Five tips to a better partnership with your recruiter

Stand out to employers as a candidate worth noticing by building a strong partnership with your recruiter.

July 28, 2020

A consultant and a recruiter having coffee while building a better partnership with each other

Every day, recruiters receive hundreds of CVs for open positions, as well as calls, emails and InMails from candidates all with one aim—getting noticed.

So, what can you do differently to make yourself stand out from the crowd?

The first step to standing out to an employer is making sure you have the support of a great recruiter. By following these five tips, you can take control of your own career and help ensure that not only do you find a good recruiter, but you find one who will truly partner with you throughout your career journey.

1. Optimise your CV

As clever as they may be, your recruiter is not a magician, so make sure you can be easily found. Many recruiters will do a simple keyword search to source and filter pools of relevant CVs, so start by investing time in yours. The algorithms that many recruiters use are based on the presence of relevant keywords from the role profile or market they are targeting.

Now, this doesn't mean you should overload your CV with the latest trends to hit the market. To be found and get noticed, it's important to think about how you are pitching yourself. If 'Agile experience' is one of your key skills, then ensure you have written 'Agile experience' somewhere in your CV.

2. Get noticed, and be targeted in your approach

Once you have written a CV, it can be tempting to send it out to all in the hope that you'll get a response. While this approach may yield some luck, a recruiter will quickly sense if a half-hearted approach has been taken, and often this will determine the level of engagement you receive in return. Our recommendation is to have a targeted plan:

Use LinkedIn or company websites to identify the best recruitment partner for you.
When connecting with recruiters ensure that you articulate what your expectations are from the partnership and discuss how they will partner with you to progress your career.
Try to avoid only approaching recruiters when you are actively looking—the proactive, slow-developing relationships often yield the best results in the long run.

3. Invest time in building a relationship

Your recruiter can be the key to opening the door to that next opportunity, but to achieve results, it's important to start with a relationship. Like with any relationship, this can take time to develop—but try to invest time in meeting with them and letting them get to know you personally. This personal touch will shine through when the recruiter is sharing your CV with their client to discuss how you will fit culturally and technically.

4. Don’t be afraid to ask

A relationship is the first building block to an effective partnership. Once you’ve established this relationship, don’t be afraid to ask for more out of your ongoing partnership. What should you be asking of them?

For references from your previous hiring manager(s) in support of your skills and to augment your CV.
To phone or meet their client rather than just sending a transactional email with your CV attached.
To secure an interview—get in front of your target audience as quickly as you can to increase your chances of landing a new role.

5. Communicate, communicate, communicate

Even if your application is unsuccessful or there are no live opportunities, communicating regularly with your recruitment partner helps keep you at the forefront of their mind for future opportunities. You can maintain your relationship with your recruitment partner by meeting for coffee—perhaps once a quarter—and keeping them updated on any changes with your current situation or your CV such as gaining new skills.

Overall, these tips are straightforward, but they are often overlooked by candidates. While it is a recruiter’s job to provide a service between a client and a candidate, the more you view your recruiter as a partner, the more you will get out of the partnership in the long run. If you don’t have a recruiting partner, connect with us to start building your relationship with one.