Sometimes the best opportunities appear when you least expect them – Are you opportunistic when it comes to your next career move? Are you actively looking or are you a passive candidate?
When discussing your approach to a new role, you wouldn’t normally say that being passive is a good thing… or is it?
If you are a passive candidate, you can best be described as employed but not currently looking for a new opportunity. You account for a whopping 75% of the talent pool!
The good news is that if you are a passive candidate, you have a certain appeal to you!
Why? The thinking is that you are presumably happy in your current job, and you are likely the kind of high-performer an employer would do their best to keep.
So what do you do when a recruiter contacts you about a position and you have no interest in changing jobs? Should you ignore that email or phone call? Or hear them out?
Here are King Recruit’s five reasons to go ahead and talk with a recruiter even if you ‘think’ you aren’t interested.
1.You may find that you are interested in the opportunity….and if you are, Recruiter’s will help you through the process.
We now have multiple careers during our working lifetime. Just because you are happy in your current job doesn’t mean you couldn’t be even happier in a different job. It is possible you aren’t even aware of jobs that would be just as — if not more — interesting, rewarding or challenging as your current position.
Any good recruiter will assist you in improving your CV.Interviews can be intimidating, especially if it has been a while since you participated in one. Your recruitment consultant will help you to prepare, they will share their insight and experience about the company, its culture and the role, instilling you with confidence, and, after your interview the recruiter can give you feedback.If successful, the Recruiter will then go on to negotiate the best deal for you.
2. Build relationships with recruiters for your future search
Even if the job turns out to not be of interest to you, this is a good opportunity to build a relationship with a recruiter to utilise later on. Once they get to know you, your career goals, skills and qualifications, they can keep you updated on other, more suitable opportunities or be someone to call when you are ready to make the move.
Using a specialist recruiter within your industry means they will be amongst the first to know when an opportunity arises. If this position fits your needs, background and aspirations, they will be in contact with you. What’s more, they’ve probably already successfully placed candidates in the companies you would like to work for, so have developed a trusted partnership with the hiring managers.
3. Help you better understand your career goals
Busy professionals who are settled in their current role do not often have time to reflect on their career, including talking about their strengths and weaknesses, successes and failures or thinking about where they want to be in five years. These kinds of questions that come up in conversations with recruiters are a good chance for you take stock and consider where you are. Even if you decide you are happy and don’t want to make a move, you may learn that there are new skills you want to develop or projects you want to take on that will help you grow in your current position.
4. You can network on a larger scale and access more job opportunities
Think of your current job-search connections. Even if that group is large, it does not match the number that recruiters can reach.
When you send your CV to an HR department or complete an application form, you rely on that one document to be considered for the position. But if a recruiter thinks you are a good fit for their client you have someone on your side, who can explain in detail why. Recruiters spend a lot of time making connections through databases, phone calls, and face-to-face networking.
By using a recruiter during your job search, your network reach grows. Did you know that not all positions are posted on job boards? Some companies only post available jobs on their websites. Others strictly rely on third-party sourcing agencies to find candidates. You could be missing out on opportunities by only searching on these sites. Recruiters give you access to jobs that are confidentially advertised or not yet posted on the internet. With more options to apply to, you have a better chance of finding the perfect position.
5. You stay in a database / or Recruiter’s ‘hotlist’.
Even if you aren’t hired for the first potential match, you stay in the recruiter’s database. Your CV isn’t scrapped if you aren’t accepted for the role. Instead, you’re kept on the recruiter’s database for future positions. Though you might think your information will get lost that’s not the case. Recruiters usetechthat make sorting candidates easy. The software pulls specific information from your resume and matches it to relevant jobs. When the right opening comes along, it’s likely your CV will surface.
If you would like to discuss your next strategic career move with us (in confidence), please get in touch with King Recruit on 01392 790725. E:enquiries@kingrecruit.com W: www.kingrecruit.com
King Recruit is a Management and Executive recruitment specialist based in Exeter, Devon and covering the whole South West region.