Recruiter’s Secrets Revealed

Recruiter’s
Secrets
Revealed

Recruiter’s Secrets Revealed
Improve your chances of getting that dream job.
By Ville Aho

Recruitment is about minimizing risks…
…and the risk is you.
© Ville Aho | www.villeaho.com

Resume
Tells us what you’ve done and gives us a signal of
what to expect in the future.

Think of us as robots when it comes
to reading resumes (sometimes we are).

Keep the structure simple.
Recruiters are suckers for exact
start and end dates, commonly
used titles and clear job
descriptions.
If the job description mentions
key words, use them. In IT
recruiters talk in abbreviations,
so you should too.
Make a solid case for why you are
the best fit. Do this and recruiters
are easily impressed, but
remember – never easily fooled.

Being unemployed, having unexplained gaps or
multiple short tenures are all potential red flags.
Therefore always add an explanation.

Spelling mistakes are one of the worst mistakes a candidate can make.
Double check your resume and ask someone else to check it as well.

Truth is that most cover letters will never get read, but it
doesn’t mean that they wouldn’t matter. They do,
greatly.

If a recruiter has moved on to your cover
letter it means theyalready said MAYBE
when they could have said NO.
Cover letter is your chance to tell what makes
you special. Therefore do it right and be
specific.
Each position is different, so should be your
cover letter. Tell the story around your
resume. What experiences have shaped you
the real you you’re today. Where are you
heading? That’s what we want to hear.

If your cover letter sounds
like that of everyone else,
you have completely
defeated the purpose.

How to read the
job posting
???

EASY.If you’re reading a job posting it has already served it’s main purpose of
getting your attention.
Don’t get scared by the listed requirements. In most cases it’s an unrealistic description
of an ideal person that in reality no-one expects to find.
If deep down in your gut you feel the position screams YOU - do us all a favor -
apply for it! It’s our job to see if there’s a fit.

OK. I
applied.
What now?

The job posting usually tells you how
and when to reach the recruiter. Follow
these instructions.
Many think that you should call no matter what
– don’t be one of those people. Be in touch if
you genuinely have something to ask. If you
don’t, that’s fine too.
Now sit back and relax. If the
recruiter finds you intriguing they
WILL be in touch.

Recruitment process
Some facts to help you to understand what’s
happening behind the curtains.

“Hiring the right people takes time, the right questions, and a healthy dose of curiosity.”
Richard Branson, Founder of Virgin Group

Good recruiter makes you feel like you’re the only person
their talking to but this is rarely the case – they likely have
hundred or so other candidates. Going through all of them
takes time.
The recruiter is comparing the applicants profiles against the
ideal profile they have for the position. This takes time.
They are shortlisting candidates and creating yes, maybe and
no piles. “Yes” -people will be contacted first. If the
recruiter is on top of their game they’ll inform the “no” -
people at this time as well.“Maybe” –people will have to
wait a bit longer.

Reality check:
If recruiter already has enough good candidates they
might not even glans at new applications. So, always
apply early!
Make an effort to get noticed but be careful not to cross
the line. Weird behavior makes recruiters nervous and
gives them a reason to focus on someone else.
Those who are failing to make a good first impression get
put in the “no” pile and are likely never contacted again.

Recruiters Are Organizational Matchmakers.

“Hiring is the single most important people operation in any organization”
-Laszlo Bock, Google

It helps to understand…
…that the recruiter is not working for you, but for the
company. They are looking for the best possible match.
Bad match affects the reputation of the recruiter, can be
toxic for the company and costs extra money.
Recruiter doesn’t decide who gets hired. They’ll influence
the decision process,but it’s often someone else who
makes the final call.
The profile can sometimes change during the process.

As harsh as it may sound...there’s NO guarantee of fairness.
(It’s very likely you may never know why you were rejected)

“Recruiting is hard. It’s just finding the needles in the haystack. You can’t know enough in a one-
hour interview. … The answers themselves are not what you’re looking for. It’s the meta-data.”
Steve Jobs, Apple

Yikes, the interview

Many recruiters start with a warm-
up round i.e. phone or video
interview. One advice applies for
both – prepare yourself. Remember
that the words coming out of your
mouth only account for 7% of the
overall message. The rest is tone of
voice and body language. And the
recruiters are masters in
interpretingboth of these.
The interview
Round 1

Don’t just tell the recruiter what you
think they want to hear. Instead let
them get to know you.

This is likely the first time you’ll get to meet the
recruiter face to face. So come prepared and dress for
success.
The time before the interview – the first eye contact,
the handshake, some small talk is just as important as
the interview.
It takes about 90 seconds for the interviewer to form
an overall assessment of you. So, make sure it’s a good
one.
The interview
Round 2

Do not pretend to be somethingyou’re not. But
instead of just being yourself, be the absolute
best version of yourself. Be authentic, focus,
listen and respond to what has been asked.

The interview
Round 3
The recruiter usually forwards 3-5
candidates for the hiring manager to
interview and to choose from.
If you’re one of these people give yourself a
clap in the back. You’ve done well.
From now on things will get trickier and
margins will get smaller. Just keep doing
what you’re doing and if it’s meant to be it’s
meant to be.
(yes luck is a factor too)

Selection criteria
and what it’s ultimately all about

“Do not hire a man who does your work for money, but him who does it for the love of it.”
Henry David Thoreau, philosopher

www.villeaho.com
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Recruiter’s Secrets Revealed

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