Recruiting Secrets - that YOU can use!

[RecruiterGuy]

At least once a week I get asked how someone can get noticed by a recruiter or what they might be able to do to get that resume to stand out just a bit more than the next person in line. Alternatively - I do get a request from time to time asking how someone can find the perfect job in the sea of job boards that are out there.

The response I give them is almost identical to the response I give to my team of recruiters...

You've got to "pay attention" AND persevere AND follow-through OR "Don't Bother"

Yes, there's some madness to the punctuation and caps-lock above - and it's all related to search engines (both Internet and job board alike.)

It's vital that Recruiters today understand Boolean Logic (Wiki probably does a much better job of explaining this, but I'll give it a shot.) Boolean Logic is the language of search engines. When my recruiters are looking for you (the passive job seeker) on the internet they're starting with keywords - and Boolean logic helps them sift through the millions you're competing with in order to get to just you.

Below you'll find a slight twist on how I'd normally explain Boolean logic. Below you'll find some tips on making the most of your Online resumes as well as how you might help yourself to find that ideal job.

• Make your case when on the offense
  Believe it or not, some search engines and job boards are still case sensitive. When you search for a job on the internet be sure that your keywords or phrases are in lower case. I know it sounds crazy but if you use capitalization then your search becomes case sensitive. Searching for "project manager" will return "Project Manager. But searching for "Project Manager" may not always return "project manager"
• So Happy Together
  Some search engines like Google automatically include the AND operator when you have a space between two keywords you're looking for. However, not all engines are created equally. The Boolean operator 'AND' is always helpful if searching for a job where the combination of two keywords might make all the difference. I would think that some would definitely prefer the results of a search that brought back 'sales agent' AND '$75,000' versus just 'sales agent' The thing to keep in mind is that when this is used, both of the keywords must be present in order for the result to come back. Consider the "AND" command very much an 'all or nothing' type of cat.
• A Quote a Day
  Don't worry, I don't have any fortune cookie sayings to throw at you here (okay, I do - but I'll spare you) but would rather share a quick and easy tip that I'm always surprised many aren't aware of. Phrases. As mentioned above, sometimes the space can be interpreted as an AND command. This could be frustrating if you're looking for a job with a title like Sales Representative. A simple search for 'sales representative' would bring back results for sales or representative or sales representative. Why not just trim the fat and put your phrases in a quote? "Sales Representative" in an engine will bring back the entire term - and only that term.

At this point, I think reviewing the statement:
You've got to "pay attention" AND persevere AND follow-through OR "Don't Bother", sort of makes the OR operator pretty self explanatory, eh?

Feedback and questions are always welcome - go forth and conquer!