Recruiters may be looking at dozens, hundreds or even thousands of resumes for a single job opening - and have to jungle several openings at once. In today's fast-based internet marketplace, several recruiters might be competing for that same single job, all trying to get the right resume to the hiring manager to make the final sale, earning the recruiter their own paycheck for the day.
It's a harrowing experience from the point of view of the prospective employee, but now recruiters are starting to sound off about their own role in the process. They too have a job to do, and most of them want to do it well, to actually be able to help people in their search for fulfilling, meaningful employment.
But it can be tough - recruiters are generally working from a resume, or at most a phone conversation. They are under pressure from their clients to deliver exactly the person that client is looking for - even if other candidates might be a better fit, the recruiter is encouraged to follow the job description to the letter, weeding out candidates not meeting the exacting standards of an increasingly empowered hiring company.
Recruiters don't even spend time on your whole resume. According to recent studies, they spend more time on current and recent experience, followed by education, than any other area of your resume . Summary paragraphs, experience prior to your last job and extensive accomplishments don't usually get noticed on the first pass of a resume by these professionals.
Meanwhile, as Americans try to get the attention of these recruiters, potential employees don't seem to be looking in the same places as those recruiters. While 82% of companies use LinkedIn for recruiting, only 35% of job seekers seem to do the same. (See What Candidates Think.)
In today's job hunt, it is up to the hunter to find the ideal strategy for themselves to find a job. And in that light, it always pays to know your prey.
It is very telling that the article "Working With Recruiters Made Easy" lists the very first item as "recruiters don't find people jobs". Many folks out there assume that is the case, but no - the recruiter is there simply to fill a job a client (company) has listed.
In the end you need to know your audience, and in the modern job search you have two audiences - the recruiter and the hiring manager. They may not be in agreement - or even have much interactivity at all. They may have completely differing opinions as to YOUR value in the position. And you need to sell yourself to both of them.
Let's hope your message is coming across.
*Note: This was written by a Yahoo! contributor. Do you have a careers story that you'd like to share? Sign up with the Yahoo! Contributor Network to start publishing your own finance articles.
