Why Work With Specialized Recruiters?

Insurance is purchased before an accident happens  You choose a primary doctor when you initiate new health insurance coverage. You identify a dentist before you need a root canal.  Isn’t your career important enough to you to proactively identify and promote yourself to recruiters who specialize in recruiting in your discipline of skill?

Do your research to find highly specialized recruiters who specialize in recruiting your skill set before your boat is taking on water and sinking. Build relationships with these recruiters proactively so you’re already know to them when you need them or when they have opportunity for you.

Learn to identify specialized recruiters

“Headhunters” who specialize in recruiting skills such as Information Security, Disaster Recovery and Business Continuity are not difficult to find. These recruiters are specialized because they are focused in their respective disciplines and don’t generally stretch  outside of their areas of expertise. Many different ways exist to identify these recruiting specialists.   For example, you’ll find specialized recruiters through business and social networks.  LinkedIn is a gret place to search for a security recruiter for example.  Recruiting specialists are found in directories of specialized recruiters on-line and through search engines. Don’t forget to ask your peers who they know of who is specialized in recruiting your particular set of skills. Once you have found one, which is again the easy part, here are some ways to manage your relationship with them.  

  • Corporate clients set expectations for specialized recruiters to deliver to

Specialized recruiters are hired by companies  that want the industry’s top talent. When a specialized recruiter takes on a search, the parameters of the search are generally very tight and the bar of expectation on the hiring manager’s side of the desk sits very high.  Empoyers who are committing a search fee   to a specialized recruiter set higher expectations than employers who fill their own jobs without the help of specialized outside recruiters.  You have to make yourself stand out from the crowd and, you have to be at the top of your profession for a highly specialized recruiter to be able to place you with one of their clients.

  • Create a plan for introducing yourself to a specialized recruiter

Before you reach out to a specialized recruiter to make yourself known, think through your objectives.  If you intend to use email to register your first impression, take the time to write a carefully developed cover letter. Your cover letter should be written in executive summary format. It should be spell and grammar checked. A well-written cover letter will provide compelling enough information in bite-sized portions to make the recipient of the cover letter want to read your attached resume. If you choose to use the phone to make your first introduction, speak clearly, make the purpose of your call easy to understand,  spell your name clearly and report your phone number more than one time.   Make your first impression one that will cause the specialized recruiter to want to call you back.   

  • Get to know specialized recruiters before you need them

Companies that have highly strategic and extremely challenging positions to fill frequently call on specialized recruiters. One could say that specialized recruiters frequently sit on some of the most lucrative, challenging, sought-after and compelling positions in industry. Think of these positions as career advancing positions that aren’t always advertised and frequently fly below the radar screen.  Who lands in these great jobs?  The first professionals to receive calls from specialized recruiters are professionals who have proactively built relationships with highly specialized recruiters at times when the professional isn’t in need of a new job.  

  • Strong career moves require careful planning

Build relationships with recruiters who specialize in recruiting your skill set and your phone could ring unexpectedly to discuss just the right career move that you weren’t looking for but you might be ready to pursue. Highly specialized recruiters can frequently be your bridge to greater opportunity.