We asked three of our most experienced staff, who have over 50 years engineering and technology recruitment experience between them, to give us their 7 top tips to ensure Recruiters and potential Employers sit up and take notice of your application.
1. Invest time in your CV. Whether applying direct to companies or via a recruitment company, it is essential to invest time in your CV. Ensure it is well formatted, spell checked, easy to read and above all does you justice. On average, hiring managers will give your CV just 30 seconds before making a yes/no decision and if they are left searching for relevant information buried in pages of block text, they will soon lose interest. Experienced Recruitment Consultants should be well placed and willing to provide independent advice on your CV but please also bear in mind that your CV will often need tailoring to a specific role to give you the best chance of securing an interview.
2. Work with Recruiters that specialise in your field. Perhaps an obvious statement - but it‟s essential that you engage and establish trusted relationships with Recruiters that are likely to be in a position to help, rather than taking the “spray and pray” approach. Recruiters that truly specialise in your sector (and it‟s easy to tell those that just talk the talk!) are much more likely to fully understand what you do and be knowledgeable about your specialist area. Furthermore, they are more likely to be well connected in your sector and therefore have more opportunities that are relevant to you. A list of accredited recruitment organisations can be found at the Recruitment and Employment Confederation website.
3. Limit the number of recruitment agencies that you work with. Do some investigation and focus on building relationships with no more than about 4-5 agencies that you believe to be credible and trustworthy within your sector, ideally from referrals.
4. Read job adverts and only respond to the ones for which you are suitable. The cause of much frustration for Recruiters is being deluged with CV‟s that are clearly unsuitable for the role advertised, despite including essential skills and experience. Job boards make it so easy to apply for roles these days that many candidates hit the send button without reading any more than the job title, thinking it will do no harm and not taking account of the considerable time it takes recruiters to assess, shortlist and respond to every application. In only responding to adverts appropriate to your skills / discipline, you are much more likely to receive a faster and more positive response.
5. Follow up with a phone call. Once you have applied for an advertised role for which you‟re confident of your suitability, it does no harm to give a call to the recruiter 24 hours later. When you‟re trying to differentiate yourself from many other applicants, speaking with the Recruitment Consultant gives you the opportunity to sell your attributes again and answer any initial queries or doubts.
6. Retain control of your CV. One of the biggest dangers of registering your details with a myriad of agencies is that you can easily start to lose control. Every week we hear of Clients receiving CV‟s that the candidate had no idea was being presented, let alone which agency might have sent it, without their knowledge or consent. We have even heard of CV‟s landing on the desk of their own Manager – unbelievable eh? Not only is this entirely illegal (although frighteningly common), but let‟s not forget that it is „your’ CV and should be treated with due respect by the recruitment community.
Be aware that the law demands Recruiters to tell you where they are proposing to send your CV and get your express permission before doing so. Most reputable Recruitment Consultants will also adhere to the voluntary REC Code of Professional Practice and the IRP Code of Ethics & Professional Conduct.
7. Utilise the expertise of the Recruitment Consultant. Once you have established a trusting relationship with a Recruiter, whose opinion you truly value, make the most of the competitive advantage they can give you. Their knowledge should include an insight into the company, organisational structure, major projects being worked / tendered etc and the preferences / personality of the managers that you might be meeting during the course of the selection process. They can also offer valuable assistance with interview preparation and what questions you might expect along with assistance with resignation letters, counter offers and salary negotiation.
