Job-seekers: The Power of Networking

Unless you’re a perfect match for an open job that needs to be filled immediately, applying directly is the least effective way to get a call from a recruiter. I’ve written a number of posts in this LinkedIn series and a complete book on what to do once you get the interview, so let me use this article to help job-seekers improve their odds of getting the all-important first call.

A short story will help set the stage. I just received an email from an old acquaintance, a marketing professor at a major university in southern California. I haven’t seen him for at least 10 years, so I was surprised to get the email. He attached a resume of one of his students saying “he’s my best marketing student this year, and if you’re looking for an intern, pick this guy up right away.” The resume itself was underwhelming. The skill set was average, the format was bland, and the writing was mediocre. But the endorsement was first class. I’m now in contact with the student, even though I don’t need another marketing intern, but you never know what can happen.

Endorsements matter. Strong endorsements from influential people matter more. In priority order from best to least best, here’s my I advice for job-seekers on how to get noticed by recruiters if your skills and experience are not a perfect match for the requirements stated in the open job description. I’ve assigned a rough value score from 1-100 for each technique in comparison to applying directly to a job posting.

1. Get referred by an influential person who can vouch for your performance (100X). This is gold in the hands of a recruiter, particularly if the recruiter personally knows the referrer. This is the best way for a strong candidate without the prerequisites to obtain an instant interview. It's almost as effective as being promoted internally.

2. Get referred by a less trusted source who can vouch for your performance (50X). This is comparable to the email story above. I don’t really know the referrer well, but his position and the wording of the email was enough for me to review the resume. It’s hard to resist someone going out of his or her way to vouch for another person.

3. Get recommended by an influential person even if they can’t vouch for your performance (20X). I get these all of the time, but if the person I know is just passing the resume forward, I don’t give it much credence. If I had an open spot though, I’d definitely review the resume as a courtesy to the referrer, and if it the candidate had a strong resume, I’d make contact.

4. Get recommended by anyone within the company even if they don’t know you too well (10X). In this case the quality of the referrer becomes the differentiator and the less credible, the less the referral is worth. Regardless, if the recruiter has a need to fill the position, the person’s resume would at least get to the top of the stack and be personally reviewed.

5. Bypass the gatekeepers (10X). Unless your skill and experience set is a perfect match to what’s required, your resume will not be reviewed by a live person. To get around this you’ll need to go on LinkedIn and find the head of the department for the job or the hiring manager and be bold, different and creative. For example if the company is looking for a marketing analyst send a cool Prezi competitive analysis presentation to the hiring manager, or the white paper you presented as part of your KickStart project. (Note: these are just ideas. The key is to be different in how you present yourself. Key: think beyond the resume.)

6. By found more easily by reverse engineering your LinkedIn Profile and online resume (10X). Recruiters are constantly searching their resume databases using the skill terms listed on the job descriptions. So if you want to be found make sure you include these same terms on your resume, then go to Google, LinkedIn or Indeed.com and search for people with these terms. If your resume or profile is not on the first page, look at those that are listed, and do what they did to get there.

7. Perfect match on skills and apply (10X). As long as the job is still open and a high-priority for the recruiter, you’ll be contacted directly.

8. Not perfect match on skills and apply (1X). Good luck.

Getting referred by an influential person is the ideal way to get a call from a recruiter. Pushing the "Apply Now" button and filling in the application and associated questionnaire is the least effective and most frustrating way. Sending your resume directly to a recruiter isn’t even on the list. But getting noticed is only the first of many steps in getting the job you deserve. At this next stage presentation matters, but performance matters more.

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Lou Adler is the Amazon best-selling author of Hire With Your Head (Wiley, 2007) and the award-winning Nightingale-Conant audio program, Talent Rules! His latest book, The Essential Guide for Hiring & Getting Hired, is now available as an Amazon Kindle eBook.