"Why Don’t Recruiters Call Me?" - 06/08/22 Edition
Stephen Says Column
Dear Stephen,Why don’t you ever call me? Seriously, why don’t you or the other recruiters ever reach out to me about job opportunities? Even if I am not interested I may know someone for the job. I am in my early 40’s, I am a sales rep and I love my job and the company I work for, but I would like to feel professionally recognized beyond praise from my boss and that means calls about jobs from recruiters or calls from my competitors who want me. Hey, you never know, the grass may be greener, but I will never know if no one calls me. The other nice thing about someone calling me about a job is that it keeps me in the know about my worth. If I hear about another job like the one I have that paid more money, that is a sure way to tell I am not making enough.
What gives? I feel like I lost my career mojo, and I am still in my prime.
What’s the secret for me to create some buzz and recognition to stay on the radar of recruiters and my competitors who may be hiring?
Signed,
Feeling Unwanted
Dear Unwanted,
It is not always about you! We’re all extremely busy. But here’s a little advice that that will help you plan your “career mojo”. Just think about what good recruiters do to find the best candidates. They cold call your customers – end users, design firms and dealers - to ask who the best reps are in the marketplace. If you are doing a good job at your current position, you will create the buzz, and that buzz comes from your satisfied customers.
However, my real secret tip is to simply list your personal cell phone number and personal email on your LinkedIn profile. It is as simple as that. Remember you cannot be called or contacted if no one knows how to reach you. Ethical recruiters and HR people or a sales manager from your competitors may not call you on your work phone and will not be sending you emails to your work email. Yes, recruiters and other employers do still contact people through LinkedIn on InMail but that is more work, with inconsistent results, because not everyone checks or responds to InMail so many recruiters don’t go there. Make yourself easy to reach and your phone will be ringing off the hook. But what is the point of that if you are happy in your job? The point is to “know your worth”. and to stay relevant in the market. You can only do that when you make yourself easy to reach. So, when you finish reading this column, go on to your LinkedIn and edit your profile with your personal mail and your personal cell phone. And while you’re at it, make sure that your resume is up-to-date and make sure your LinkedIn profile matches your resume.
Ok, ok, you may love your job today, but there is always tomorrow, and what happens if your company gets acquired or merges with a larger company? What happens if you boss leaves for a better position and the new boss doesn’t like you or you don’t like him or her? What happens if you lose your largest account? Sorry about all the doom and gloom, I’m just saying be smart and be prepared. Know your own worth and know what’s out there. If you are not getting those calls about jobs today, it is not because you are not good, it may just be that you made yourself too hard to reach and the person who is easy to reach is going to get the call first.
You may be a great salesperson, a hard worker, your customers love you and you are the top producer in your region, but if I cannot easily contact you, if I have to dig too far into social media, I may call someone else. It is so easy to make yourself reachable on LinkedIn, just go do it. You will be glad you did. One missed call could be one missed job.
Stephen