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5 Things You Can Do To Get A Recruiter’s Attention

Have you just come across an amazing digital role that not only excites you, but also seems the right fit for your career trajectory? I’m sure you’re now wondering how you can capture the recruiter’s attention and stand out amongst a sea of applicants.

Here are five tips to get you started. 

 

1. Do Your Due Diligence Research-Wise

While researching the role is a given, devote some time to scrolling through the recruiter and company’s website as well. Consider their:

  • History 
  • Culture
  • Work processes
  • Recent accolades
  • Press coverage
  • Fit into the industry at large

You can also pay attention to the individual recruiter themselves (if you have their details). Look through their professional and social media profiles, taking particular note of their LinkedIn activity. 

 

2. Consider Connecting Personally

While some online research is helpful, taking the step of connecting personally can bring great rewards. It may be worth calling the recruiter on the premise of finding out more about the role. It not only demonstrates your interest and enthusiasm for the position, but gets your name in their head for when you send through your application and optimised resume (see next tip).

 

3. Optimise Your CV With The Right Keywords 

Many recruiters now use automated software to scan resumes, and select or reject candidates based on specific keywords. This is why it’s important to optimise your CV to beat those bots. Your CV should contain the right keywords, along with fully searchable work history and education sections, and the right layout. 

If you’re not sure how to do this, a recruitment consultant can help, or you can review this Glassdoor article

 

4. Tweak Your Resume So You’re Showing, Not Telling

A recruiter’s main aim is to quickly find an applicant they’re confident can do their advertised job. If your cover letter and resume can clearly demonstrate this, you’re ahead of the rest.

The best way is to review the job description and key responsibilities, and relate that to your achievements in those areas. So instead of just saying “Developed a helpdesk application for XYZ company”, you could expand to: 

“Developed a helpdesk application that tracked support tickets, and captured and analysed customer data. Management used these statistics to identify customer complaint trends and implemented solutions to address them. This resulted in a 30% reduction in customer complaints.”

As many tech roles involve team work, it can be tricky to quantify your part in the team outcome. If you’re in this situation, you can still state the overall problem solved, but highlight your individual part. So it might be a specific area of code you owned, or the expertise you provided in a certain technology. 

You could also think about your CVs layout, particularly if you have had a career filled with multiple contracting roles. Rather than going for a chronological structure – where the most relevant job to the one you’re applying for may be buried on page three – you could implement a project-based structure. This can be arranged into four categories: title and role, duration, technologies used and description. 

 

5. Build Your Personal Brand On LinkedIn

Most recruiters have LinkedIn as one of the tools in their candidate sourcing (and vetting) toolkit. Given this, the platform is a great way to craft and maintain your personal brand.

This comprehensive article covers all you need to know to nurture your personal brand on LinkedIn. It includes tips on:

  • Fine-tuning your profile
  • Showcasing relevant skills
  • Making the right connections
  • Asking for endorsements and recommendations
  • How to get involved in industry conversations

Some extra tips:

  1. Include information about your passions and interests on LinkedIn. This helps the recruiter get a feel for your personality, and differentiates you from other applicants.
  2. Be sure to review your digital footprint. This article will assist, ensuring the image you’re projecting to recruiters is accurate and appropriate.

 

Need More Help?

Hopefully these five tips are just what you need to snag that recruiter’s attention, and secure an interview for the digital role you desire. But if you’d like some further insider tips about what recruiters look for, or some help with interview prep, please let the team here at Finite know.

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