I've been an executive headhunter for many years. For folks that don't know, a headhunter (exact same thing as a recruiter) goes out and finds very specific individuals to fill very specific positions at client companies. If we pull that off, there is a nice commission included, if we do not, well, we starve. So, recruiters end up very proficient at not only finding qualified people (the easier, not easy, part) but (the most crucial part) at preparing men and women to talk about all of the right things replying to their phone interview questions and later face to face meetings.
I'm a great believer in marketing an applicant (That's recruiter-talk for the person seeking the position) utilizing a cohesive marketing plan. This involves three key components: The 30-second Elevator Pitch, The 180-second Tell Me a Little Bit About Yourself, and The Resume. All three are created focusing on the most impressive, specific achievements of the applicant.
To start, looking back over job history, and just the career history that concerns the job being sought, identify the three highest impact specific successes. These have to be examples of going above and beyond that really jump out. Also, they should include specific numbers whenever possible. As an illustration, "I was the # 1 producing sales rep out of Five hundred in 2004 for producing over $50 million throughout my territory. That was a gain of 36% from the previous year." Most people probably don't have something that ideal, but get as near to the mark as is practical. It could be "I ran a $10 million dollar company with 87 employees for 7 years." Now, list out those three components in order from greatest to least.
The Elevator Pitch is a short 20 to 30 second initial introduction which is used during a phone call when contacting somebody new. In quick order, give your name, the number of years you've been in the profession, a 1 line version of your best accomplishment, and the reason you are calling. It might sound like this, "Hello, I'm Dean Jawarski. I've been an executive recruiter for Fifteen years. During that period of time I've placed over 200 software engineers at X company alone. I was wondering if we could discuss any positions you might have available?" If that goes well, that pitch might turn into a conversation or at least result in one being scheduled.
"Tell me a little bit about yourself", stands out as the beginning question of most interviews. It's a wide open opportunity to set the tone for what is to follow. Again, repeat the elevator pitch, but this time get deeply into all three of your major accomplishments in depth. It should take two or three minutes. Then end it with a statement that those accomplishments as well as your work history on the whole are what make you a very good fit.
As far as the resume, it will also be built to highlight those three major accomplishments and perhaps two more. Many interviewers will make use of the resume as a general road map for that conversation going down it in order. If they do, this piece of paper will lead them straight to all of the success stories aforementioned.
Ultimately, the net result is an exceptionally concise and well put together presentation of all your best strengths that has been stated and restated several times.
I'm a great believer in marketing an applicant (That's recruiter-talk for the person seeking the position) utilizing a cohesive marketing plan. This involves three key components: The 30-second Elevator Pitch, The 180-second Tell Me a Little Bit About Yourself, and The Resume. All three are created focusing on the most impressive, specific achievements of the applicant.
To start, looking back over job history, and just the career history that concerns the job being sought, identify the three highest impact specific successes. These have to be examples of going above and beyond that really jump out. Also, they should include specific numbers whenever possible. As an illustration, "I was the # 1 producing sales rep out of Five hundred in 2004 for producing over $50 million throughout my territory. That was a gain of 36% from the previous year." Most people probably don't have something that ideal, but get as near to the mark as is practical. It could be "I ran a $10 million dollar company with 87 employees for 7 years." Now, list out those three components in order from greatest to least.
The Elevator Pitch is a short 20 to 30 second initial introduction which is used during a phone call when contacting somebody new. In quick order, give your name, the number of years you've been in the profession, a 1 line version of your best accomplishment, and the reason you are calling. It might sound like this, "Hello, I'm Dean Jawarski. I've been an executive recruiter for Fifteen years. During that period of time I've placed over 200 software engineers at X company alone. I was wondering if we could discuss any positions you might have available?" If that goes well, that pitch might turn into a conversation or at least result in one being scheduled.
"Tell me a little bit about yourself", stands out as the beginning question of most interviews. It's a wide open opportunity to set the tone for what is to follow. Again, repeat the elevator pitch, but this time get deeply into all three of your major accomplishments in depth. It should take two or three minutes. Then end it with a statement that those accomplishments as well as your work history on the whole are what make you a very good fit.
As far as the resume, it will also be built to highlight those three major accomplishments and perhaps two more. Many interviewers will make use of the resume as a general road map for that conversation going down it in order. If they do, this piece of paper will lead them straight to all of the success stories aforementioned.
Ultimately, the net result is an exceptionally concise and well put together presentation of all your best strengths that has been stated and restated several times.
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