Make Friends With Recruiters to Gain Access to More Jobs

Applying for advertised jobs is not the only way to kickstart your career or get back into employment. Networking with recruiters can help you to access opportunities that might not be advertised openly. Making friends with recruiters does not have to be difficult if you follow these simple guidelines.

Social media offers an excellent platform for networking with recruiters, but you have to follow a few basic rules. First of all, be selective in where you approach recruiters. LinkedIn, which is designed for professional networking, is the ideal platform for networking with recruiters. LinkedIn is the first platform that you should use to contact recruiters. Only use less professional networks, such as Facebook, if you cannot find any other contact details for the recruiter with whom you want to connect.

Before you send a message to a recruiter, check both of your networks to see whether you have any shared connections. Ask your connection to introduce you to the recruiter. Recruiters are more likely to pay attention to introductions made by people they already know than to messages from complete strangers. Even if your connection does not want to introduce you to the recruiter, you might be able to get some useful information about whether the recruiter prefers to be contacted by email, telephone, LinkedIn message or some other method.

LinkedIn groups also are a useful tool for networking with recruiters. If you and the recruiter are active in any of the same LinkedIn groups, you might be able to get the recruiter's attention by posting interesting content in the group and making thoughtful comments.

Of course, social media is not the only way to make friends with recruiters. You also can attend networking events for your industry. This gives you an opportunity to get to know recruiters. However, think carefully about the way you present yourself. Don't make the mistake of talking solely about yourself and your achievements when you first meet recruiters, even if you want to let them know that you would be the perfect candidate for jobs in their organizations. Take some time to listen to what the recruiter has to say, and try to find things that you have in common, so that you can build a conversation around those points. By approaching networking with recruiters in this way, you can start to build friendships that could improve your access to jobs in the future.

To get access to more jobs in your field, you need to meet recruiters and start to build strong relationships with them. Social networks such as LinkedIn are useful platforms for networking with recruiters, but you also should attend networking events in your field to connect with recruiters in person.

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