10 Top Tips working with your Medical Sales Recuiter
1. Identify good recruiters to work with, specifically those who will represent you beyond your resume. Be aware of recruiters who do not ask you any questions and do not tell you whether or not they are sending your resume to the hiring client.
2. Never pay a for a Recruiter to represent you as the Recruiter is paid by the Client company, and is tasked with finding the most qualified candidates to be interviewed. One should be leery of any recruiter who promises you a job if you pay them a fee.
3. Always ask the recruiter before the end of your conversation who they are representing. You need to do this because you may already be represented by another Recruiter or you may have applied to that company or previously interviewed. A Recruiter does not want to duplicate your efforts. Additionally it never works in your best interest to be represented by multiple sources. You must be up front with the Recruiter in the beginning. By covering up who represents you or whether or not you applied may come back to haunt you in the end. Please note that there will be times when a Recruiter cannot reveal the client company for one or two reasons; 1) the search is confidential OR 2) the Recruiter is working on the search as a split Recruiter and the other Recruiter has “ownership” of the search with the client. In either case, the Recruiter should be able to give you a valid reason why they cannot reveal the client.
4. Always be honest with a recruiter in all subject areas including compensation, reason for leaving your current or most recent job, dates on your resume etc. Typically, a good Recruiter may document this information and forward on to the hiring client. You may be asked these very same questions later, and consistency will be required. Very often third party background checks will be used to validate the written word on your resume and/or application.
5. If a Recruiter advises you to revise your resume to enhance it with more or possibly less detail, then do so. In some case perhaps highlight certain skill sets that are not mentioned, please do so in a timely fashion. One response I often get from candidates is that another Recruiter told them to do something different. This is very common as no 2 Recruiters are alike. However, you must understand that each individual Recruiter understands their individual hiring manager and knows the information they are looking for in their candidate selection. This may lead you to have multiple versions of your resume which is a good thing.
6. Working with Recruiters certainly can be frustrating at times especially at the beginning before getting into the process with a perspective employer. Many Recruiters will access your information via job boards, social networking sites, or personal referrals. If you do not hear from a Recruiter upon responding to a job posting, more than likely your background did not meet the qualifications for the or client on one ore more fronts. Please know the Recruiter is not ignoring your résumé. He/She is just maximizing time by contacting the most qualified candidates for a posted position. Many Recruiters today do have a database or applicant tracking system where they keep your resume on file for when they do have a position that better fits your qualifications.
7. Once in the process with a Recruiter, make sure to follow the Recruiter’s lead. Your follow up and all around behavior with the Recruiter is almost like a trial run with the perspective employer. Remember the Recruiter is your liaison to the manager and in many cases can guide you appropriately through the process. If something comes up during your interview process, keep your Recruiter informed at all times. For example, if you cannot make an interview for whatever reason, be responsible and inform the recruiter with as much advance notice as possible so the recruiter can inform the hiring manager. Many times, if this professional approach is taken, the Recruiter will be able to reschedule another interview for you. If you are getting to the final stages of the process and other opportunities are put in front of you are in the fortunate position to have choices, all the power to you. However, you must remember not to burn bridges with any perspective employer. If you keep the Recruiter informed, he/she can best advise you on how to handle the situation so you maintain the highest level of professionalism. One never knows when you may again want to entertain an opportunity with an employer you once turned down.
8. Counteroffer situations can be a sticky subject and you may not know how to approach your Recruiter as you know they represent the perspective employer. You will need to somewhat trust the situation with your Recruiter and at least hear the advice. While your first inclination is to feel like they are trying to close you on the deal by encouraging you not to take a counteroffer, they should be giving you only advice for you to make an informed decision. Remember, it is not in the best interest of the Recruiter to just fill a position. It is their job to make a fabulous placement with a client so both candidate and manager are happy. When the successful placement is made, the client will continue to use the Recruiter’s services for future searches.
9. Stay in touch with your great Recruiters when you are not placed by them. If you liked a Recruiter you worked with during your job search but did not get placed, be sure to stay in touch from time to time with your updated status because you never know when they have another opportunity to present to you. Also, some Recruiters including RecruitBUZZ pay referral fees for placing candidates YOU refer for other positions they have open.
10. Stay in touch with your great Recruiter that placed you! This is also very important because a Recruiter certainly likes to follow your progress with your new employer. And, if your experience was great as a candidate, perhaps down the road you will become a hiring client for the same Recruiter and again have a positive Recruitment experience from the other side. By Sharyn Aviv