If you work in IT and live around a large metro area, chances are that whenever a large company has a new contract job need, you are getting hammered with calls from recruiters. Recruiters making cold calls about opportunities is not something new, this is standard practice and is a good thing for candidates …most of the time. As an IT recruiter, I also make these calls to find new talent locally. Keyword locally – as in: within the geography of Minneapolis-St. Paul and surrounding area where I am also located.
Today I will leave you with some advice for working with recruiters that seem to come out of nowhere or seemingly come out of the woodwork.
Deal Locally
New technologies developed within the last decade such as VOIP, job boards, and social networking sites have made it easier for recruiters to find talent. This ease of access has also made it easier for offshore recruiters to find talent for jobs in any market. I personally DO NOT agree with this practice as candidates are treated as cattle. Random non-local recruiters rarely have more than one opportunity, so candidates are just a number.
Dealing with a local recruiter also opens up more opportunities for local jobs. In the recruiting business, there are two types of jobs retail and vendor management system (VMS Tool) positions. So whats the difference?
VMS: Sometimes, fortune 500 companies allow multiple (sometimes upwards of 100’s) of IT contract vendors. The way that they manage hundreds of vendors is by using a software called a Vendor Management System. So what does that mean to me as a candidate? It means that your resume is submitted as vendor neutral (no recruiter company logo markings on your resume to tell who submitted it), the recruiters generally have no access to managers or anyone else at the company and only receive feedback via e-mail (sometimes it can take a couple of months) from the person who manages the program – not the hiring manager and not the company’s HR department. The chance of you being selected is a pure gamble. This sounds horrible, but if the opportunity sounds good and you are interested, there is nothing wrong with having your resume submitted – it is a potential opportunity.
Make sure that you don’t have your resume submitted by more than one recruiter as it will ruin your chances. I am not saying that only offshore and out of state recruiters are the only ones that work through VMS, sometimes it is the only option for local recruiters as well. Its an opportunity, but manage your expectations as feedback will be recieved late or not at all.
Retail: Retail jobs (not to be confused with working in retail) are really only available through local recruiters as they generally have a sales force that works with local market clients. A retail job is the type where a recruiter has an ongoing business relationship with hiring managers, they can sell your background, set up interviews and facilitate the process, almost like a talent/sports agent. Feedback is given generally within a short period of time, depending on the manager’s schedule.
Job Boards/Resume Databases
Job boards/Resume Databases such as monster.com or careerbuilder.com are a great place to post a resume when looking for new opportunities. If you find that you are getting a ton of calls, it means that your resume shows up well in keyword searches. If you would like to reduce the number of calls, simply make your resume inactive or remove it from job boards.
Reduce Calls From Recruiters That Come Out of the Woodwork
If you are still getting a ton of calls weeks after you take your resume off of job boards, ask where they found your contact information and figure out how to take it offline.
That’s all I have for now! Please comment with questions or suggestions!
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