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While LinkedIn is not considered by many to be a “true” social networking site (some consider it to be little more than a place to post an electronic resume), it is increasingly becoming the place to go to look for or find a job. Most recruiters and many hiring managers used LinkedIn to source qualified candidates for job open at their organizations. That said a well-thought-out and carefully written LinkedIn profile can make the difference between employment or not.

To that end, I came across a great article entitled “Five Minutes to Optimize Your LinkedIn Profile”. Its author, Ian Levine, provide some excellent advice and tips about how to craft a LinkedIn profile so that you will be found by recruiters and prospective hiring managers. Not surprisingly, the key to success is peppering your profile with keywords that are contained in standard job ads in your industry. According to Levine, LinkedIn appears to scan only four categories: Professional Headline, Titles, Specialties and Industries. LinkedIn scans these categories for frequency of the keywords selected.

One way that Levine recommends to assess whether or not your profile is a good one is to enter specific keywords that are consistent with the type of job(s) that you are interested in landing. If your profile comes up at the top (or close to it) of these types of searches than your profile is a good one. A failure to appear in the search results suggests that your profile may need some additional work to land a job!

Until next time...

Good Luck and Good Job Hunting!!!!!!

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As social media popularity continues to increase, more and more hiring managers and employers are using it to vet prospective job candidates. A little over a year ago, it was estimated that roughly 30% of recruiters and hiring managers use social media to screen job applicants. Anecdotal evidence suggests that today, this percentage may have swelled to as much as 70 percent! 

Although LinkedIn is growing in popularity, Facebook is still, by far, the largest online social networking site. Unlike LinkedIn, which is billed as a “professional networking site,” Facebook remains a social networking site that is primarily used for recreational purposes or to stay in touch with family and friends. However, because of its gigantic size companies are increasingly relying on Facebook for promotional purposes and to recruit new employees.

Until recently, many persons with Facebook accounts paid little attention to the content that they posted to their profile pages. Unlike print and other traditional broadcast mediums, once something is posted to Facebook it is “in the ether” and it is exceedingly difficult to expunge or remove it. Consequently, an inappropriate image or damaging statement posted to a Facebook page will likely remain on the Internet into perpetuity— whether you want it to or not. And, in today’s fiercely competitive job market, employers are looking for any reason whatsoever not to hire a prospective new employee. Therefore, it is vitally important to understand the “dos” and “don’ts” of Facebook and other social networking sites to insure that their use does not interfere with or hinder a job candidate’s employability or future career development.

About a year, Erin Joyce of Yahoo Finance published a post about the impact of inappropriate Facebook use on career development. I have attempted to summarize her insights and tips in this post. To that end, this is what you SHOULD NOT do on Facebook

1. Post Inappropriate Pictures, Photos or Images

It is probably not a good idea for prospective employers or clients to see photos of you chugging a bottle of Jagermeister and obviously “hammered” or dressed up for a night out at a bar or club.

While you may think that your personal life is private, prospective employers may think otherwise especially if you voluntarily posted compromising or inappropriate photos of yourself to your Facebook page and they can find them via Google search. A willingness to post these types of images suggests that you may lack good judgment and not appropriately represent an organization or yourself in professional settings.

2. Complain About Your Current Boss or Job

Everyone complains about their job. However, it is one thing to verbally and privately rant and complain about your incompetent boss or lazy coworker but another to post it to a public forum for all to see! Posting these things to your Facebook page may help to reduce stress and make you feel better but it is probably not the wisest thing to do if you know your boss and co-workers have Facebook accounts or regularly chat with others who do.

3. Post Conflicting Professional Information

If your CV/resume indicates that you received your PhD degree from SUNY-Stonybrook but your Facebook page indicates that you matriculated from Columbia then at worst prospective employers may think that you are a liar or at best careless. Neither is good for jobseeker and discrepancies like these are sure to get your name off the short list for face-to-face job interviews.

4. Update Your Status with Ill-Advised Updates

If you are at work, it is probably not a good thing to update your Facebook status with “watching the NCAA Men’s Basketball Championship Game. Likewise, if you are employed it is not a good idea to update your status with “got hammered last night and decided to stay home form work today.” Statuses that imply that you are unreliable, deceitful, and anything that doesn't make you look as professional as you'd like, can seriously undermine your chances at keeping or landing a new job.

5. Allow Friends to Post to Your Wall or Tag You in Photos

Erin was dead on with this one. She said: 

“You can't control what your friends post to your profile (although you can remove it once you see it), nor what they post to their own profiles or to those of mutual friends. If a potential client or employer sees those Friday night pictures your friend has tagged you in where he is falling down drunk, it reflects poorly on you, even if the picture of you is completely innocent. It's unfortunate, but we do judge others by the company they keep, at least to some extent. Take a look at everything connected to your profile, and keep an eye out for anything you wouldn't want to show your mother.”

While Facebook can hinder or hurt employment opportunities, if you used correctly it can also help a jobseeker get hired. Therefore, if you are a jobseeker and already have a personal Facebook page, it is probably a good idea to set that page to private and only permit friends that you approve to view it. Once you have done this, create a second public profile for professional uses only. This page will function like an online resume and should only be populated with information that you would be comfortable showing or telling a prospective employer in face-to-face situations.

Like it or not, social media is here to stay and avoiding its use may signal to prospective employers that you are not technologically savvy or not particularly social: two vitally-important skill sets required by most employers.

For more ways to use Facebook as a job hunting tool check out this post!

Until next time...

Good Luck and Good Job Hunting!!!!!!

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Before the advent of social media, the only way job candidates could communicate to a hiring manager why they—rather than other applicants—were the right fit for a job was through a face-to-face interview. Conventional wisdom suggests that a skilled candidate who can also demonstrate a legitimate enthusiasm for a position is generally the applicant who wins out. However, the online world, specifically the social web, has changed all that.

Numerous studies suggest that over 70% of hiring managers screen prospective job applicants by trolling social networking sites like BioCrowd, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. While some hiring managers do this to make sure that a potential new hire hasn’t done anything untoward or unseemly, the plethora of blogs, forums, Facebook and LinkedIn profiles and Twitter feeds enable them to get to know job applicants better than ever before. In some cases, a well-crafted and carefully managed Facebook or LinkedIn profile or blog can make the difference between a new job and unemployment.

This is not to say that jobseekers are required to have Facebook or LinkedIn page or Twitter feed to get hired. But, if executed correctly, they can help. That said, there are certain cardinal rules that must be followed to not run afoul of prospective new employers. These include:

1. No swearing or use of foul language
2. Do not post party or sexually-explicit photos
3. Don’t say bad things about past employers or current co-workers
4. Keep posts and status updates to a minimum and make sure that they are posted before or after working hours
5. Avoid posting opinions about religion, sexual orientation and politics

Also, it is a good idea to Google yourself from time to time to see what the search results look like. Most employers routinely Google job applicants to acquire more information about prospective hires. As many social media gurus like to say “Google never forgets.”

Until next time...

Good Luck and Good Job Hunting!!!!!!!!

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There is no question that Facebook is the de facto social network that almost everyone uses. It has become an important source of personal information and is routinely used by professional recruiters and corporate hiring managers to identify right-fit job candidates.

However, there are more nefarious individuals in the ether who may mine your social media data to steal your identity or burglarize your home.

According to Credit.com it is not a good idea to post your address online or your mother’s maiden name (the answer to security questions on many websites). Also the folks at Identify Theft 911 recommend that you don’t add status updates to your Facebook page announcing to the world that you are away from your home or on vacation! Also, they recommend not using applications on social networking sites quizzes, which could expose personal information to the applications’ developer.

Finally, it is not a good idea to mention on Facebook or other social media sites where you were born or security question clues like the names of your favorite song, your best friend or your first pet.

While all of these recommendations may seem obvious, it is very easy to divulge personal information when updating Facebook or tweeting away on Twitter. Unfortunately, there are bad people out there who are willing to exploit others any way they can for financial gain.

Until next time...

Good Luck and Good Tweeting (be careful out there!)

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Jena Ellis who works over at onlinecertificateprograms.org sent me a well written treatise on interviewing etiquette. While I have made similar recommendations in the past, the post entitled “Top 10 Interview Etiquette Tips” adds a few tips that I didn’t mention in earlier posts.

I highly recommend that folks preparing for a face-to-face job interview read this before their interviews! As most seasoned jobseekers will tell you, it is the little things during the interview like handshakes, eye contact, politeness etc that can make a difference between a job offer or not!

Top 10 Interview Etiquette Tips

Interviews are similar to first dates – intimate, intimidating and generally uncomfortable. Even some of the most confident, smooth-talking people get sweaty palms and tongue-tied during interviews. Nerves are one thing, but tardiness, bad manners and distracting behavior are completely avoidable. Just like it’s rude to put your elbows on the dinner table and swear in front of a lady, the same kind of etiquette should be followed during an interview. In order to make the best possible impression and let your qualities shine through, you’ll want to follow these top 10 interview etiquette tips to seal the deal: 

1.  Be early

Arriving 10-15 minutes before your interview demonstrates punctuality and responsibility. It also shows that you take the interview seriously and value the interviewer’s time. Being early is always better than being late, but be sure to give the interviewer enough time to prepare and don’t catch them off guard with your presence.

2.  Use a firm handshake

A handshake is commonplace before and after an interview. Shaking the hand of you interviewer is both polite and respectful, but it also shows confidence and openness to the interviewer. With that being said, a flimsy, weak handshake can send the wrong message and make you seem nervous or unprepared. If you’re worried about the grip, strength and overall feel of your handshake, practice beforehand with a friend or family member who can adjust your shake.

3.  Dress accordingly

Dressing for an interview can be tricky if you don’t know what the normal dress is for employees and really depends on the company, occupation and formality of the interview. To be on the safe side, it’s advised that you wear semi-formal business attire because it’s better to be a little overdressed than underdressed in an interview. As a rule of thumb, you shouldn’t wear jeans, flip flops or any other casual wear to an interview, unless noted. In addition, avoid distracting clothes, jewelry, hairstyles or makeup that will detract from you and your job qualities.

4.  Turn off your cell phone

If your cell phone goes off in the middle of an interview, you can pretty much kiss the job goodbye. Not only is this incredibly rude, but it may ruin what could have been a good interview. Even if you say you’re waiting on an emergency call and try to sugarcoat it, the interviewer may not approve and you could lose a potential job offer. When in doubt, always silence or turn off your cell phone – you can survive without it for 30 minutes.

5.  Make good eye contact

Eye contact is one of the most basic and telling nonverbal communication signals that take place in an interview. Making good eye contact with the interviewer shows your attentiveness and interest in the conversation taking place. Whereas, wandering eyes or poor eye contact make you seem disinterested or uncomfortable in what is being talked about.

6.  Tone down your nervous habits

You may pop your knuckles, twirl your hair and bite your nails when you’re nervous, but these fidgety gestures can be overly distracting in an interview. You don’t want the focus to be taken off of you and directed towards your bitten pen or shaking leg. To ease your nerves, take deep breaths and relax your body so you won’t feel anxious and revert back to your bad habits.

7.  Don’t chew gum

Bottom line – chewing gum during an interview is unprofessional and shouldn’t be done. If you’re chewing loudly, smacking your gum and blowing bubbles, that’s all the interviewer will be able to focus on because it’s incredibly distracting and bothersome in a serious scenario. If you need to freshen your breath, have a mint or use mouthwash before the interview.

8.  Say your please and thank yous

Good manners are always a plus in an interview. If the secretary or interviewer asks if you want a drink, always respond with a please and thank you. When the interview is over, be sure to thank the interviewer for his or her time and giving you the opportunity to interview. You can never say thank you enough.

9.  Think before you speak

Even if the interview is relaxed and takes a humorous turn, don’t slip up by telling jokes, talking about religion or politics or using profanity during an interview. You may be tempted to impress or say something memorable, but it’s best to act professionally the entire time and think before you speak. You don’t want an offensive joke to be the only thing they remember from your interview and risk losing a great job opportunity.

10.  Send a thank-you notes

Immediately following the interview, you should send a handwritten thank-you card or e-mail to show your gratitude. Not only is this a polite thing to do, but it also gives you an opportunity to remind the interviewer of who you, what position you’re interested in and what you talked about during the interview. This will help you stand out in their memory and possibly give you a leg up in the job standing.

Until next time..

Good Luck and Good Job Hunting!!!!!!

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Have you ever received a call from a “head hunter” who suggests that they might be able to assist you in your job search? Can professional recruiters actually help you find a job? Finally, have you ever wondered what’s in it for the recruiter if they don’t charge jobseekers a fee to help them with their job searches?

If you are curious about these and other questions, please listen to a podcast  of BioCrowd founder Cliff Mintz's interview with Romi Kher, the host of Cornell University’s 10GoodMinutes ,a talk show that provides career advice for young professionals.

Until next time...

Good Luck and Good Job Hunting!!!

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The advent of social networking sites like MySpace, Facebook and Linked In have been a boon to recruiters and human resources (HR) professionals. Social networks represent a vast and easily-accessible source of job candidates whose professional credentials and personal information are readily available to determine whether or not they may be potential new hires. While the effectiveness of recruiters and HR professionals to source new talent is debatable, I contend that there is nobody more qualified than employees at a company to identify prospective new employees who may bring value to an organization. A number of forward-thinking companies have realized that the best way to find “right fit job candidates” is to mine the social networking contacts of their existing employees. To that end, Appirio and Jobvite, two San Francisco, CA-based start ups, developed software platforms that allow their clients to link employee social networks and candidate sourcing solutions to employee referral programs. 

A hiring company that uses Appirio’s application, ask its employees who belong to Facebook to add the application to their personal pages. When new jobs are available, Appirio’s matching engine searches the Facebook pages of an employee’s friends and uses job titles, geography and key words to determine which friends might be a good fit for the available positions. Once identified, a friend receives a referral from the employee inviting him/her to apply for the job (if interested). If the “friend” is ultimately hired, Appirio’s application allows the company to identify which employee found the match and offer a referral bonus. To address privacy concerns, the list of possible matches is available to only to friends/employees—not the hiring company or Appirio.

Jobvite offers a similar service but in addition to Facebook, it also searches and mines friend/contact information from Linked In and Twitter. And, anyone who receives a Jobvite referral can also search his/her own network to identify suitable job candidates and pass it along again. Jobvite recipients who are hired can be tracked to the original sender, so that the employee can receive a referral bonus—even if the Jobvite referral has been passed from one inbox to another up to six times.

Despite the explosion of job boards, social networking sites and social media tools like Twitter, employee referrals are still the most effective way for jobseekers to find new jobs. The Appirio and Jobvite solutions represent a novel way to leverage employee relationships to match jobseekers with prospective new employers. However, in this job market, I wouldn’t sit around and wait to receive an Appirio or Jobvite invitation from one of your social networking friends. Instead, I recommend that you put your social networking sites to good use and tell everyone you know that you are actively seeking employment.  Because at the end of the day finding a new job is all about networking!

Until next time...

Good luck and Good Job Hunting!!!!!!!!!!

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Like it or not, the best way to land a new job whether or not there is a recession is to network. While career counselors and recruiters trumpet the virtues of networking to job seekers, many people really don't understand what it is or how to do it correctly. I found an outstanding article that demystifies networking and offers tips on how to excel at it. 

For many scientists, online networking is ideal because they frequently lack the requisite skills to effectively network in real life situations. Until recently, face-to-face networking at conferences or "professional social events" was the only way to effectively network. However, the advent of web-based social networks allows job seekers to eschew the awkwardness and time requirements for  one-on-one networking in favor of a more convenient and less-threatening online experience. BioCrowd, a new online social network for scientists and other bioprofessionals, was created to help scientists advance their careers and find new jobs. While BioCrowd and similar online networking sites can help scientists make connections, it is still the face-to-face networking experience that will ultimately  help them land new jobs!

Because networking is not taught or emphasized in graduate school, it is not surprising that many graduate students and postdoctoral fellows are notoriously poor “networkers.” That said, for those of you who recognize the importance of networking and want hone your networking skills, Contacts Count a Maryland-based network training company may be worth a visit. I have no doubt that there other organizations and companies out there that specialize in network training. If you find any, let me know and I will gladly post them!

Until next time…

Good Luck and Good Job Hunting

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Online career sites like Monster.com, CareerBuilder.com and Yahoo Hot Jobs have gotten so big and over subscribed that they are no longer useful to most jobseekers. Many career development experts have discovered that the large career sites tend to overwhelm jobseekers because of the enormity of job possibilities that appear on them.  Unfortunately, this seemingly endless supply of job opportunities frequently induces jobseekers to spend too much time applying for online jobs and not enough time exploring non-internet based job possibilities. While applying for online jobs is facile and may be emotionally-gratifying, it usually doesn’t culminate in many face-to-face interviews or job offers for that matter. This is because most online job applications are screened by software programs looking for key words or phrases and, if your resume doesn’t contain them it will not be reviewed by a human. Further, many of the openings posted on job boards are actually placed there by recruiters and contract employment agencies—not actual companies seeking to fill positions. Often times, recruiters post expired or fictitious job descriptions on the boards to “pad” their candidate databases with qualified applicants who can be used for future job orders. Finally, sometimes unscrupulous people/companies place false or misleading ads on the big job boards. Unfortunately, these people have no qualms about taking financial advantage of job seekers who may be desperate or “down on their luck

The declining usefulness of the big online job boards has given rise to smaller career sites like Indeed.com and Simply Hired.com which are driven by powerful search engines and permit jobseekers to customize job searches based on industry, geography, salary and job availability. Other companies like BioInsights.com and OneScience.com have built niche job boards that specialize in industry-specific job listings (in this case pharma and biotech). While these new careers site are more focused, easier to navigate and frequently yield better results than the large job boards, they too can be exploited by recruiters and unscrupulous would-be employers. 

The growing popularity of social networking sites represents an important paradigm shift for jobseekers and employers. Belonging to popular social networks like LinkedIn, Facebook or Plaxo allows job seekers to cast a wider net by taking advantage of the contacts or connections that their “friends” may have at various companies and organizations. Further, it is not uncommon for people within a network to pass on resumes or put in a good word to hiring managers on behalf of friends or contacts from their network who are seeking employment.  However, it is important to also point out that recruiters and contract employment agencies have also recognized the potential and power of social networks. Recruiters and HR specialists now routinely troll social networks (particularly Linked In and Facebook) for qualified candidates and don’t hesitate to contact “qualified candidates” whether or not they are actively looking for a job. Finally, and perhaps most importantly, hiring managers and recruiters are becoming increasingly reliant on social networks to screen and gather personal information about job candidates to assess their suitability for certain jobs. According to a 2006 study conducted by the Society for Human Resource Management, recruiters use social networking sites 23 per cent more than they did in 2006 to verify resumes, screen applicants and fill vacancies. Also, the study found that possible negative information posted on social network profiles—personal views, alcohol or drug use, sexually-oriented pictures or social commentaries— have a greater impact on hiring decisions than any positive information that may also appear on job seeker profiles.

The growing use of social networks by job seekers to find employment and employers and recruiters to screen job applicants has profound implications for people who belong to these networks. With this in mind, if you currently have profiles associated with your legal name on social networks like Face Book, MySpace or Linked In, I strongly recommend that are completely devoid of the following: 1) sexually suggestive or explicit photographs, 2) posts or photos depicting excessive alcohol or drug use, 3) any rants that you may have posted about your boss or a current place of employment and 4) personal information about your age, marital status, children or sexual orientation. Also, if you are actively involved in a job search, it is a good idea to upload a short bio or resume to your profile and to post any bonafide recommendations or career award and honors that you may have received. However, if you find the prospect of having to sanitize your MySpace and Facebook profiles unpalatable, then I suggest that you remove your name from your current profile(s) and replace it with an alias (your friends will still  know who you are) and build another profile with your real name for professional use only.   

We live in a highly competitive, constantly-changing world where even slightly negative perceptions about a person may mean the different between employment or not. Ironically, while the Internet allows greater freedom of expression, it also permits people with decision-making powers to more easily scrutinize our daily activities and gain greater insights into our personal lives. Consequently, the onus is on jobseekers to regulate or control what prospective employers may learn about them online. Put simply, the success or failure of your career may literally be in your own hands. That said, the next time that you update your Facebook or MySpace profiles take a moment (before you hit the “send button”) and ask yourself whether or not the new information “is going to help or hurt my career?”

Until next time…

Good Luck and Good Job Hunting!!!!!!!!

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As some of you may know, I worked as a professional recruiter for about 3 years in the late 1990s. What surprised me the most during my recruiting sojourn was the undeserved disdain that people have for recruiters (or “headhunters” as they are known in the vernacular) and how little they understood about the inner workings of the recruiting industry. Like it or not, professional recruiting is an accepted part of corporate life!

Contrary to popular belief, recruiters don’t work for the people who are looking for jobs–they work for and are paid by the companies that engage them! Generally speaking, there are three types of recruiters. Retained recruiters are usually hired by corporate clients to fill senior level corporate positions and are paid a predetermined and agreed upon placement fee whether or not they fill a position. In other words, these recruiters are “on retainer” and work for companies on an “as needed basis.” Contingency recruiters, as the name implies, only get paid when a client company hires a job candidate that was brought to them by a recruiter. As you might imagine, contingency recruiting is a very fast paced, highly competitive and often stressful job–I was a contingency recruiter. Finally, the third type of recruiter, an exclusive contingency recruiter, is an amalgamation of executive and contingency recruiting. In this case, a recruiter receives a portion of his/her placement fee in advance and only receives the remainder when the position is filled with a candidate recommended by the recruiter.

Recruiters are expensive and they cost the companies that use them substantial sums of money. Placement fees usually range from 20% to as high as 45% of a new hires’s first year total compensation package. With this in mind, hiring managers use recruiters only when they need to find candidates for critical or difficult-to-fill positions. In general, companies rarely use recruiters to find entry level employees. However, most bioscience companies use recruiters and they typically have a stable of contingency recruiters that work with on a regular basis.

How Recruiters Work

Recruiters use a variety of tactics ranging from referrals to cold calling to get job orders from their corporate clients. Once a recruiter receives a job order, he/she develops a profile for right-fit candidates largely based on the job description, the salary range for the job, the company’s benefits, bonus and relocation packages and its corporate culture. Recruiters find prospective candidates by searching job candidate databases (compiled by the recruiter or the company the recruiter is working for), getting referrals from colleagues, industry professionals and other recruiters and by placing ads in specialty and trade magazines, or listing ads on web-based job boards (e.g. like Monster.com, Careerbuilder.com, Linked-In,  etc).  

Once a qualified candidate(s) has been identified, a recruiter will contact the candidate(s) to review and discuss the job opportunity with them. During the conversation, the recruiter will likely ask you about your background, years of experience, skill sets that you have mastered salary requirements and whether or not you are willing to relocate for the opportunity. When a recruiter determines that you may be a “right-fit candidate”i.e., you meet many, if not all, of the job specifications outlined in the job description, he/she will ask for a copy of your most recent resume/CV. Sometimes, after reviewing a resume/CV, a recruiter might ask a candidate to modify or rearrange it before he/she submits it to a client for consideration. Some recruiters will even do it for you–I can’t count the number of resumes that I modified or rewrote before I submitted them to my clients for review. For those of you who are interested in learning how to write a proper resume click here.

Typically, you will hear back from a recruiter within two or three days if a company is interested in moving forward with your candidacy. However, if you don’t hear back from a recruiter within a week, it is unlikely that you are being considered for the position. That said, it is not unreasonable to call or e-mail the recruiter if you don’t hear from him/her after several days.

Working with Recruiters

Because recruiters are expensive, most companies don’t use them to hire entry-level employees. Consequently, if you are a first-time or entry level job seeker, I wouldn’t spend a lot of time fielding calls from recruiters–it is unlikely that they will be able to help you in your job search. People who benefit the most from working with recruiters are individuals who have several years of work experience and are seeking new career opportunities.  

Based on my experiences as both a recruiter and jobseeker, I offer a few suggestions on how to work with professional recruiters.  First, you MUST tell the recruiter that he/she is NOT ALLOWED to send your resume/CV to a client without first discussing the opportunity with you and getting your permission to submit it. If left to their own devices, many contingency recruiters will submit your resume/CV to any jobs that vaguely resemble your background and skill sets. Because the life sciences industry is rather small, recruiters who blast your resume to multiple employers can jeopardize a candidate job at his/her current place of employment. Nobody wants their boss to know that they are looking for a new job! 

Second, it is a good idea to limit the number of recruiters who you worth with. There are a limited number of job orders in the bioscience recruiting universe and it is not uncommon for different recruiters to submit the same resume to multiple clients. While this does not hurt the recruiter’s reputation or business, it may signal to a prospective employer that a candidate is desperate to find a new job–something that may hinder your negotiating power if a job offer is proffered.

Third, work only with recruiters who you think are competent and have a proven track record of placing candidates into jobs. There are a lot of bonehead recruiters out there. Fourth, it is important to remember that you are probably not the only candidate whose resume he/she has submitted to a client company. Most recruiters try to submit at least three candidates per job order–it increases the likelihood and probability that he/she will make a placement (and actually get paid for their hard work). Finally, it is a good idea to stay in touch with recruiters who contact you to discuss possible job opportunities. I almost always return phones from recruiters who call me whether or not I am looking for a job. It never hurts to hear about the types of jobs that are out there especially with the current economy. Also, you may need a recruiter some day to find a new job!

Conclusions

Recruiters are a fact of life in the corporate world. That said, the next time you receive a call from a headhunter, I highly recommend that you be polite, carefully listen to the job opportunities that they are pitching, get their contact information into your e-mail/cell phone address book and don’t hesitate to contact them if you find yourself out of work!

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