The Benefits Of Working With A Recruiter To Find Your First Job

Growing up, people around you always stress the importance of going to school and getting good grades so you can get a good job. As you progress through school (college or even graduate school) and get closer to the “real world,” the anxiety surrounding the job search slowly starts to creep in. Finding that coveted first job doesn’t need to be such an arduous process! Thanks to the efforts of recruiters, finding a job, whether it is your first or just a change of scenery, can be made easier.

Working with a recruiter can be intimidating for both rookie and job veteran job seekers alike. Although there are a variety of resources available, there remains a lot of unknowns about the process. At NexGoal, we specialize in placing former athletes and job seekers with the athlete mindset in new careers nationwide. Our recruiting team works tirelessly to take the stress out of the job search and help you find your first or next job.

We asked our recruiting team for some advice they would give to job seekers of all experience levels and how they can aid your job search. Here are some of their responses:

“One misconception I come across is candidates think they have to pay to work with a recruiter. That is not the case with NexGoal.”

“Recruiters take the stress of job searches off recent grads by matching them up with interested clients and making sure we help them through the steps of the interview process.”

“Some companies only use recruiters for filling open positions, which means candidates wouldn’t even know the position exists without working with the recruiter.”

“We help them [job seekers] gain confidence in interviewing and make them fully aware of employer expectations.”

“Recruiters can provide valuable information about the company including interview prep, company background, etc.”

“We are another resource to get job seekers the best chance at receiving a job offer as soon as possible.”

Our recruiting team is not alone in recognizing the benefits of working with a recruiter. In an article for TheMuse, Erin Doyon, a Talent Acquisition Consultant at Philips, shared some ways to leverage a relationship with a recruiter when trying to land your first job.

Optimize Your Resume And Cover Letter

Your first impression to employers comes in the form of your resume, so it is crucial to make sure that it stands out in a positive way. Many employers use an applicant tracking system to weed out job seekers that fit their mold. An ATS identifies candidates whose resumes fall into certain parameters, often using keywords that they are looking for. A recruiter can help you tailor your resume to best stand out to employers. If you want a head start on this process, Doyon recommends using a tool like Jobscan to optimize your resume and cover letter with the right keywords based on the job description you’re applying for. When tailoring your resume, make sure you include these five essentials but eliminate these overused phrases!

Communicate Your Interests And Goals

What is it that you want to accomplish in your career? What kind of jobs are you looking for in order to meet that expectation? It is important to ask yourself these questions prior to not only applying to jobs but also working with a recruiter. If you can’t figure out what you want to do, chances are a recruiter won’t be able to help you.

One way you can get an idea of what you want to do is through informational interviews. Not only can these help you figure out your career goals, but informational interviews are also a great way to build your network. In doing so, a recruiter can essentially play “matchmaker” for you and connect you to people in your industry of choice.

Make It Easy For Recruiters To Advocate For You

A recruiter’s job is to essentially sell the best, most qualified candidates to various hiring managers. To help them do their job correctly, help them help you. In your discussions with a recruiter, be forthcoming and honest with information. If you aren’t interested in a certain job, tell them as such. Ghosting is becoming more and more popular in the hiring process and is one of the top frustrations for recruiters and human resources professionals alike.

The more information you give a recruiter, the easier it is for them to advocate for you throughout the hiring process. Doyon recommends “humble assertiveness,” and says, “Be willing to do anything, especially because the stereotype of the millennial is that they’re too good for some entry-level jobs. This dream job you want comes from dedication and enthusiasm. If you really want a job, express that to a recruiter. On the other end of the coin, if you aren’t interested in the opportunity, you should express that as well. This is information the recruiter needs to know in order to best portray you to the employer.

One of the easiest ways to stand out to both employers and recruiters is to be diligent in your follow-ups after a conversation. Chances are most people don’t think to follow up with a recruiter, but are more focused on impressing the employer with a follow up. In doing so with a recruiter, you are continuing to make it easier for them to advocate on your behalf.

Wrap Up

Recruiters can take a lot of the stress and anxiety out of your job search, but it all starts with being open and accepting of their help. There are things you can do to make their job easier, which in turn, will also improve your chances of landing a job. If you’re a recent college grad looking for your first job and haven’t considered enlisting a recruiter’s help, now you know some things to consider when creating a relationship with one!

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Three for Thursday: 3 Cs of Personal Branding

“If you don’t like what’s being said, change the conversation.”

These were wise words spoken by legendary Mad Men character, Don Draper. They are especially wise in the context of personal branding.

There are many students who have just graduated college this past semester who are now faced with the task of finding employment. With unemployment at 4.9 percent, competition has lessened for many positions and job seekers can be more selective in their employment choices. This doesn’t mean it’s easier to get the job you always wanted. You’re not going to get noticed with the same cookie- cutter business graduate resume that 95% of your peers or going to put out there. So how do you make yourself different? Change the conversation. Create the personal brand that you want employers to see and not what they are expecting. The following are the “Three C’s” of personal branding and they can change the conversation to get you noticed.

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Create

Your Message

It all starts with creating your message.

One of our favorite stories from last year was the story of Nina Mufleh. Mufleh’s dream job was to work for Airbnb. She tried to get in touch with the company through job postings and emails but had no luck. That’s when she decided to think outside the box. She ended up creating a website for herself that highlighted her knowledge of Airbnb and the travel industry, how she thinks they could improve, and how she was qualified to work at Airbnb. Her efforts ended up getting noticed by both Airbnb’s CMO and CEO and she eventually got an interview with the company.

What Mufleh did was create something that no one else had thought of doing and an opportunity presented itself. She realized that there were other people who probably were as qualified or more qualified than herself on paper and she decided to change the conversation to highlight her knowledge of Airbnb and the travel industry. Everyone has a resume and a LinkedIn. What can you create that someone else doesn’t have? You don’t necessarily have to create a website but maybe start a blog that demonstrates your knowledge in a specific area. If you’re a numbers guy, create a new statistical model or formula. Take an area that you are strong in and display it in a way that is original and creative.

Customize

IMG_1246

Creating a unique experience can help you stand out.

A quick marketing lesson: When trying to create brand awareness, one needs a clear message that highlights their brand in such a way that resonates with the target market while differentiating itself from different brands. Let’s use bottled water as an example. Company A might claim that their water comes from mountain springs and is therefore more natural and refreshing than other brands. Company B may claim that the material used to bottle their water is more bio degradable than other brands and is therefore more eco-friendly. Both companies are selling the same product, however they are customizing their message to appeal to a specific target market amongst bottled water consumers.

This is the same process you should be using when applying for a job. How are you going to customize your message and differentiate your personal brand so that it appeals to the company you’re applying for? If you’re applying for a job in sports highlight your athletic experience and how it coincides with the position. If it is an international job, highlight relevant traveling you’ve done and the knowledge you gained from the experience. Overall, you want to establish a brand that is unique and can’t be duplicated by another candidate.

Connect

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Reaching out is key!

If you’ve been following our blog series, you already know that we have touched on the importance of connecting and networking in our “Life After Graduation” blog. It is however well worth our time to reiterate how valuable connecting and networking can be. Connecting is what ties the first two C’s together. You can create and customize your personal brand all you want, but if you do not build an audience your brand and message will fall on deaf ears. Humans by nature do not like unfamiliarity. Make your brand known and easily recognizable. Familiarity is what can separate you from another candidate.

Athletes have a particular advantage when it comes to connecting their personal brands. “Athletes get a lot of chances to meet people in their community. Events like fundraisers and booster events are a great way to integrate yourself into the local community and meet people of influence.” says NexGoal CEO Kevin Dahl. “Mingle, get business cards, and follow up with these contacts.  You have a great opportunity to be put in front of the people that may hire you.  Make a good impression and seize the opportunity!” Putting yourself in situations where you are surrounded by people who have influence can make all the difference in gaining the attention you desire.

Summary

Are you ready to change the conversation and get your dream job? Follow the “Three C’s” of personal branding and you will effectively put yourself in the driver seat of accomplishing your goal.

Take the First Step

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3 Job Seeking Lessons You Can Learn from LeBron James

As former athletes, you likely attempt to find inspiration and learn lessons from those who have been in similar positions as you. Though many may not think they have much in common with a millionaire superstar like LeBron James of the Cleveland Cavaliers, you actually have more in common than you think when it comes to your job search.

Since James burst into the league in 2003 as the No. 1 overall pick of the Cavaliers, he has experienced the highs and lows of this league. James single-handedly revitalized a franchise and took them to their first-ever NBA Finals appearance in 2007. He then became a hated figured across the league, announcing he would leave that team to “Take His Talents to South Beach” just a few short years later on national television. Then in a turn of events made for reality television, four years later he would opt out of that contract in South Beach and return to Cleveland in an attempt to bring the city its first professional sports championship since 1964.

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Throughout his career, James has become an international icon at a level only Michael Jordan and Kobe Bryant have experienced in recent basketball history. But he did not get to that level by simply showing up and playing basketball. A lot of positive experiences, failures and lessons learned from his peers have brought James to become the redemption seeking leader of the Cavaliers—a team that is currently seven wins from delivering their city that elusive professional sports championship.

So, what exactly can you learn from James’ career to this point to apply to your own job search? A lot more than you will read in this article, but in the spirit of “Three for Thursday” we have highlighted three things specifically that will help job seekers like yourself.

Your work is not done after you land the job

LeBron James Rookie

LeBron James as a rookie was a completely different player than the one he has grown into. Photo Credit: NBA.com

James has come a long way from the raw, gifted athlete the Cavaliers drafted No. 1 overall out of St. Vincent-St. Mary’s high school in Akron, Ohio. Even though he was an athletic and talented freak of nature coming out, James’ skillset and even his body-type were nowhere near where he is today.

Take his career field goal percentage of 49.8 percent for example. James has not always been that efficient, as he shot 41.7 percent as a rookie in 2003-2004. In fact, he only had one season over 50 percent from the field before he left Cleveland for Miami. While in Miami, James would take his game to another level, shooting 54.3 percent from the field during his four seasons there.

What does this mean to a job seeker like yourself? For starters, just because you come into a workplace with a certain skillset to perform a certain job, it does not mean you cannot get better. Staying up to date with technological advances in your field and pushing your work knowledge to another level are two ways to ensure you can get better at your job.

In James’ ascension to becoming a more efficient shooter, he learned there were other skills he needed to develop. A post presence (aside from the thunderous dunks you see) is one of those areas he has become absolutely dominant in during his career, and it was nowhere to be found as a rookie coming into the league. So take a page out of James’ book—become the best at what you do, then acquire other skills and become the best at those too.

Build a brand for yourself outside of work

LeBron James businessman

LeBron’s business extends well beyond the basketball court.

Everyone around the world knows about LeBron James the NBA superstar, but those in the business world know him as a pretty darn good businessman as well. Instead of just sitting on the massive contracts and endorsement deals he has received from being the best player on the planet for the majority of the last 13 years, James expanded into the business world and spent time with business mogul Warren Buffett developing a plan—one which entails him becoming a billionaire one day from reports.

Due to the demands of the “9 to 5,” many people forget there is so much more they can do as a professional than what is done at work. Though being part owner in a wide-variety of companies is probably not a realistic option for you, there are a few things you can do to help yourself professionally outside of the office.

First, create a portfolio website for whatever you do and develop a way for people to reach out to you for consulting services. Many of you probably never thought about consulting before, but chances are more than a few small businesses would pay you to assist based on your skillset. Once this is done, create a couple of social media profiles to promote yourself. You never know when those skills you have honed at the “9 to 5” could earn you some extra money and a better reputation on the side.

Second, go to some networking events and meet people in your community. Do you think James suddenly became a partial owner of a soccer team, headphone company, pizza company, sports media site and more just because he was a big-time basketball player? His position and wealth certainly helped, but the majority of those business opportunities came through networking with other members of the league and business partners.

Never close a door to returning

LeBron made a public declaration to leave Cleveland, but returned.

LeBron made a public declaration to leave Cleveland, but returned.

When “The Decision” took place and James announced he was leaving Cleveland for Miami on national television, 99.9 percent of the world probably thought there was no chance he would ever return to Cleveland. A few select individuals burned his jersey on television, and an entire city showered him with boos every single time he returned to Cleveland for a game over the first couple of years.

Despite this fact, James would never say anything to close the door to return to Cleveland. Even when the team’s owner Dan Gilbert publically shamed him with a Comic Sans written letter on Twitter, James kept his head down. In a time where he could have reacted as many likely would have, he did not—and the rest, so far, is history. He won two championships in Miami in four years of going to the finals, and has returned to Cleveland with one trip to the finals and potentially another one on the way.

For a job seeker like yourself, the message is pretty simple. No matter how much you hated certain circumstances at that old job and how it ended, do not “drop the mic” on the way out. You will want to—trust me, I have been there. It is very easy to send that email or go on a social media rant of epic proportions.

The problem is, you never know when those decision makers from an old job could be in a position of power at another place you want to work one day. Or to another extent, your old place of employment suddenly becomes more attractive in terms of a position that opens up and for financial reasons—and your talents become in high demand once again.

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Top 5 Most Viewed Career Articles on NexGoal in 2016

As avid users of the internet, the team here at NexGoal realizes that sometimes our career articles and content can slip through the cracks of your daily lives.

We get it, you are more focused on finding a job when you are searching the NexGoal website than reading our articles—unless you are signed up for our awesome Career Essentials weekly eNewsletter, then you get them delivered to you every Thursday! If you aren’t signed up, shame on you—go do it now by clicking here!

Still looking for that new career? We have new postings on our Job Board here!

With the understanding you may have missed some of our articles this year, we put our data hats on today and went back and found the articles our social audience, Google users and those coming directly to our website have visited the most through the first five months of the year. And since we are so fond of you and do not want to make you hunt for it, you can find the top five articles below with a description of what each is about and a link to go read the full version on our site!

NCAA Athlete articles have been popular in 2016.

NCAA Athlete articles have been popular in 2016.

No. 1: 5 Traits NCAA Athletes Need to Highlight in Their Job Search

The journey of an NCAA athlete is a long one that for the majority of athletes, does not end up in a job as a professional athlete. While focusing all of their attention on being a student-athlete, most athletes do not have the time to devote to internships like other students. However, what they may be missing in “on the job” experience, athletes make up for with five traits they have gained from years of playing. If you are an athlete, you need to highlight these five traits on your resume from your playing days. Click here to read which traits!

No. 2: Kamerion Wimbley Prepared for Life After NFL Before He Retired

For fans of the Cleveland Browns, Kamerion Wimbley is just another in a long line of players they would classify as a “bust” in the first round of the NFL Draft. While that may be up for debate (this writer says no), this article is focused on how Wimbley set himself up for life after the NFL before he even stepped foot on the field for the Browns as a rookie. Wimbley’s story shows how you need to prepare for the future as soon as possible. Click here to read Wimbley’s story!

No. 3: The 3 Cs of Personal Branding

Personal branding is an important part of every job seeker’s journey they seemingly forget about. Recent graduates do not know who they are yet, and know even less about who they are going to be as a professional to truly brand themselves. No matter if you are a recent graduate or a seasoned work veteran, you need a brand. Click here to learn the “3 Cs” to get you started!

No. 4: Emotional Intelligence: The Key to Athletic and Business Success

The title of this article says it all. Emotional intelligence is not just a trait you left on the field after your last game. Athletes need to carry it over to the business world and find ways to apply that cerebral aspect of their game to the business world. Click here to read more!

No. 5: 3 Mistakes You Must Avoid During Job SearchHomer Simpson

It seems like something that should not happen, but job seekers make pretty common mistakes in every job search. In this article we broke down three mistakes that are going to make you go all Homer Simpson on yourself after reading. Click here to find your mistakes!

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3 Major Ways You Are Wasting Time During Your Workday

Raise your hand if you waste time during your workday. Okay, everyone should have their hand raised right about now. If you do not have your hand raised, you are either a robot or do not understand what wasting time is.

For some reason when I think about wasting time at work, it always leads back to the below clip from Peter Gibbons in the movie Office Space. When meeting with “The Bobs” about how much work he had been missing, Peter stated, ‘I wouldn’t say I’ve been missing it, Bob.”

Though missing work and wasting time at work are two different things, they both end in the same result—not accomplishing the tasks you need to. So, how much time does the average person waste at work instead of doing these tasks? According to Scoro, a data management software company, “Most people actually use 60% or less of available work time. This means we’re productive only 3 days out of 5 every week.”

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Let that sink in for a second, though you are physically at work, you spend close to two days a week in the office not working. Each minute spent wasting time at work adds up, and if you really think about it, you can locate the biggest time-wasters you are performing every day.

Thanks to the good people at Scoro, they identified the three biggest time-wasters according to their survey—which is going to be the focus of our weekly “Three for Thursday.” Since the team here at NexGoal is all about providing solutions to the potential problems, we will take a look at the top three time-wasters and give you suggestions on how to become more productive in the office.

Checking Email

I know what many of you are thinking right about now, “I have to check my email for my job.” While this is true, you do not have to check it every single time a new one hits your inbox. The fine people at Scoro actually suggested in their infographic that you only check email three times per day—and there is a major reason why (aside from wasting time).

If you stop performing a task to respond to emails that just came in, the average person spends 16 minutes to refocus on the task they were working on. This means that it could potentially take you 16 minutes every time you stop, so if you are stopping 10 times per day to check and respond to email—that is 160 minutes, or just under three hours a day you spend trying to refocus on the work you were completing.

Now, not all of us have jobs we can just ignore emails and only check three times a day. If you are in that situation, I would suggest blocking off time on your calendar to work on high priority tasks. Those that you work and share a calendar with will clearly see you have that time blocked off, to make it easier you should close down your email client and focus on getting those tasks done.

Attending Meetings

Another prime function of the workplace is going to meetings, and it happens to be the second biggest time-waster in a person’s workday. Think about it. If you have a 9:30 a.m. meeting and start work at 9:00 a.m., you are not going to start on any major tasks for the day because you do not want stop in the middle of doing it. Say that meeting is an hour, now you are already at 10:30 a.m. of your workday and if the same rule applies (16 minutes to refocus), now it is 10:46 a.m. before you really start working.

I do not think we need to continue breaking down your day, you get the point—for every meeting you have, employees can lose major production time. Now, meetings are a major part of a job for most companies—but I would challenge those setting the meetings to ask themselves two questions before sending that meeting request.

The first question is, “Do I really need all of these people in the meeting?” The second question is, “Is a meeting the most productive way to convey whatever message/discuss whatever the meeting is about?”

When it comes to the first question, companies have a tendency to want to involve every department and every employee in that meeting. I cannot tell you how many meetings I have personally been paid to sit through where it had absolutely nothing to do with my job function. At the end, employees emerged annoyed they wasted time in that meeting, and did not have a better understanding of whatever the meeting was about. In fact, many stated an email would have sufficed, which is directly related to question number two.

My suggestion? Less is more when it comes to meetings. If you control that aspect of your business and are holding meetings every single day, maybe you need to ask yourself those two questions above.

Online Browsing

On the Line

Let’s take another quick survey. When was the last time you checked Facebook or Twitter that was for a non-work related function? Don’t be ashamed of your answer, we are all guilty of it—the 24/7 news cycle that is social media has corrupted all of our lives.

While writing this article, I stopped to check Facebook and Twitter twice each. Not because of a need to know what was going on out there, but because it has become a natural habit while completing tasks. Now, a big part of my job is posting on social media and knowing what is going on in the wonderful world of hiring and recruiting, so I have an excuse sometimes. But it does not change the fact that browsing these sites comes in third place on the list and is causing employees to waste an hour a day.

How can you break this oh so vicious need to be “on the line” (see Internship reference below) so much while you are working?

Turn back the clocks to elementary school, and give yourself a reward system. Set a goal of tasks you need to complete before you can do a little web browsing. Complete an hour’s worth of tasks? You get five minutes to browse online. If you are currently wasting an hour or more a day browsing the internet, doing this means you would need to complete six hours of work tasks per day to “waste” 30 minutes browsing the internet. With this system, you would get 30 minutes of time-wasting back per day, and likely get more work done in this process.

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