11.09.2013

A Day In the Life

A colleague of mine called me this morning to ask for some insight as a Corporate Recruiter.  On what?  On LinkedIn and how we (corporate recruiters) see a candidate's profile.  She wanted my insight since she comes from the Agency Recruiting side -- a WHOLE different ballgame over there.

She asked.  I answered.


Q:  What do you look for in a candidate's profile?
A:  I am looking for completeness.  I want to see a full name, where you are located, what industry you're in.  I want to see accurate dates of employment, where you are/were employed, and what you did/do at your place of work.  I want to see a picture; I want to see a human face behind these words that are on their profile.  Above all, I want to see a story.  I want to know how they got to where they are today.

Q:  Anything else you look for?
A:  Oh yeah.  I want to see recommendations from colleagues, managers, people who have interacted with them.  If their LinkedIn network is small, I tend to second guess my reaching out to them - at least via that medium.  Their college degree(s).

Q:  What pet peeves do you have about some LinkedIn profiles?
A:  Where do I start?  Why do people think that by hiding their names, they're doing themselves any good?  I guess, unless they don't want to be found.  But professionally speaking, why wouldn't you want to be headhunted?  Also, I understand why one might refuse to disclose their current company's name, but why must all the companies in your profile be anonymous?  What is the point of that?  All job titles and no job duties.  This doesn't help me!  Help me, help you.

Q:  What do you think about LinkedIn Groups for networking?
A:  They're a GREAT networking tool.  I don't know why more people don't participate in them.  Not just to be members, but to be contributing members.  Engage with the folks in the group.  Ask questions.  "Networking" isn't just handshakes anymore!

Q:  How many resumes do you review daily that come in from your ATS (Applicant Tracking System)?
A:  30-ish per position, daily.

Q:  How many positions do you normally hire for at any given time?
A:  On average, anywhere between 8-15.

Q:  That's a lot of resumes.  How many profiles do you review on a daily basis via channels like LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, etc?
A:  I'll look at about 500 daily, in addition to whatever resumes came in that day.

Q:  How do you have time to read all those resumes??
A:  Read?  I skim.  I'm scanning for the most important pieces of information that I need to make this person qualified for the role.  If it's not on their profile/resume, I'm moving on.  Definitely under 30 seconds per profile/resume.  So, if they want to be "seen", they have to make sure they have the information we're (recruiters) are looking for.

Q:  Isn't that unfair?
A:  No, I don't think so.  Nature of the beast, I guess.  Dog eat dog world.  If you want it, make it happen.


I find that a lot of "job seekers" lackadaisically go about their job search.  They tirelessly send resumes and are upset when they don't hear back.  They want to be headhunted, but their online presence is minimal.  A little fine tuning will do wonders!  I have faith in you.

Good luck!  And as always... I'm all ears!

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