- People underestimate the amount of influence
that recruiters have throughout the job application process.
We also tend to underestimate the number
of prospective applicants that reach out
to recruiters on a daily basis.
In this video,
I'm gonna share the tips that help you stand out
from the crowd,
show you the three step process that's needed
to make this work and finally provide message templates
that have worked for both me and my community.
Here's the tip your message to the recruiter should end
with a request to put you in touch
with someone who's currently working the role
that you're applying for.
The three good reasons for this.
First of all, recruiters,
like most people want to help those who help themselves.
By sending this message you're clearly proactive
and are doing all the right things when it comes
to the job search process.
Secondly, believe it or not,
you're showing them that you're able
to problem-solve effectively,
a skill that is applicable to all industries.
You convey the fact that as an outside candidate,
you don't know nothing about the role
to make a judgment call on whether you're a good fit
or not yet.
However, you do know that the quickest way
to find out is to connect with someone working in
that exact capacity and asking them about it.
And that's completely fine. Even encouraged.
Finally, you come off as polite and considerate.
Yes, although you're still asking the recruiter for a favor,
this request as a lot more meaningful than the generic,
can I get 30 minutes to pick your brain message
and therefore it will help you stand out
in the recruiter's inbox.
On a side note,
and this is more related to general job search
than the topic of this video,
you should always make an effort to connect
with someone working in the position
that you're applying for.
Not only would this give you an unfair advantage
versus other the candidates come interview time,
but really does give you a better sense of whether the day
to day is a good fit for you or not.
You definitely don't wanna go
through the entire recruitment process,
get the job and find out the work is not what you signed up
for at all.
By the way, if you like this tip,
I have a Facebook group where I share exclusive weekly tips.
Consider joining, if you haven't already.
I'll link it down below.
Now you know what the trick is,
here's a three step process that will make it work.
Step one, as obvious as it sounds connect
with the recruiter first before bringing up this request.
If you've watched my how to connect on LinkedIn video,
you might remember that in order to get an engaged response
from your connection request,
you wanna write a message where number one,
you try to relate with them in some way.
Number two, you compliment them,
or number three,
you try and add some sort of value.
For example, let's say I were interested
in this product marketing position at Apple.
I might try to connect with the recruiter
by writing the following message.
Hi Annie. I see that we're both working
for MNC tech companies and based out of Shanghai.
I also notice you pursued your bachelor's degree at UNNC,
where our company recently ran a college outreach program.
Would love to connect if possible,
Notice I didn't bring up the position at all.
This first step is all about getting the recruiter
to accept my connection request and perhaps start
to engage with him or her.
Step two, and this is where the key takeaway
of this entire video comes in,
write the message asking to be connected
with someone working in the role that you're applying for.
Continue with the Apple example.
Hi Annie, thanks for accepting my connection request.
I saw a product marketing manager job posting
from two weeks ago,
and I'm currently doing a bit of research on the role
to see whether I'd be a good fit.
Would you happen to know anyone
on the team I can have a casual chat with
to better understand the position?
As a fellow product marketer working
in the tech space myself,
I'd love to learn more about the day to day
and team culture before bother you with specific questions
on the application process, thank you.
Several things I wanna point out here.
Number one, now that we're connected
and have established some sort of rapport,
I can afford to say and a longer message
without coming off as too direct or aggressive.
I try to distinguish myself from other candidates
by relating my experiences in product marketing,
to the job posting.
I also show consideration for her time
by mentioning how I wanna learn more
on my own before following up with her.
And finally, of course, the million dollar question,
asking her to connect me with someone on the team.
The third and final step,
following up with the recruiter after your conversation
with a team member.
The goal here is to stay top of mind with a recruiter
by reinforcing the fact that your desire
to join the company is now stronger than ever.
For example, here's how I would follow up.
Hi Annie, just wanted to close the loop
and let you know my conversation with Jane went very well.
Thank you again for putting us in touch.
I had no idea
that the iOS App Store was creating so many opportunities
for Greater China app developers while adhering
to Apple's strict privacy policies.
Chatting with Jane has only solidified my interest
in joining Apple's product marketing team in Shanghai
and I will love to send over my resume
for your review if convenient.
I sincerely believe the stakeholder management skills
I've developed during my time as a product marketer
at Google would transfer over well to this role at Apple.
Notice that I brought up something specific
from my conversation with Jane to show the recruiter
that my values are aligned with that of Apple's.
I reinforced my interest in joining their team and asked
to send over my resume as a next step,
which keeps a two way conversation going.
And finally, I bring up a specific skill
that I think the recruiter might be looking
for in a strong candidate.
And this is something you can easily ask the team member
as part of your conversation.
So those are the three steps.
Of course, I wanna address the possibility
that the recruiter
may not end up connecting you with anyone,
and that's totally fine.
Even if they reject your primary requests,
most recruiters will provide you with alternatives.
For example, they might say, oh, you know what?
I can answer any questions you might have about the role.
Perfect, you just got 30 minutes to chat with a recruiter
for the role that you want,
or they might say,
why don't you send over your resume first,
I'll forward it along to the hiring manager
and they'll see if someone's able
to reach out for a chat.
Awesome, your resume just got forwarded along as opposed
to being lost in the system.
What I'm trying to get at is that all
of these alternatives are better
than reaching out through a recruiter
in a generic fashion and hoping
that the default connection request is able
to help you stand out from the crowd.
All right, that's it.
Please give this video a like if you found this tip helpful
and comment down below if you plan on using it
for your next opportunity.
It really does help me and the channel a lot.
If in the off chance my manager comes across this video,
please know that the Apple example
was completely hypothetical and I used it
for illustration purposes only.
Subscribe if you haven't already,
see you in the next video,
in the meantime, have a great one.
(soft music)
