The Useful Recruiter: Guides vs. Villains

The Useful Recruiter: Guides vs. Villains

Recruiters… it's no secret that I believe their usefulness is dubious at best. Regarding your career transition, I recommend treating them like holiday decorations: put them in their box, and bring them out only when it's the right time. Or, if you want, you can cut them out of your life entirely. I think you're fine either way. If you follow that advice, I doubt you'll see any detrimental effect on your career development. But they can still be an asset if leveraged properly.

You're here because you're training to become a Titan. Titans use every asset and make those assets work for their benefit by creating win-wins.

No group of people is completely worthless, and recruiters are no different. That's why we are here today to discuss the Useful Recruiter. This is how we'll do it:

1.?????Determining Useful Recruiters vs. Non-useful Recruiters

2.?????Determining how to find Useful Recruiters

3.?????How to Leverage Useful Recruiters once you find them

If you put Useful Recruiters in the right box within your overall career development strategy, then you avoid the risks inherent with interacting with Non-useful Recruiters.

What is a Useful Recruiter?

A Useful Recruiter is...

A useful recruiter is a recruiter that operates in a way that diverges from that of the typical headhunter. A very simple litmus test as to whether a recruiter is useful for your purposes is: would I like to hang out with this person?

Well, how do you determine that?

Here are a few questions to ask when you're evaluating a recruiter and their usefulness:

• Social Media Presence: do they only share information about their company or organization, or do they engage in topics of interest outside their industry?
• Personal Brand: Do they meet the requirements of someone I would like to model? Examples: Is their headshot good? Is their LinkedIn profile complete/helpful? Do they have a substantial number of relevant connections?
• Recommendations: has anyone taken the time to recommend this person? Are they connected with anyone I respect?
• Personality: what kind of language do they use? Does it fit my personality? Are they the type of person that could help me grow even if I never need their assistance with a job search?

This is a starting point, but I think you get the idea. Useful recruiters walk the walk. They understand the value of networking. They aren't operating like another high-pressure sales idiot who believes in the "smile and dial" scatter-shot approach to life.

They fundamentally understand the value of human connection, if for no other reason than they have internalized the concept of "enlightened self-interest." They know that real talent waits for the right opportunity and does not waste time on bull shit. They also know their livelihood depends on their ability to bring real talent to the table daily. And, because they know that, the useful recruiter lives and feasts on valuable conversations and information.

Put simply: Useful Recruiters functions as Guides that speed up your hunt for actionable information.

A Useful Recruiter is not...

So if a Useful Recruiter operates in a way that diverges from the typical headhunter, then it should be obvious that a Non-useful Recruiter acts exactly like a typical headhunter.[i] There are so many attributes that Non-useful recruiters possess that it is impossible to list them all here.

But I want to help you avoid their bullshit, so I'll provide you with a test that should help you. When in doubt, remember that an overwhelming majority of recruiters are not useful.

If you are not stone-cold convinced that a recruiter has diverged from the norm in some meaningful way, then get the hell out of there.

It's that simple. Put differently: a Non-useful Recruiter is someone who impedes your ability to find actionable information.

How do you find Useful Recruiters?

You're probably saying, "okay, that's remarkably vague. How does that help me?" Well, this is where you get the tactical portion of the conversation. Remember, there are no silver bullets for life or business, but I have found a few groups of recruiters will open up the information vault if you come correct with a good introduction. They might seem obvious, but remember how much bullshit you typically have to wade through daily. A roadmap helps prevent you from getting lost along the way.

Veterans as Recruiters

This should be a starting point for any Titan in training. Leverage your veteran network. All you typically need to do is separate yourself from the unwashed masses by letting them know the following:

1. Who you are;
2. What you are trying to accomplish;
3. You have done some high-level homework and could use some additional insight.

I have found time and again that this approach works when you use it with other veterans. Veterans typically want to help other veterans.[ii] This is the reason they tend to be useful recruiters. They will clue you in on some back-alley information that only someone who talks to hiring managers daily will understand. They also tend to be movers and shakers.

Also, suppose you did your homework and targeted a relevant veteran in a relevant industry. In that case, they typically have some capacity and willingness to put you in touch with senior-level decision-makers. This can allow you to use a top-down approach instead of eating the snake by the tail.

Remember, being a part of the veteran community is a lot like being a part of Fight Club. You have to show up and do your part; if you do, there are people every step of the way to help you get what you need.

Military Spouses

Military spouses have a very similar mindset to the veterans discussed above. Just understand that they still might have avoided the military side of the spousal arrangement and may not be as "up to speed" on the military jargon and lingo. This means you might have to do a little extra homework and be more prepared to connect the dots for why you are reaching out and what you hope to achieve.

However, they are typically MORE up to speed on the civilian sector and have connections that even our veteran recruiters don't know.

Their willingness to help is there, but be prepared for the fact they may be a little more guarded than our veteran recruiters.

That said, working with them has all the same benefits.

Recruiters with Personalities

This is where Titans can start to find some diamonds in the rough. If a recruiter doesn't fall into one of the above categories, then you need to be looking for personality. Personality makes a huge difference. So, what determines whether a recruiter has personality?

You.

You determine if the Recruiter has personality. Go back to the items listed at the top of this article for what to look for. The key question is: Would it be a good time for me if I talked to this person for 30 minutes? If yes, then proceed.

But remember, again, when in doubt, most recruiters are not useful.

How do you Leverage Useful Recruiters?

So you've found some potentially useful recruiters. Now what? Well, we need to keep in mind how we leverage these individuals.

Think of it like dating: you are NOT trying to hook up on the first date. Said differently, you are not trying to have the Useful Recruiter introduce you to all of their top-level contacts in your first conversation. What you ARE trying to do is extract targeted information that can help you differentiate yourself from the rest of the market with the understanding that somewhere down the line, they MAY be able to help throw your name into the right hat. But you are a Titan, so you will not rely on that possibility.

Here's the help we are looking for from Useful Recruiters:

• Understanding an industry
• Understanding the outlook for a particular career path
• Understanding the attributes of top talent from a decision-maker's perspective

Understanding Industries

Useful recruiters need to understand their chosen industry inside and out if they hope to maintain relevance in their career path. If your Useful Recruiter is an internal recruiter,[iii] they likely have a wealth of information about the industry their organization targets. If they are an external recruiter,[iv] they may be slightly less targeted, but their ability to explain an industry in a broader market context can be extremely valuable. Either way, their insight can help you develop additional research questions or understanding that can help you frame your skills and abilities.

Understanding Career Outlook

Similar to understanding industries, Useful Recruiters can help you identify the career outlook for a specific sector or role. They can help you understand things like:

• Job market stability
• Growth potential
• Salary Ranges
• Which Organizations Are Expanding/Contracting
• Transferability of skillsets

Since you're a Titan, you want to ensure you aren't painting yourself into a corner by going into a certain industry or role. Useful Recruiters can help you avoid that pitfall on the front end.

Understanding What "Top Talent" Looks Like for Decision Makers

Helping you know what "top talent" looks like to decision-makers is where Useful Recruiters demonstrate their value. Useful Recruiters can give you the keys to the metaphorical kingdom regarding what to highlight about yourself and key phrases and buzzwords that decision-makers are currently gobbling up in the marketplace.

Remember that time-honored saying: perception is reality. By leveraging Useful Recruiters, you can start using the vocabulary of decision makers in all your communications and personal marketing materials. This is where you create the perception that you already belong. This is how you fast-track yourself to the front of the line.

I want you to literally take notes on the keywords and phrases these Useful Recruiters use. I want you to review your notes after you speak with these Useful Recruiters so these words are on the tip of your tongue. By doing that, you won't feel outgunned in conversations with decision-makers. You will permit yourself to claim your seat at the table.

This is how you create the perception that you are a sure thing, so a decision-maker will say, "shut up and take my money."

This is how you start to win the game and how you want to leverage Useful Recruiters.

The Future

Look, you can be like all the other "hustlers" out there, waste your life flailing on menial activities, and talk about how you keep your nose on the grindstone.

But that shit won't put money in your wallet, feed your family, or keep your ass warm at night. Titans do things differently because they understand that doing something like everyone else forces them to devalue themselves so they can be more attractive to Applicant Tracking System Filters.

That shit is stupid and pointless.

Or, you can take control. You can tee yourself up for success by leveraging all of that information from Useful Recruiters to help you on your way to get where you're going quicker.

Conclusion

Recruiters aren't bad people; it's just that most of them aren't particularly helpful. They have the hustle" mentality, and they are trying to get as many candidates as possible, and they're stuck on the same hamster wheel you are actively trying to bypass. That's why you need to avoid most recruiters.

If you interact with recruiters, ensure they're useful to you and your goals. At a minimum, they should enjoy the hell out of the conversation they have with you. Create a win-win exchange for them where they give you information and get access to a top-talent candidate.

So here's what I want you to do next. I want you to use LinkedIn to find 5-10 Useful Recruiters that actively seek job candidates for an industry or role that interests you.

I want you to come up with a list of 3 burning questions that they can help you answer.

Then I want you to find one genuine reason you want to connect with them.

Then I want you I want you to reach out, mention that genuine connection point, let them know who you are and what you're trying to accomplish, let them know you have three burning questions their expertise could help shed light on and ask for 15 minutes of their time.

Then I want you to D.M. me and let me know how it went.

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P.S. If you'd like to see someone who does it right, check out David Perry . David is a long-time recruiter who has put his time where his mouth is because he has put together so many resources for job hunters that it's impossible to encapsulate them in one article.

ENDNOTES

[i] For a more detailed breakdown on the antics of Non-useful Recruiters see: https://www.dhirubhai.net/pulse/bs-breakdown-letting-recruiters-dictate-your-strategy-honeycutt/

[ii] There are some dipshits out there who just jumped from drinking one brand of Kool-Aid in the military to drinking the corporate Kool-Aid in the civilian sector. Watch out for these turds. They tend to look pretty convincing. One way to distinguish them is by how often they bring up their former rank in the military. Former E-8’s and E-9’s tend to be the worst offenders.

[iii] An internal recruiter is a recruiter that works solely for one specific organization as opposed to a recruiting firm that may work on behalf many organizations.

[iv] A recruiter that works for a recruiting agency. They may have a number of different accounts across a number of different industries. However, they typically have some type of core competency of industries or roles that they target.?