Virtual Career Center

Job Search Tools: Using a Recruiter in Your Job Search

Recruiters are another job search resource you may consider at different points in your career. Recruiters seek candidates whose qualifications best match those typically needed by their client companies, and are likely to present you for only the closest matches. Some recruiters may serve principally one or two industries or occupational fields. We offer the following suggestions to consider when developing an effective relationship with recruiters:

• A resume that clearly highlights your skills and accomplishments helps recruiters represent you well.
• Recruiters need to know you before they can present you to their client companies. In your first conversation be prepared to: identify your top priority (and possibly second tier) job targets, project confidence in your ability to succeed in those job targets, support your confidence with examples from your professional experience, share your goals, and discuss salary range.
• Do your research in advance: know the salary range for the positions you are targeting, and know your bottom line.
• When you meet with a recruiter, ask about: the types of positions they see, how often they see the kinds of positions you are seeking, and how they work with their client companies and with candidates. For example, how long will they keep your resume active?
• Follow up with recruiters periodically and professionally. Be certain you are one of the candidates they remember as a well-qualified, motivated individual who understands that recruiters' client companies drive the hiring needs. Be certain your resume stays at the top of the stack.
• Understand that it is less likely that a recruiter can help you if you are changing careers; more often, recruiters represent candidates with at least some experience in an occupational field and/or industry, as these candidates will best meet the needs of the recruiter's client companies.

How can the Alumni Career Center help you consider using a recruiter in your job search, and help you prepare well?

• Career Advising — One-on-one interview practice with an advisor is available. Individual discussions about what to expect in interview situations with recruiters and clarifying how and whether a recruiter can help you in your current search can add to your confidence and help you feel prepared for a conversation that may lead to a long-lasting professional relationship. Career advising is a feature of the Alumni Career Center's Comprehensive Service Package, available for an annual fee of $160 to Alumni Association members. An option to meet one time for one hour with a career adviser for a $40 fee is also available to Alumni Association members.
  
  
• Professional Development Workshops — Sessions on self-marketing, on brushing up your interviewing skills, and on preparing for behavioral interviews give you opportunities to practice answers to interview questions and to learn from your peers, as well as from the workshop facilitator. Fees for individual workshops are $25 and all workshops are offered at no additional charge as a feature of the Alumni Career Center's Comprehensive Service Package. See the calendar at www.uiaa.org/calendar for details.

Can't find the resources you are looking for? Have questions about the Alumni Career Center services? University of Illinois alumni can ask our career experts for help with job searching and career questions.