10 Do’s and Don’ts of Contacting Recruiters

You have finally found your dream job advertised at a company you have always wanted to work in, but previous

experience has made you aware of the painstaking process of having to call the employer time after time just to be told they will get back to you soon, and weeks go by without a single call. The truth of it is that your CV is laying at the bottom of a pile somewhere with a continuous stream of new CV’s that are being piled on top. From speaking with many of the HR staff who have worked for reputable healthcare organizations,HR departments are understaffed, overworked,and underpaid. By the time they finally get to see your CV you may have moved on or at least the position would have been filled with a newer CV they had just received. Yes, this is unfair! especially after all the effort you have put in to get that CV across to them,you would expect your application to at least be considered for the job you know you are qualified for. Unfortunately, this is all too common in the UAE and we have spoken with many HR personnel who are quitting just for this reason.

When you reach out to a Good Recruiter,Dr Expat take pride in our work and fully commit to our candidates. Our dedicated consultants are individually trained to deal with specific specialties to ensure the focus is always on the ball. Our Job is to do your job for you by connecting with our clients and in most cases dealing directly with the management to ensure your CV is noticed. We also follow up by ensuring the CV’s have been reviewed and considered and give feedback to our candidates on whether they have been selected or not, in order that we can then focus on other potential opportunities to minimize time wastage.

Most reputable recruiters do not charge candidates for the recruitment service as it’s unethical, there fore you have nothing to lose.We do your job for you FREE OF CHARGE and you have the comfort of knowing we are working on your behalf and will keep you updated on any feedback and new opportunities as and when they are available.

A reputable Recruiter can connect you to the right people, saving you time in searching for whom to contact and making the connections blindly.

To help you navigate this process, we’ve created our DO’s and DON’T’s for how to contact recruiters effectively and to see results.

Don’t contact the wrong person

If you are a Doctor or work in a Healthcare environment, contact a Healthcare/Medical Recruiter. Please don’t send your CV to every recruitment company regardless of industry. It is very likely your CV will be deleted or ignored. We always advise that LinkedIn is a great tool when researching recruiters. After all, 90% of recruiters actively use LinkedIn as a means of contacting potential leads. Your chances of finding a recruiter that matches the industry or role you are looking for are pretty high.

Don’t blindly forward them your resume

Always research the person or organization you are sending your resume to. We often see the same messages sent to multiple employers. These copy-and-paste messages do not have a personalized statement and are seen in a negative light, where a man or woman cannot be identified and instead they are referred to simply as Sir, and the message of them wanting to work in a hospital, when in fact they are applying to a small clinic, confirms that the person has just sent the email without researching. This strategy is not very well thought out and has a poor rating where an employee would be obliged to ignore your application and not give it a second thought.

Candidates need to personalize every message sent using the information they’ve learned from their research. You shouldn’t simply be contacting these recruiters with no intentions; work to create a relationship. This may come in handy later on.

For example:

Dear[Recruiter Name],

I would like to introduce myself. My name is [Your Name]. Sorry for the direct message, but I have heard positive things about [Name of Their Company]. If you know of any job openings for [Your Desired Role], I would love the opportunity to speak with you about my qualifications for this role. I can be reached directly at (your number) [Your Desired Industry]. I look forward to hearing from you and have a great day!

Don’t exaggerate your experiences as this may be tested during an interview.

Never lie on your resume as you will be found out. Additionally, if you do try and exaggerate any of your experiences or qualifications, a good recruiter will know right away. Recruiters also conduct research of their own and do their own due diligence on you once you reach out. We tend to look out for job hoppers, those who join and leave in a short period, and find out the reasons why this is the case.An individual’s history can be obtained through the right channels and may be obvious enough so it will be easy enough for them to fact-check what you’ve told them. Once you get caught in that lie, there’s no fixing that relationship and it may affect your whole career.

Don’t contact multiple recruiters over the same position

Sometimes candidates believe that getting their CV out there to every company possible is the best way to go about it. This is not the case at all. People network with those in similar positions as them, which includes recruiters. If you think they won’t learn that you are trying to catch all of their attention, you’re wrong. Pulling tricks such as this one is more likely to get you blacklisted rather than get you a job.

We are not implying that you shouldn’t contact multiple recruiters as you should be reaching out to as many as you can in a professional manner. However, don’t attempt to target the same job listing with different recruiters. Even worse, contact multiple consultants within the same company.

If you don’t land the position, don’t be rude

Nobody likes a sore loser.

If you aren’t chosen for the position, stay civil. Your response to their decision will make its own mark. If you handle the situation with professionalism and kindness, they will be more likely to keep you in mind for further opportunities. Don’t be afraid to ask for feedback either as this will always help you with the next interview. To gain constructive feedback, ask the recruiter why another candidate was chosen and apply this information in future endeavors.

Understand that Recruiters don’t work for you

Recruiters can be a great resource to help you in your job search. However, don’t forget that it’s companies that sign their paychecks, not you. Recruiters should not charge a doctor; they get paid by the client that is hiring.You can use recruiters as a source of information, but understand that they cannot share with you any information that they wouldn’t also share with other job seekers. This means they won’t share with you any insight that could jeopardize their credibility or the decisions happening behind closed doors in the hiring process. If they can’t find you a job, or you had one unsuccessful interview, this does not mean they are obliged to find you another, they do have other candidates that they can place that better fit the criteria requested by the client.

Only contact recruiters within your industry

A recruiter within your industry will be a much better contact for you to have than recruiters who specialize in different fields. Use this factor to your advantage. Ask them questions about their experience in your shared industry. They will have more connections to connect you to within that industry and more knowledge on the job requirements.

Once you’ve established contact, build a relationship with your recruiter. Imagine if you were being contacted by hundreds of job seekers every day. You’d have a pretty hard time keeping track of everyone too. To stay within their radar, aim to contact your recruiter regularly every two weeks.

Do attend networking events to meet recruiters in person

Networking platforms such as LinkedIn can be great sources for connecting with others in your industry. However, having the opportunity to speak with recruiters prior to connecting with them on LinkedIn is even more beneficial. Sites like Eventbrite and Meetup are also great resources to use when looking for networking opportunities and events. Be sure to frequently check-in on these sites to ensure you don’t miss any opportunities.

As always, it is important to make a good first impression with recruiters during these types of events. Networking can be a stressful but necessary occurrence, which is why we outlined more tips on networking here. Is there a link to be added?

Do be upfront about what you’re looking for

As much as you are trying to create a strong relationship with these recruiters, you also want to be sure to get to your point when communicating with them. Their time is just as valuable as yours, so don’t beat around the bush.

Stay in contact

It’s good to maintain strong relationships with recruiters regardless of whether you have received a job offer. Having that connection can be a great resource for future job offers. To make things easier for both you and your recruiter, kindly let them know when you have received any promotions, awards, and certifications.

Let them also know if you decide to make a career change. They may have connections of their own that they can connect you with to get you started. Recruiters see hundreds to thousands of employee profiles on a regular basis, so stay relevant and stay friendly. We promise it’ll pay off in the long run.

Our final bonus tip: ITS NICE TO SEND THANK YOU EMAILS. Once you’ve successfully covered all of these bases, you cannot forget to send that follow-up email.

By Kaneez Nabijee

1st March 2023

Check out our other blogs on www.drexpat.com

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