenthusiastic, confrontational, evasive, too nervous, arrogant and lots more – in other words, there are plenty of reasons other than your SEO or PPC skills that may stop you getting that job offer.
First impressions
Research by psychologists has shown that people decide what they think of you within four minutes of a first meeting, therefore is very important to make a good impression right from the start.
Get all of your preparation out of the way well in advance, and allow plenty of time to get to the interview so that you arrive in a cool calm state. Arrive ten minutes early and use the bathroom facilities to smarten your appearance. You will not be so nervous if you are well prepared and look your best.
Confidence is the magic word, if you are confident then you will be relaxed and able to talk lucidly about yourself, you will be able to look the interviewer in the eyes, you will not fidget – you will have the potential to clinch the job.
If you are not feeling very self-assured just think, you wouldn’t have reached the interview stage if you didn’t possess the attributes that the company desires. Looking your best and being well prepared should help, so that when you meet the interviewer you will be able to greet them openly with a smile, look them in the eyes and shake their hand.
Don’t let confidence come across as arrogance. Excess confidence can come across this way and it’s not an attractive trait for the employer as it implies that you are not a good team player.
Multiple personalities
The subject of this article is “effective presentation”. However an employer will be looking for different personality traits depending on the type of job to which you are applying. For example, sales personnel have to be very outgoing and sociable, and these characteristics are not so necessary for a software engineer. If your natural personality is not really suitable for the job to which you are applying then you should seriously reconsider the direction of your career because otherwise you may not be happy in the long term.
Attractive features that are desirable to all employers include:
Confidence
This can be expressed in so many ways. Look the interviewer in the eyes, shake their hand firmly. Be chatty and lucid, sit with good straight posture with your hands on your lap, be precise in your answers do not ‘Um and ah’. Confidence comes with experience, so tell the interviewer about difficult situations that you negotiated in your previous jobs, perhaps even mention your world travels or a time you held a position of power within an organisation.
Approachability
To express approachability be friendly and open, smile and pleasantly greet everyone you are introduced to. Perhaps you trained other personnel in a previous job, or were a counsellor at college; recount an occasion when professionally someone came to you with their problem.
Sense of humour
Do not set about cracking jokes, but be responsive if the interviewer makes a humorous comment (even if it is not very funny). If you can subtly incorporate humour which is not at the expense of anyone else then do so, but bear in mind that this is a business interview and you should be professional.
Responsibility/trustworthiness
These qualities cannot be really seen in a person, but you can recount the times in your previous jobs that you have held positions of responsibility. For example any job in which you had personnel beneath you, or if you were a scout/Guide leader.
Initiative/leadership
These qualities are linked to confidence, but in addition show the employer examples of times you have used these skills and have prospered as a result. For example, you worked on a software solution to a work problem in your own time and it turned out to increase the efficiency of the task by 60%.
Body language
A first impression can be greatly influenced by a person’s body language. You are in trouble if all the right things are coming from your mouth, but your body is doing all the wrong things. Chat to the interviewer when they first meet you and take you to their office. After the interview confirm when you can expect to hear a decision from them, then move the conversation on to another matter. There is no definitive formula for interview success,just be relaxed and friendly, the easiest way to get your personality across is to be yourself.
Summary
We’ll cover the SEO/PPC aspects of the interview in a later post but remember that combining the above with demonstrable evident of your ability to effectively manage PPC campaigns or to optimise competivie keywords effectively gives you the best possible chance of securing that job offer.
Remember – it is the best prepared candidate that gets the job – not necessarily the best candidate that gets the job. In other words, you could be a perfect match, but if you cannot convey this fact to the interviewer during the interview then they will never know!
Looked at your CV recently?
Considering looking for work soon?
If the answer is “yes” then you may want to have another look at your CV.
Does it really sell you and list your key achievements? One of the biggest criticisms recruiters have when looking at a CV is the lack of demonstrable results or responsibilities.
Which of the following sounds better:
“PPC Account Manager responsible for growing and managing client accounts” or “PPC Account Manager with responsibility for 7 of our 10 largest clients, managing monthly revenues in excess of £100,000”
They could be both the same person; which has more impact and is likely to secure that all important interview?
How about another…..
“Since joining I have played a key role in achieving high search engine rankings for our clients’ keywords” or “Application of on and off page SEO to achieve page 1 rankings on Google, Yahoo and MSN for some of the most competitive keywords in our clients markets, examples include “seo vacancies” and “ppc jobs”.
Never lie on your CV, but always take pride in your achievements and never been ashamed to highlight them. You may think you can keep this detail for the actual interview but if you never get to this stage because of your CV how will your prospective employer ever find out?
Why not have another look at your CV – are you really selling yourself?
