Candidate Guide

Work the relationship,
not just the job.

A recruiter can find you one opening. A relationship with a recruiter can help you see an entire organization, and who inside it might already know your name.

01

Ask who manages the client relationship

"Who is the account manager or person who oversees this client?"

Ask before you hang up. You may never need the answer, but if your recruiter goes quiet, you'll already know who else is accountable for that company relationship.

02

Ask another recruiter to help you map the organization

If you have a trusted staffing contact in your network, call them and explain your situation. Ask them to pull up Sales Navigator and walk the company roster with you.

  • Find the engineering managers
  • Find the directors and VPs
  • Identify who actually leads the team
  • Look for names you already know

One candidate had no idea a former manager of his had moved to the exact company he was targeting. It really can be a small world.

03

Ask the recruiter how they'd approach the hiring manager

"If you were me, how would you approach this person?"

Don't just ask for an email address, ask for a strategy. A good recruiter can weigh in on:

  • Call or email first
  • What to say in the first message
  • Connect on LinkedIn first?
  • Send your resume up front, or not
  • How to position your experience
  • Whether the role is posted anywhere
  • How to earn the hiring manager's attention
  • Who could make a warm introduction

Your staffing relationship is a resource

Candidates often see it as a narrow transaction. Recruiters who know you well can offer far more.

The narrow view
Call when you need a job They find an opening You interview You get it, or you don't
The real relationship
  • Market knowledge
  • Recruiting tools you don't have access to
  • Insight into how organizations are structured
  • A read on how hiring managers think
  • Relationships already inside your target company
  • Connections you simply can't see from the outside

That's exactly what happened for one QA engineer. While he waited on a slow response, I helped him find another path in. That path led to the interview.