Occasionally I get asked about recruiters, if the client should use one, how companies find them, and what recruiters do for companies. So here is a little article on what recruiters are about.

Making the best use of recruiters is something that almost all major corporations do now. Taking advantage of someone that is trained to sort through people means less hassle for the company—and why not? Less hassle means fewer headaches for those businesses.

Recruiters are people who have been trained specifically to hunt for various corporations to fill empty positions. They place ads in newspapers, online and in magazines to get the attention of any individual that might qualify for a job opening that they might have.

Taking the time to find recruiters who know what they are doing is the first important step for a company. Without excellent recruiters, corporations likely will not end up with the type of people that they want working for them.

Finding the best use of recruiters is up to the corporations that employ them, however, companies need to pick and choose where the need is for new hires in particular. In other words, will the corporation be expanding in Asia and the Western United States? If so, recruiters look for individuals who might have the ability to speak Japanese or Chinese, or are bi-lingual/fluent in other languages.

Another possibility would be if a company has decided to open a whole different operation. For example, Company A typically has been a restaurant chain. Now Company A wants to start some retail stores, and has the means to do it. Using a business plan, Company A will make the best use of recruiters by sending them out in whatever area it defines to find candidates to interview. Company A will have certain guidelines for the recruiters to go by, but the recruiters will pick the potential candidates.

Once the potential candidates are picked, recruiters will typically thin out the crowd somewhat before sending the candidates in for an interview. Recruiters take the time to sit and talk to each candidate for several minutes and are usually tuned in well enough to people that they can spot instantly who would work for the job, and who wouldn’t.

When you have recruiters who are available, it makes life much easier for the corporation. It is one less step that the Human Resources Department has to be concerned with. When there are so many other things that HR people have to do, using recruiters makes their job easier. For large corporations, making use of recruiters on a regular basis is a great benefit and saves them plenty of money. Smaller corporations on the other hand, may not see a benefit except once in a while—perhaps when searching for a new Chief Executive Officer or other high-ranking position.

So here is your little lesson on how recruiters help companies and what that means for you!

Gone are the days of searching for a job the old fashioned way… knocking on doors.

Today’s job seekers are leveraging the power of the internet to network with colleagues through online profiles, make connections with decision makers, and apply for jobs through a company’s website online.

Social media is changing the landscape of how people relate to each other. Before the advent of keeping track of people online, it was harder to maintain an extended network. Now, it’s possible to catalog all the people you’ve known through previous jobs – and to keep in touch with them as well. This has had numerous impacts on the workplace, and how people get jobs.

In the early days of the internet, people would search job boards. Monster.com and Yahoo!Jobs were touted as the hot new thing, and these job boards were huge for the recruitment industry. Here was a (relatively) cheap way to reach thousands of people across the whole world with news about your job opening. While still extensively used, job boards seem to have fallen to the baseline. They require little to no personal interaction to apply for a job. On the recruiter’s side, they often have to deal with spam bots which send out limitless replies to job advertisements. Not as bad as spam bots, but still very annoying, are people who apply on every job on the board, regardless of how qualified they actually are for the job. The entry-level recruiter who spends their day sifting through hundreds of applicants for an administrative assistant’s job is practically tearing his/her hair out.

Now, a lot of recruiters are on Facebook, and there are some people who exclusively advertise job openings they’re working to their Facebook friends. This is helpful, because friends can direct their friends to connect with recruiters – and people that are recommended for a job are much more likely to get it than a random faceless applicant.

Twitter is another way that job news is getting out. Subscribing to a Twitter feed is an easy way to get information on a job – even if it’s only 140 characters. A job title and a few keywords are often enough information for a job seeker to determine if they’re interested in an opening.

LinkedIn, which is a site dedicated to professionals looking to maintain their personal business network, is also another place that has exploded with opportunities. At first, LinkedIn was just a way to keep track of people – now, you can post pictures, presentations, your blog posts, Twitter feeds, daily ‘status’ and so much more. LinkedIn is ripe with job opportunities.

At first, people created groups for job-seekers. Then, recruiters made groups through which they would post openings. Groups such as, “Jobs for Software Developers” attracted only the niche market they were going after – people who were looking for software development jobs, and friends of people who might be interested. LinkedIn capitalized on this phenomenon by creating a job board integrated with their website. Now, people can pay for a job ad, and have their links recommend their friends for a job. I am going to stop right here with LinkedIn. You all know how I could talk about its benefits 24 hours a day.

What has made social media a great outlet for finding a job is the fact that the internet has changed from a broad scope to a niche marketing tool. Take advantage of it.

Many of you know that I was at the Detroit “Good Morning America / Women for Hire” job fair the other day. There were about 25 résumé evaluators and approximately 5000 job seekers. They literally were lined up outside the doors at 3:30 am. Talk about motivated people. Wow. What a busy, productive and fulfilling day.

It was televised (GMA and local ABC news crew) and there were camera people everywhere. Sort made us feel like movie stars except the cameras really weren’t on us, and we didn’t get paid. But still.

I was really impressed by the amount of professionalism, ambition and previous success that most of the folks had. There were just a few people that could have used a few pointers. So in case you think you might be one of those people, here they are:

1-      DRESS AS IF YOU ARE AT AN INTERVIEW. Appropriate dress is really a MUST at a job fair. I know you already know this, but I thought I’d mention it again. You know the saying, “First Impressions are a Must”, well they really are.  I saw some people that looked gorgeous and really ‘wow’ed’ me. THAT is how you have to look. Not saying you have to go spend a fortune on new clothes. You can put together a new outfit from what you have. Wash your hair, do your nails, trim your nose/ear hair, you know… the usual. And if you have dread-locks, tuck them into your suit.

2-      HAVE A RÉSUMÉ PREPARED. (and if at all possible, have it professionally done). Yes, I saw many, many résumés and only about 5% of them were impressive. Remember, lead with your accomplishments, not your job description duties. The Microsoft Word résumé template was used in about 80% of the cases (yuck) I saw at the job fair. Remember, that is a template that doesn’t allow much give, so you may be cutting some significant info out because it won’t fit into the “template”. DON’T USE IT.

3-    PACK BUSINESS OR NETWORKING CARDS-A great idea is to bring along your business or networking cards. Business cards work well because they have your name, address and phone number on them. If they have a previous company name on them, better rethink handing them out. You can always make some inexpensive cards on your own home printer for just this occasion. Another idea is networking cards. Networking cards are business card sized cards that hold significant career information along with your contact information. 2 or 3 of your top accomplishments really stand out on networking cards.

4-      BRING A SMALL BAG, TOTE OR BRIEFCASE. You will be bombarded with giveaways (pens, company trinkets, business cards, candy, brochures, etc.). It will be easier to carry everything and your résumé portfolio.

5-      GET A BUSINESS CARD FROM EVERYONE YOU SPOKE WITH. You might want to follow up with something you talked about. Even better, after you’ve talked with them, write down some key things you spoke about on the back of the card so you will have it to reference when you call, or if they call you!

6-      KNOW THE COMPANIES. Find out what companies will be there and get to know a little about them. Nothing impresses companies more then when you display the knowledge you have about them. Show off a little bit. Impress them!

7-      GET INTO A GOOD MOOD. I had a few folks come sit down with me who were shaking and scared to death and I wasn’t even the hiring person! People can tell if you are nervous, distracted, moody, having a bad day, etc. That isn’t the best first impression to offer. Instead try to relax, smile, speak slowly and clearly (vs. rushing through what you want to say), and remember, the HR person knows you are nervous and understands. So try to relax and enjoy yourself. Fake it if you have to.

Job Fairs don’t have to be a bad/scary/nerve wracking thing. Remember, it’s just another avenue to try out in the midst of your job search You get to meet new people, learn a few things about different companies, and have free coffee.