RECRUITERS! ‘CONDITIONS ARE PERFECT’ TO LAND A NEW ROLE.
In careers, as in life, a powerful gift is the ability to slow down in order to speed up.
Thousands of Recruiters are today forcibly slowing down, casualties of the devastating impact the pandemic has had. The list will get longer. The recovery, when it comes, will be patchy.
Stay calm. Remember the words of Ironman Trevor Hendy. He never cared whether weather conditions for an event were stormy, typhoon-like winds, or dead calm: “To me, conditions are always perfect.”
Such smart words. So empowering. Use them.
Use this time to work on your RVP – your Recruiter Value Proposition. What is it about you that is perfect for the needs of potential employers today? Or if not today, soon?
I have often said that recruitment has merged with marketing. This is never as true as it is when applied to the approach you need to use when tackling your job search.
Market yourself;
View yourself as the ‘Product’.
It’s time to ‘sharpen the saw’. Look hard at recruitment agencies and potential ‘in-house’ employers now, but also as the market recovers. What will their most urgent ‘capability’ needs to be in the future? How can you re-calibrate your offer to better meet that need? (You are a perm recruiter now right? But your surmise temp recruiting will take off first. Can you ‘re-invent’? Should you? ). Here’s how:
Differentiator: Be clear on your selling message about Brand You. What is it that is different and special that you bring, meeting the needs of the next 12 months? Claim it. Be bold. Act bigger than you are. Never lie, but own your success and your achievements.
Nano Degree: Use this time to learn new skills. Pick five topics you need to know much more about to be able to add more value. Do 5-7 hours of hard focus/study on each. Read a blog. Listen to a podcast. Speak to an expert. Work out what the future will value, and then get the knowledge.
Also, consider the new ‘micro-credentials.’ Bite-sized study/learning you can do to add spice to your offer. If you are green, you grow. If you are ripe, you rot. It’s as simple as that.
Recalibrate your ‘Price’.
I’m not a fan of price discounting. If you have ever seen me speak or read my blog you know that. I believe in ‘value’. But these are the weirdest of times. Every recruitment company, and most corporates, have massive pressure on costs.
Flexibility: If your previous role paid you $100,000 remember that was in the ‘good old days’ of February. Be prepared to manage your expectations to land the next role. Once ‘in’, deliver value, then renegotiate once you have some ‘goodwill equity’, and as their business recovers.
Sell Bite-sized Pieces: Be prepared to take a project or contract work. Look hard for the opportunity for potential employers to ‘try before they buy.’ Some recruiting firms may win projects and be keen on the flexibility of hiring a ‘contract recruiter’. Once you are ‘in there’ you show your worth.
Be in the right ‘Places’
For job seekers, I define ‘Places’ as the channels you’ll use to get to potential employers.
Targeting: Be strategic. The rifle shot vs shotgun. Get your resume right. Smarten up your LinkedIn profile. Target agencies with a direct approach. Which companies will be hiring first (They are exposed to fast recovering sectors maybe. Or perhaps they ‘over-culled’ in the cost-cutting phase.) What do you bring to add value? Try to get a conversation with those agencies. Talk about the ‘now’, but if nothing doing yet, set a date for a follow-up call or meeting. They will be hiring. Just make sure you are top of mind.
MICRophones: Who are your Most Important Career Referrers? This is a very small group of people who have always ‘looked out’ for you, who help, recommend, introduce. Engage with them. Ask for help. Use them to open doors. Park your pride if that’s a barrier. There is no shame of being unemployed now. You need to shake the tree.
Network: Look at your connections. Use LinkedIn. Who has the potential to hire you? Who has the potential to refer you to a hirer? Make a start-off list of the most influential, relevant 25.
Rec2Recs: They are in a world of pain, but some still have roles ‘live’ right now. And – guaranteed – they will have plenty of demand once the market gets the uplift, which is coming. Connect. Share your new narrative. Get feedback. And keep on their radar.
Become the King/Queen of ‘Promotion’
Narrative: Remember the work you did at the start – on your ‘differentiator’? Evolve your elevator pitch, about YOU. Add the new spice of Nano Degrees and ‘micro-credentialing’. Make sure you flow it all through your CV, LinkedIn profile, work portfolio.
Profile: Develop a relevant point-of-view, about something potential employers need. Write some content. Get a mate to review and edit. Then distribute it via email, LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, a blog, the trade media. You don’t need to be a profile tart. But gently, raise your brand profile.
100 Cups Of Coffee: Use your targeting, MICRophones and your network to kick off 100 ‘virtual’ cups of coffee. Then in real life when that’s a thing again. Every ‘coffee meeting’ is a step closer to a role. Many of your networks can’t hire you but will be able to connect you to the next ‘coffee’, who just might.
Get ILL: Not with COVID! But use every coffee meeting for Information, Leads, Learnings. Information about your sector, skillset, trends, needs. Leads to new people, to opportunity. Learnings about gaps in your skillset, how to shape your offer to best match demand.
Schlepping Around: If you want to make progress, you simply have to keep ‘schlepping around.’ Keep moving, keep persistent. Champions do more! Sounds trite I know, but the fact is, there are no crowds lining the extra mile. You need to keep at it to win.
