Don’t waste time talking to the wrong recruiter
September 7, 2010 
8 Comments
Can I tell you a secret?
If you meet a Recruiter during your networking activities, don’t waste your time talking to the wrong one. Although many people believe the contrary, there is no one size fits all when it comes to Recruiters. When I was Recruiting for Lanta Technology Group (way back in the day) I staffed startup companies, mostly Executive and Technical talent. (Good times.) As such, I was always on the hunt for new talent and new business, so I networked all the time. It was not uncommon to meet someone, introduce myself as a Recruiter and get tossed business cards and resumes like.. like… opportunity seeking Ninjas on a mission.
So many times I wanted to say (and have on several occasions) that I cannot help you, try talking to this other recruiter guy I know. When I did that however, I could see in their faces that they thought I was being rude and (honest) I was not. I worked in a particular niche and built my contacts there, so if someone handed me a resume for a School Teacher or a CPA, I had no leads. I wish back then that I could have directed people to FollowerWonk. It would have saved me a lot of time. You know what I mean? Hm… Maybe you don’t.
Followerwonk is a search engine for Twitter bios and it is soooo simple to use. All you have to do is add in your key terms like, um… recruiter and retail (assuming of course that you are looking for work in the retail industry), then click the “Search Twitter Bios” button.
Followerwonk will then search Twitter for people who have used the terms “recruiter” and “retail” in their descriptions.
You will no doubt notice that the words “recruiter” and “retail” are being highlighted. Let’s go a bit deeper and click on one of the links provided.
Well, lookee here! –> I am a recruiter in the retail industry based in Toronto – interested in learning from others and meeting retail superstars for our amazing stores!!
Try using Followerwonk to find recruiters in your niche and save yourself some time. Make sense? Hmm… Now that I think about it, it would not have mattered if Followerwonk was around during my Lanta days because Twitter had not been invented yet. Oh well, nevermind.
-Jim Stroud
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Sounds like an awesome time-saving tool! It would be really helpful to job seekers and recruiters alike; for job seekers, so their searches are targeted, and for recruiters so they know they are talking to people they can actually help!
Karen, The Resume Chick (on Google or Twitter for questions, comments or violent reactions)
Don’t apply for a position unless you’re qualified and how do you know if he’s the wrong recruiter unless you talk to him?
Wonderful article. First, I like the fact that the recruiter had integrity in telling some applicants he couldn’t help them. Wish everyone was like that. Then I love the product – what a tremendous way for people to make the most of their time and hopefully cut down the time to find a new job. ResumeBear – you put up such helpful articles. You are the job seekers best friend!!
What a Fantastic tip! ….
Followerwonk I’ve never, ever heard of before and some how ResumeBear was able to pull it out of it’s Hat to expose to job seekers!
Thanks ResumeBear!! I went to the site and found it easy to use as a tool to explore the niche job market I’m interested in!!
Don’t waste time waiting to hear from a recruiter after you sent your resume.
Use the ResumeBear System to track it and make sure he got it much less read it.
GREAT suggestion Stan! Thanks…
-Jim
Jim,
What a great tool – thanks! I couldn’t agree more with you on the advice. I used to do the same thing. I now make sure people know where we specialize and here’s another tool I can recommend for them.
Geri
It’s important that the recruiter has a bit of expertise, as well as relationships in the particular field, whether it be IT, engineering, advertising, the jewelry industry, etc.