Working with recruiters often feels like a guessing game. It’s nerve-wracking for job seekers to learn the process as they go. They wonder how to make time to scout, screen and interview recruiters during the workday. Maybe you have other roadblocks that freeze your progress - trying to sell yourself, remembering ‘everything’ you’ve ever done in your career, explaining a bad situation and why you left, or writing a simple thank you note that hits the right points.

While we cannot change the time required for an effective job search, there are some tips for working with recruiters to get the most out of your time.

1. Taking the Screening Call

When actively searching, the first rule of thumb is to avoid answering your cell phone unless you are in the perfect position to talk. As many job seekers have figured out, answering your phone while walking past your manager’s desk does not work well. You end up sounding disorganized and unprepared to the recruiter - and your manager.

Take advantage of caller ID and let calls from unknown people go to voice mail. Only return calls to recruiters when you are in a position to speak freely.

2. Scheduling the Interview

Jobseekers must always give the recruiter blocks of time to arrange for interview. It makes the recruiter job easier.

3. Selling Yourself

Just because a recruiter has contacted you does not mean you should stop marketing yourself. Pull out a story about your sales experience, your best engineering qualifications, or the projects you have managed.”In general, candidates need to be ready and willing to discuss their resumes at any given moment.

Use the S.T.A.R concept when selling yourself to the recruiter. It is a story-telling strategy which stands for Situation, Task, Action, Result. The strategy helps you stay on track when describing an accomplishment and drives you from the beginning to end of a story.

4. Discussing Personal Roadblocks

Some candidates feel very open when working with recruiting firms - as if they can divulge things to the recruiter that they would not in an employer-candidate interview scenario. There is some flexibility and openness in the recruiter-candidate relationship, but do not assume you can discuss anything. It’s an interview process, not a personal declaration. Keep the information you present pertinent to the job - focus on the job skills

5. Sending Thank You Notes and Email Etiquette

Yes, thank you notes are required. It serves as a quick reminder of when you interviewed and to jog the recruiter’s memory.”Thank you notes should be sent within 24 hours of the interview. Remember to collect business cards from each person you meet so you can send individual notes to everyone. Your note does not have to be long - just acknowledge your appreciation of their time and point out a skill, talent, or experience that makes you the ideal candidate for the position. While recruiters and employers will always have their personal preferences, both email and regular mail are widely accepted for thank you notes.

Following each of the above tips can help you in the interview process. Recruiters and employers actually want you to be right candidate for a job - it means they can stop their search - but you need to do your part to get in front of them and market yourself. Good luck!

Technorati Tags: how to, recruitment agency

Other posts you may want to read:

1. 5 Common Types of Job Interviews
2. Bank Negara Malaysia Hiring Process
3. Motorola Penang Walk-In, 9 Aug 2008
4. How To Determine A Problem Solver
5. Office Boy Millionaire