This is a guest post by Dale Carpenter (dalethelibrarian at yahoo.com), Corporate Librarian at The Medicines Company:
From 1999 to 2004 I worked at two top international career transition companies (they don't like to be called "outplacement firms" anymore) working with individuals in transition and presenting training seminars on WWW usage.
At that time I could not find any concrete data on how recruiting firms preferred to be contacted, so I ran a survey for that information. 416 firms replied (81.8 % said they preferred to be contacted by email) and the results were published in the Wall Street Journal, June 2000.
In these economic times, I thought you might find this useful. Please feel free to share this information, with proper credit given, of course.
Recruiters and email
1. In the email subject line, put your profession or title and industry/company you worked in. (Example: "Information Professional, multi-industry" or "Reference Librarian, Merck").
2. If you have a reference, put in the name. (Example: "Betty Judd suggested we talk".)
3. Put your cover letter AND resume into the body of your e-mail and mail it using plaintext. Avoid using file attachments. It is an extra step the recruiter has to go through to read about you. If the recruiter wants a Word version of your resume, they will ask for it. Sending plaintext email removes any worries about computer viruses.
4. In your cover letter include the information that isn't or should not be in a resume. This will include items such as your compensation, relocation concerns, and what opportunities or positions you are interested in. It should be only facts, not an introduction of your positive qualities. You want to interest the recruiter in finding out more about you. (Example: "I am a research professional who has worked in the aerospace, telecommunications and outplacement industries. I was the Research Director for Manchester Inc., an international career change counseling and outplacement company. My compensation over the last three years was between $63,000 and $67,000".) Compensation includes base salary, individual performance bonuses, year end bonuses, etc.
5. Some recruiters will automatically bounce your email and tell you to go to their website and post your resume into their resume database.
6. Recruiters get hundreds of resumes that are named "resume.doc". My resume is called "Carpenter Dale 05042009.doc". When the recruiter needs to find it, they can easily find it by searching for my name. Also, when I change jobs and send them an updated resume, they will know which one is the most current.
Finding Recruiters:
You can find firms listed at The Riley Guide, at the SLA and ALA websites, and at job boards specific to a profession and industry. While you are scanning the job banks make notes of which recruiters are handling the interesting sounding jobs. Probably the best way to find good recruiters is to talk with people in your industry to find which recruiters they've worked with and ask for a referral.
The Directory of Executive Recruiters, published by Kennedy Publications, is a very useful tool to find recruiting firms that meet your criteria of industry and function.
When attending professional association meetings and conferences, introduce yourself to the recruiters. They are there to scout for prime talent, and you should make them aware of you. Tell them right away you are willing to help them when they are searching for someone in your field. By doing so you just became a valuable resource for that recruiter and they will remember you. Exchange business cards and let them know what your specialties and functions are within your profession and industry. When the recruiter calls you, even if you are not interested in the position they tell you about, tell them you'll pass on the information and their name and address to your network.
Check your college alumni association to see if any alumni are recruiters. Often they will be happy to help fellow alumni.
Working with Recruiters:
Probably the best way to get a recruiter's attention is to be referred by a professional colleague who has worked with that recruiter. You could also ask your co-workers and Human Resources Department for names of recruiters. Then put that colleague or co-worker's name in the subject line of the e-mail you send to recruiters.
Guidelines for dealing with recruiters:
- register on their Web sites to be included in their databases;
- don't spread your resume too wide because they are less likely to help you if you do;
- become a source for recruiters by passing on names of other likely candidates.
Stay away from services that offer to distribute your resume to multiple recruiters. Recruiters prefer to handle someone who is selective about passing out their resume.
If you are dealing with recruiters and also posting your resume on company Web sites, keep track of all the sites you post on. Recruiters will ask you where you have posted your resume and if you post it on a lot of company job boards they are less likely to work with you because if a company finds you in its database, they do not have to pay the recruiter fees.
You can approach a recruiter by telephone but be prepared to have your 30 second personal commercial ready. You want to quickly give them an overall view of who you are, your experience, and what you can do so they will be receptive to receiving e-mails from you.
Many recruiters work on a nationwide basis, so when you contact one let them know if you are willing to relocate.
Often your first contact with a recruiter may be an interview over the phone. Make sure you present a professional image from the first moment they hear your voice. Is the voice mail message on your answering machine professional sounding? Or is it the happy cheery "we're not home right now leave a message" type message? Some job seekers use a specific phone number or cell phone for their job search which makes it easier to present a professional image. Make sure paper and pencils are next to the phone for taking notes.
When speaking with a recruiter, focus on specific accomplishments in the past five or ten years. Mention specifics of your experience instead of generalities. "Reduced a budget 24 percent while retaining essential services" sounds much better than "managed corporate library".
When the recruiter calls you need to convince them their client wants to speak with you. You will discuss your experience and how it is related to a job opening, your technical and managerial skills, and even your salary. Every shortcoming or drawback the recruiter brings up, you must respond to in a manner which will overcome that shortcoming or drawback. You want to get your name and resume in front of the hiring manager. If you want the job, keep insisting you would like to meet with the recruiter and the hiring manager to learn more about the opportunity even if the salary range, the geographical location, or another factor is not precisely what you want. You want to make contact with the hiring manager because they have the ability to change salary ranges, locations, etc.
Keep in contact with recruiters. Who are you more excited to see, someone who has stayed in touch over the years and helped you, or someone who calls you after a long absence and ask for a favor? Of course, you want to help the people who stayed in touch. So when you have landed a job, send a friendly, personal letter to recruiters you worked with. Offer to be a source of job leads. Suggest you meet once or twice a year, if possible, to exchange information on trends in your industry. You also could invite a recruiter to attend one of your professional association meetings to help them enlarge their contact network. And you could send them articles that might be of interest to them.
Check what your resume looks like by sending your resume in both plaintext and Word to several friends by e-mail. Have them print it out and send you the printed version without fixing it in any way. This is the only way to know what your resume and cover letter will look like when you send it electronically.
If you successfully work with a recruiter and land a fine position, please let me know. And of course, mention my name to that recruiter.
Happy Hunting
Dale Carpenter (dalethelibrarian at yahoo.com)
Corporate Librarian
The Medicines Company
8 Sylvan Way
Parsippany, NJ 07054
973-290-6099