We are in a very difficult working environment today. Tens of thousands of layoffs have occurred, and a exorbitant number of recruiters are looking for work. It’s an extremely difficult time for everyone in our industry and now it is an extremely competitive market for what is lining up to be a limited number of openings for an unfortunate amount of time.
Now more than ever, telling your story, your work and skills story, has become more important than ever for many of you. Competition will be fierce, and how you differentiate yourself and convey your story effectively will be a deciding factor for many managers.
To be prepared for these conversations, follow these couple of suggestions:
Use Specific Requisition Examples
Think over your recent past, maybe within the past year or two. Think of a few different searches you were conducting. Consider:
- Difficulty of the role, purple squirrel
- Volume of the opening
- Diversity, was it considered
- Niche, was it a specific role or a broader opening
- Difficult managers, we’ve all had them
Put your story together and make it pop. Give specific examples of your process, how you source and what recruiting tactics you consider.
Site Your Strategy and Tactics
This is a very specific response. Think of all the avenues you use to find leads and candidates:
- ATS
- CRM
- Job Boards
- Resume Databases
- Boolean searches
- Recruitment Marketing / Branding
- Grassroots efforts
Incorporate these specific examples into your storytelling and convey how a difficult role was filled by your creativity.
Talk Metrics
All too often, stories end without the true result. Metrics help to convey your business acumen, how your work directly affected a business. Some metrics include:
- Time to Fill or Time to Offer Accept
- Number of Hires
- Response Rate (# of reach-outs compared to # of responses)
- Phone Interview to In-Person/Video Interview Percentage
- Final Interview to Offer Percentage
A story can just be a story or it can captivate the listener. Metrics help to captivate your audience. Managers want metrics. They want to see how you impacted your role and the business. Why you were a value to your team and a trusted partner.
Take time, prepare, have notes at the ready, know your story and be able to tell it fluidly. Lastly, be confident as you tell it!
Besides these three critical points, are there any other points that you would hit on? Tell me in the comments what else to consider!
#jobsearch #opentowork #recruiting #recruiter #sourcer #sourcing #jobhunt #interview #tips #suggestions #pointers