“I Wish My Recruiter Knew…”: How to match my skill set with jobs

Welcome to the 4th post in our “I wish my recruiter knew” series!…

We polled our clients, candidates and social media followers, asking them to answer a question that most search firms don’t dare ask-- what’s on their minds!

A candidate says:

“…how to match up my skill set to the actual jobs that were presented to me.“  

A recruiter responds:

“The biggest reason recruiters face challenges matching a qualified candidate with jobs is when there is a lack of partnership between candidate and recruiter. A certain amount of time needs to be invested to make the right match… More on that in a moment, but first- want to know how we connect with job candidates in the first place? 

“Um, hey Joe, this is Don Tinker at Hobson Associates. I saw your background on LinkedIn/Facebook/Online/etc.,and want to talk to you about some jobs I have. Call me back.” 
# of times I received a response to that voicemail? ZERO

“Joe, Don Tinker at Hobson Associates. My retained client has had a minimum of 45% growth in each of the past 10 quarters! Currently working with 8 of the Top 10 Pharmas and 4 of the Top 5 Biopharmas, we’re going to capitalize on this momentum and expand their sales force…”
 # of times I received a response to that voicemail? TOO MANY TO COUNT.

And every time someone calls me back, the first question they ask is “What’s the job?” or “What’s the company?”

Now back to making the right job match:

Trust me when I tell you this: we WANT to match your skill set to our available jobs. That’s how we make placements and get paid. And time is our most valuable resource and many times – yours too! But without ever having a conversation, how can we know: Your motivations? …Why you’re looking? … What’s missing? … Can you relocate? … Reasonable commute? Etc…

There’s no bait-n-switch on our desks – yes, we have a real client, hence the voicemail we just left you. But we have other clients (and candidates) too. So spend a bit of precious time PARTNERING with us – and we’ll gladly connect you with the right opportunity.