Working with a recruiter is a great way to get your foot in the door with reputable companies both large and small. Often, recruiters will have relationships with hiring managers that could be very beneficial to you. They know what the hiring manager likes/dislikes and what their personality is. A recruiter’s advice can be very beneficial when tailoring your resume, submitting your application, preparing for an interview and through the offer process. Many are very experienced and well versed in their industry, some are not.

When a recruiter reaches out to you or vice versa remember that they hold the key to this job but you can help them open the door! Have the recruiter tell you details about the job and preferably send you a job description. With this, you can make sure that your resume is tailored specifically for this job and includes all of the necessary information. Perhaps you are applying for a job and the company is looking for experience selling B2B but your resume is more B2C; you have the experience but just didn’t include it. Some recruiters may not even ask you about it…they will just say you are not the right fit. If you have the job description you can say “I see you are looking for B2B experience, while it does not reflect on my resume I do have it, let me tell you about it”. You will then ask the recruiter to allow you to add it to your resume before they send it to their client.

Another great addition is to write a summary for them of your qualifications as you would a cover letter. Recruiters do this on your behalf when submitting you to their client. Who better to sum up your expertise than you! Go through the job description and address each requirement in your summary. The recruiter can then add to this rather than starting from scratch.

In summary, ask questions and sell the reasons you are a good fit for this job. A great recruiter will pull this out through the conversation but you can’t bank your next job on this! Treat the conversation as you would a regular job interview. You may find yourself with more opportunities during this down market.