This is part of an ongoing series in which I’m answering questions from job seekers. Please post your questions in the comments section below to be answered in future articles. Please include your name and location if you want to be addressed by name; otherwise the question will be attributed to “Anonymous.”
Cartoon by Hugh
Stephanie,
I have a fresh question for you! I was reviewing employment opportunities on [a well-known website.] To contact a recruiter, this site suggests the following message as an example:
Hi Recruiter,
You and I may be able to help each other out. I’m a top-performing sales professional with 15 years experience in the semiconductor space in the southeast. I’m a senior-level professional who is just as comfortable running the show as getting my hands dirty. I’m looking to develop new markets and drive a quota-busting team to succeed. I hope to hear from you soon and look forward to working with you.
Best, Cheezy Desperate Job Seeker
Due to a recruiter’s workload, shouldn’t one’s message be a bit more truncated? What type of message would pull you in to view a resume?
I hope all is well with you!
Respectfully,
Kevin J. Acker, MA, Owner/Principal, Panoptic Consulting Group
Duluth, MN
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Hi Kevin,
I’m glad you asked because that message is hokey and recruiters do NOT like hokey. The people who would send that message with their resume are the same people who would print their resume on blue paper with bunnies all over it and MAIL it to a recruiter and I do not recommend doing any of those things.
I prefer a courteous and brief introduction: how did you find me/my firm, why are you contacting me, what do you want to do in your next job, and are you willing to relocate.
This way I can review the resume against current openings and see if I have anything for that person at the moment. If I don’t, but I’m impressed with the candidate, I’ll ask them to touch base with me once a month so that I can keep them in mind as new opportunities arise.
Hope this helps!
Stephanie
