Contemporary Staffing Solutions (CSS) is a national staffing firm with 25 years of proven experience! CSS has many talented recruiters at all our locations with senior-level recruiters that have, on average, been with us for more than 7 years! Our niche in the business world gives us a view of many growing businesses in the healthcare, finance and technology space. The war for talent is real and one of the best resources you have in this market is a strong and solid recruiter in your back pocket!
“CSS has the business intel on competition for the talent, pay and who is offering the best perks to attract and retain talent. Reach out for a supply and demand overview!” says Sharon Tsao, CMO, Contemporary Staffing Solutions.
We connected with CSS Corporate Recruiter, Jeff Boyle, to gather some tips for working with recruiters. Jeff is an absolute Rock-star. And by “Rock-star” we mean “Really Awesome Recruiter” who especially kills it on LinkedIn—and LinkedIn even said so! Four months ago, Jeff was recognized as part of LinkedIn’s Top 1% in Search and Staffing, and they even sent him a goody box with some LinkedIn swag to keep him energized and motivated throughout the day.
Jeff has been with CSS for almost 2 years. He loves buffalo sauce, bacon, and his beautiful baby girl. He also loves connecting with top talent and helping candidates achieve their career goals. This isn’t Jeff’s first rodeo though—Jeff has been in the staffing industry since 2012 (and has even been featured on a recruiting podcast!)
Here are CSS and Jeff’s helpful tips for job seekers!
DO Utilize Your Recruiter
This may be a non-brainer, but sometimes people forget that they have someone in their corner. Recruiters are there to help you: they are advocating for you to get the job because that’s their job. They can review your resume, give you interview pointers, and help you craft the perfect “Thank You” email. They also know the market, what companies are hiring and what kind of candidate they want, who is paying above average, and who has the best perks.
Jeff: “I’ve seen thank you emails that will leave you scratching your head. For instance, one thanked the manager for their time but referenced a completely different job than the one they interviewed for. PLEASE reach out to me before sending that straight to the employer. Trust me when I say, I want to get you hired as much as you want that job and will do everything in my power to try to make that happen!”
DON’T Get Too Fancy with Your Resume
Classic isn’t boring, it’s easy! While you may want to make your resume stand out with eye-catching colors, graphics, or the hottest new meme, these can just make it harder to read and harder to point out your qualifications. Many employers use an ATS (Applicant Tracking System), and your souped-up resume could get lost because the ATS parses it all wrong!
Jeff: “I can’t tell you how many times someone reaches out to me asking about their application. I try to look them up in the system, but I can’t find them. I try to look them up by their name or number but they just don’t come up. When they are finally found, the phone number is in the last name and the address is in the first name. The ATS just understands the classic format and they’re easier to read too!”
DO Read Over Your Resume Before Sending It
Make sure to highlight your accomplishments to really bring your ROI to the table. Once your resume is complete, read it over. Then read it over a couple more times. Any spelling or grammatical error can deter a recruiter, so make sure you’re as detail oriented as you say you are.
Jeff: “I know you’re trying to say that you’re a ‘workaholic’ so make sure you’re not saying that you’re a ‘work alcoholic’ instead. Seriously, I’ve actually seen this.”
DON’T Ghost Your Recruiter
While we all love Halloween, this type of ghosting is no treat. If you’ve been working with a recruiter and you’re not interested in the job they reached out to you about anymore, just say it! They’ll appreciate that you saved their time. And if you are still interested, make sure to reply promptly. When a client requests an interview, the longer it takes you to respond, the worse it reflects on you. This goes both ways and your recruiter will get back to you quicker if you’ve been responsive with them.
Jeff: “I’ve had people that are not responsive with scheduling interviews, or following up after interviews, and even people that accept jobs and get ready to start but never show up on Day 1. It is a small world after all, and you never know when you might run into that recruiter or employer again so you don’t want to burn that bridge.”
DO Be Patient
I know, I know. You want some feedback but there’s been radio silence. Recruiters, 90% of the time, will get back to you once they hear from the hiring manager (or 100% of the time if you’re working with a respectable recruiter like the ones at CSS). It’s okay to check in with your recruiter if it’s been a while or if your interview is coming up soon. However, calling 5 times in a day and following up with 4 emails and 3 texts is a bit overkill.
Jeff: “Most times the recruiter hasn’t gotten back simply because they haven’t heard from the client yet. There’s only so much we can do. An email to check in and remind us is fine and appreciated but I’ve come back from lunch to find angry emails and voicemails telling me how rude I’ve been. When the client is down to picking between two of my candidates, I’m going to advocate a little harder for the one that didn’t crack under pressure and flood my inbox when there was a little delay.”
Looking to work with Jeff or one of our other wonderful recruiters? Call us! Want to find more helpful blogs? Check ‘em out!
Contemporary Staffing connects job seekers to hiring managers nationally in the following professions: Accounting & Finance, Call Center & Office, Human Resources, IT, Salesforce, and Sales & Marketing.