I’ve spent a good part of my life advising people on various subjects… ok, true, much of the advice, has been totally unsolicited. But there is one subject that my friends and family ask me about: their stalled job search. I got a call from my cousin’s husband yesterday and he fired questions at me like, ‘How do I get a recruiter to call me?’ ‘How do I get my foot in the door at X?’ and ‘How do I chuck my boring job and find a better one?’. I thought some of the advice I shared with him, might also benefit you!
As with anything, there are probably really big things you can do to change the trajectory of your career (life!?), but I’m going to share a few really simple things you can do. I’m not going to give you magic tips on what key words to put in your resume or which font will get the most call-backs. I’m going to go ahead and assume you know about spell-check.
If you invested time in a tedious and endless application process (albeit a necessary evil), do yourself a favor and:
1) Answer your frickin phone. This seems simple. You want to talk to recruiters. Recruiters don’t want to chase you. If you notice an unknown number, or a number you don’t recognize, answer in your most professional voice “Hello, This is Betsy!” Answer the call, expecting it to be a recruiter. Sound enthusiastic and focused. Do not ignore that call. Answer your phone. The lowest hanging fruit get picked. Might not be the shiniest apple. Or the sweetest. Ok, enough of the fruit metaphor. You get it. Answer your phone.
2) Listen to your voicemail. What the what!? You already ignored my first point!? Dang. You’re one tough customer. Ok, maybe you were in the middle of a really, really, really important meeting. Or a 20 minute midday shower. For whatever the reason, you missed the call. Ok. Correct your mistake. Listen to your effen vmail immediately. Return the call within the hour — at the latest! That recruiter is over-scheduled with other applicants. S/he might be difficult to reach. By missing your window, ahem, you might have already blown your big chance.
3) Empty your voicemail. This is related to #1 & #2. And again, it seems really simple… but if I didn’t experience so many auto-messages from that vmail lady when she says “I’m sorry, the person you are trying to reach has a mailbox that is full”. Ugh!! Seriously!? Do you think I’m going to call again? I’ve got 100 other applicants. I’m not going to chase you.
You’re going to figure it out.
betsyrowbottom 