Job Search Tip: How to Attract a Recruiter’s Attention
OK, so this title isn’t nearly as cool as the title of the article I want to talk about: How to Headhunt the Headhunters, by Tara Weiss from Forbes.com. But, that’s the way it goes. The article got my attention and it has some great information I want to pass along to you.
First, don’t just send your resume out indiscriminately. I get the concept of “flooding the market” with your info, but it just doesn’t work.
What does work? Find a recruiter who specializes in your field. I am a medical sales recruiter, so I specialize in placing people in sales, marketing and management for medical sales, clinical diagnostics, research and laboratory products, biotech products, imaging, pathology, DNA, cellular, molecular, histology, medical supplies, hospital equipment, surgical supplies, pharmaceuticals…you get the idea. But, if you send me a cover letter, you’d better make it effortless for me to skim it quickly and get the facts I need.
Use your network. If you know someone who knows a recruiter, get them to introduce you. Or, use social networks to do the same thing. LinkedIn (I’m on that one) is a great resource.
Get your name out there. Make yourself visible by attending conferences (better yet, offer to speak at one) or by writing articles for blogs or industry newsletters.
Finally, any recruiters you do come in contact with should be a part of your network that you maintain, so pass along names of others if you can. Do your part to help others, and when it’s your turn to need help…you’ll most likely get it.
Any comments?
Job Search Tip: Complete the Entire Job Application
PHC Loves the Dark Daily
The Dark Daily is very informative, up-to-the-minute FREE e-briefing for everyone in medical sales, pathology sales, imaging sales, clinical diagnostics sales and laboratory sales. Keep up with your industry with articles like: Convergence of In Vivo Imaging and Digitized Pathology Is Under Way, from October 3. Sign up here. Then, let me know what you think of it.
PHC Consulting’s You Tube Channel: job candidate’s survival guide!
In my constant quest to get the word out about PHC Consulting’s top-of-the-line recruiting and employment opportunities in all areas of medical sales, I started a blog. And the blog was good. I have covered information relevant to all aspects of job searching, interviewing, networking, and sales training for pharmaceutical sales, laboratory sales, clinical diagnostics sales, cellular/molecular products sales, medical equipment and supplies sales. That kind of information has been popular, and it has increased traffic to my site from about 50 hits a week to about 500 a day. And then I found YouTube. I started encapsulating my nuggets of wisdom into a video format and posted them, and have had over 11,000 views on my channel in the last 4 months. Needless to say, I am thrilled with the response.
Here’s a summary of what’s currently available:
1) Intro to PHC Consulting: Explains who we are and what we do.
2) Seven Resume Tips for Getting Hired: Use bullet points, objectives (not cover letters), keep it brief, and learn to use keywords.
3) 30/60/90-Day Plans for Job Interviews: Our most popular post. How to lay out a plan for your first 90 days that will wow your interviewer. Get a proven, job-winning 30/60/90-Day Sales Plan here.
4) Discussing Money (salary negotiations): When to bring it up, and what to say when you’re asked about it.
5) How to Ace Panel Interviews: How to gather business cards, how to deal with the group as a whole as well as how to deal with individuals. Don’t forget the thank you letters.
6) Capital Equipment Sales vs. Consumable Sales–Get Hired!: Explains the difference, including the customer psychology behind the decision.
7) Tip for How to Get a Medical Sales Job: Think about job shadowing someone in the field. Knowledge is power.
8) How to Ace the Behavioral Interview: Explains what they are, and how to deal with them–have stories/examples ready, and be able to quantify your results as much as possible.
9) Interview Tips for Hiring Top Sales Reps: Includes ideas such as, use a results-based decision-making process, watch the “tells,” use an assessment tool.
10) Interview Tips: Closing in the Interview for a Job Offer: How to uncover objections and answer them, and how to read “buying signals” that indicate success.
11) The Clinical Laboratory Explained: a PowerPoint tutorial for anyone interested in sales, sales management, marketing, or technical service/support in clinical diagnostics or laboratory products. The Quick Start Guide explains the different areas of medical/research laboratory work (Histology, Phlebotomy, Hematology, Microbiology/Bacteriology, Chemistry, Blood Bank, and Molecular) and how the tests (different assays that are used to determine if disease is present, whether it is responding to medication and even, what medications will be most effective) and products (the analyzers, the reagents, and the other tangible items that are used to provide the end result to the attending physician) available fit within those areas. Very in-depth.
12) Networking for the Medical Sales Job–Career Tips: How to compile and maintain a pool of resources.
13) What is a Brag Book for Job Interviews?: Specific ideas for what to include in a brag book, and why it’s important.
14) How to Use a Brag Book to Get the Job: What to put in it, when to show it, and how to present it.
Are there any other topics you’d like the medical sales recruiter to address?
It wasn’t the job interview questions that cost you the job!
If I told you there was a very good way to DECREASE your chances of getting a job in medical sales (laboratory sales, pharmaceutical sales, clinical diagnostics sales, imaging sales, DNA products sales, hospital equipment sales, medical device sales, surgical supplies sales, or any healthcare sales) BY OVER 30%, you’d want to know what it was so you could avoid that at all costs, right? Here it is: it’s your Facebook page. Or your MySpace page, or other social networking site page.
Steven Rothberg, from CollegeRecruiter.com, believes that as many as 75% of employers check social networking sites on all job candidates (I always check), and wondered how many are influenced by what they see. He found a survey from Career Builder that says that 34% of employers admit to dismissing a candidate from consideration because of what they posted on social networking sites.
I am amazed at the raunchy stuff people put out there for anyone to see. I always look, and I won’t back a candidate who “exhibits” such unprofessional behavior. Don’t let Facebook keep you from getting that new job.
What’s your opinion?
Corporate Website
-
Mailing List
