How To Cold Call A Recruiter.

Recruiter are not the devil... 

I have spoken to tens of thousands of candidates with different skills and levels of seniority, throughout my career as a recruiter. 

I also noticed most of the candidates had no idea how to position themselves as the best candidate for the job and some not knowing what to ask in order to qualify for a suitable position.

In a nutshell, not many people really were aware or understood how to effectively work with recruiters to get feedback, interviews or jobs!

The problem with these scenarios, not understanding how to work with recruiters, can put you on the back foot from the get go.

It is ALL of this “stuff” that has brought me here, writing this post for you.

Now I know that the general vibe out there is that "recruiters are absolutely useless and I don't need to know how to work with them. I avoid them like the plague".

And I 100% get that… I really do and thanks to the World Wide Web finding millions of horrible stories of how recruiters have been handling applicants is only a click away.

But here is the thing, YES you have bad ones - shockingly bad ones.

But... you also have awesome recruiters.  Recruiters that really know their stuff and will go above and beyond for you!

The key is to stay away from the dodgy ones and find a recruiter that you can build a good relationship with. (Download a FREE script that will make the whole process really easy!)

Now I am going to break this down for you so you get an idea of how it all works.

More than half the jobs out there are advertised by recruitment agencies and in most cases, the recruiter receives over 100 applications a day for each vacancy they are recruiting for.

So how can you stand out? 

Most recruitment companies have a specific positioning in the market; they could be vertical specialists, account managers or generalists.

A Vertical Specialist

A vertical specialist is a recruiter that specialises in a specific field, it's often a niche market and very targeted.

For example, if you have a recruitment agency specialising in IT recruitment, a vertical specialist would recruit solely in one specific technology.

An Account Manager

An account manager is a recruiter who focuses on recruiting for specific clients. They mainly have vacancies with those clients.

A Generalist

Here we have a recruiter who recruits for a variety of positions.  They are mostly focusing on a specific geographical area and recruit for all different positions in this area.

For example, a recruitment agent might only recruit within a certain suburb and recruit in that suburb for accountants, marketing, IT professionals, sales etc.

The first thing to do before calling a recruiter is to research and find out how they position themselves in the market.  If you can’t find this information out, make sure to ask them when you talk to them.

Recruiters will often advertise for multiple clients and finding the one that is specialised in your field will help you a lot.

So when you have identified the best recruiter, it's time to make the call.

It's important you know what to say when calling a recruiter... 

This process can feel daunting or even overwhelming and some of the reasons people fear calling a recruiter are:

• They don’t know what to say
• They feel their “little” plight may be wasting the recruiter’s time
• Believing the recruiter doesn’t know what they are talking about
• Fear of rejection
• Lacking confidence and that they aren’t good enough

Due to one or more of the above reasons people struggle with what to say when they do eventually call.  This leads to not asking the right questions which inturn doesn’t provide them with the right information.

Soon as the phone call ends the negative thoughts creep in: “I knew calling was a bad idea!  I’m an idiot”.

When you are actively job-hunting, you want to be aware of as many opportunities in the market as possible.  Building a relationship with a recruiter is one of the ways that will help you.

Unfortunately, that relationship doesn’t grow by just applying or emailing.  You need to call and meet them let them hear how perfect you are for their clients.

Here I have created some do’s and don'ts that will assist you to make the right impression.

1. Call a recruiter that regularly advertises in your field of expertise.

They are very likely to meet you and/or keep you informed of upcoming positions.

2. Don’t be all over the place.

Don’t say you are looking for freelance, permanent and part-time work, all at once.

The only thing a recruiter hears are alarm bells.

The type of professional who is a freelancer is very different from the professional that is a permanent employee.

You might think you're being flexible but the recruiter will think you’ll jump ship the first occasion you have!

3. Don’t apply and call 1 minute later

If you want to call then call… You give off a vibe of over-eagerness or desperation when you are contacting them on multiple levels and it’s not really necessary. 

Even if you are desperate for that job, play it cool, pick a path and follow it! 

4. Don’t just say you are calling to follow up on your application

I know it probably feels like a good idea and displays a keen interest in the position but 99% of the time they will have reviewed your resume.

If you were suitable for the job than they would have called you!

5. Don’t ask questions that are written in the ad.

Yes I know it is good to ask questions and when they ask you “do you have any questions?” it is good to have one or two up your sleeve but make them different otherwise you look like you haven’t read the ad properly and wasting their time.

6. Match at least 70% (if not more) of what is required.

Make sure what they’re asking you to have such as the skills, talents or abilities that it’s clearly outlined in your resume there is no point applying for a job as a doctor if you haven’t been to med school (download me FREE proven-to-get-interviews resume template here). 

IMPORTANT NOTE: this advice is when applying for a job advertised through a recruitment agency. 

7. Don’t keep applying

If you are seeing quite a few jobs being advertised by the same person don’t keep applying (in the short term).  

8. When they ask you a question

If they ask you: What do you want? Don’t just say: ”I want a job”. 

All the candidates a recruiter talks to want a job let’s face it if you didn’t want a job why would you be there and it also gives off a certain vibe that you are looking at this position as “just a job” not as a potential career changer.

Be specific and by doing so you will stand out from others who are interviewing, 2 birds scenario.

9. Be humble

Don’t open the conversation with:” I’m THE perfect candidate for the job!”.

A recruiter hears that at least once a day so it loses its credibility and you look like an a**. 

Just tell the recruiter, in less obvious ways, why you would be the perfect fit.

I hope this gives you confidence on what to say when calling a recruiter. 

If you want more, download my free script where I tell you word for word what to say :)