Lily Shippen Recruitment | Tips on being memorable to a recruiter

What is your opinion on recruitment agencies? Agencies are infamous for their bad reputations. One of our directors here met with her friend earlier the other week and it came to her attention that he felt very strongly about not using an agency when finding his next role. But the biggest question for this was why? It wasn’t however until he was asked the question about what he was looking for it came to light where his reservations lay. He didn’t know what he wanted to do. A recruiter is a great person to have on your side, but how do you impress them? In this blog I am going to touch upon how to impress a recruitment consultant.

• Know your CV- Your CV is basically a story of your working past. It shows what you have done and where you have worked. It is so important to learn your CV because when you’re in an interview you will not have this to rely on. Take the time to thoroughly learn it and be confident in your abilities. This will make it easier for you and the recruiter to know what skills you already have, making the process of finding your next role trouble-free.

• Know the role that you’re looking for- It’s important to understand the role that you want. Have you done the job role before? Are you looking for your next step in your career? It’s important to understand what the duties consist for the role you want. This will enable you to see what skills you already have, to sell yourself and show that you are capable to take on the responsibilities.

• Be realistic- This is a huge factor in finding a new role. Have a look at the role you are looking for and the experience required for it. It is perfectly normal to want a pay rise when moving upwards with your career but be realistic on the amount you want to go up to. Similarly, to this be realistic about the role you’re looking for also.

• Make the effort to be available- We aren’t heartless, and we do understand that you will be busy and will find it difficult to arrange times to meet. But, try to be as available as possible. We meet with all our candidates before we send their CV across to our clients and it can prove difficult to fit a time in around 2 busy diary schedules. However, we do understand that things can change, and availability can also change but if for some reason you are not able to attend the meeting, it never hurts to let us know. Recruiters are also people and the chances are they just don’t want you to miss out on what may just be your perfect job.

• Know your current role and what you are doing- Although this could be classed as something to consider under the same idea of knowing your CV, it’s a tip worthy of its own mention. When you sit down to speak or meet with a recruiter you are selling yourself and chances are your current role/most recent role is the first thing they will see. Its crucial to know this inside out. Learn everything you can about your current role and what it entails. Know the company you work/ worked for and what they do. An employer is going to want to know what it is that you have that you can bring to the role and therefore a recruiter is looking to see that you know what makes you a great candidate.

• Keep it positive- You may not be the happiest in your current role for many reasons, and we can sympathise on why. However, we want to hear the positive things you are doing and the things you have achieved in your role. There will always be an explanation as to why you are looking for your next role, but nobody wants to hear about how much your work colleagues annoy you and how you don’t like your current employer.

• Where do you want to be in the future? – We want to hear about what your looking towards in the future. Are you currently a receptionist and your looking to stay in a firm in which you can work your way up? Or are you an Executive Assistant and wanting to stay within a firm for a long time? We want to find you your perfect job and help you through the process. Knowing where you want to be will help us find out the right fit for you.

• Know where you can travel to- Location is a massive part of finding your next role. Have a look and think about your nearest transport links or how long it will take you to travel to various places. Everybody is different, but nobody wants to spend all day travelling so see what works best for you and let your consultant know.

• Know the industry you’re interested in- Different industries are going to work in separate ways. Although it is important to have an open mind, make sure you know the right working environment for you. Do you like it to be fast-paced? Do you like a corporate working environment? Do you enjoy working within a team? These are all things to consider finding the role that is going to be the best for you.

• Do your research- The recruiter which you are dealing with may have told you the name of the company that they are recruiting for. If this is the case do your research on them. When you meet the recruiter, this is your chance to ask them questions that you didn’t think of over the phone. Also, have a look at the agencies website and see what the recruit and think if you want to ask them any questions you may have about them as an agency. This is great as the recruiter will see that you have taken an interest in seeing who you are working with.

All in all, a recruiter wants to find you your perfect job. They want to help you as there is no better feeling that making somebody’s day when you tell them they’ve got their dream job. By following these tips, you are sure to be memorable to a recruiter.