Shared Experience

What Recruiters Want

When people look back at the year 2001, they will have quite a year to remember. These are scary times. Indeed, this is the year where everything has seemingly changed. The dot-com bust, the economic "down-turn," and the terrorist attacks that have caused us to realize that this slump might actually be a recession.

Planned prior to the September 11th attacks on the World Trade Center and Pentagon, Writergrrls struck gold when the fundraising event entitled "What Recruiters Want" hit the list. It seemed to speak to what we all wanted: More Jobs. Contract writing and editing assignments supported many of us for years and were a key way to get a "foot in the door" of this field.

"What Recruiters Want", held on September 20th, was a somber event. Recruiters are wanting the same thing: more job opportunities to share with people like us. Panelists Laura Belmont (Recruiting Manager at S&T Onsite), Leslie Collins (Technical Recruiter at S&T Onsite) and Brad Davis (Writer Representative at ArtSource, Inc.) graciously fielded questions and offered an honest assessment of how recruiting agencies are working these days. Jenny Neill facilitated, kept the evening on track with regard to time, and ensured that questions from every part of the room were aired.

Even though this was a successful event with about 30 women who were dedicated to bettering themselves and their chances in a competitive job market, I was not prepared for the following statistics and found it difficult to write this article.

Truth be told, about 18 months ago, agencies were seeking to fill as many as 350 positions, compared to the current trend of maybe 20-25 positions. Recruiting agencies receive 150 resumes and field about 50 phone calls per day, yet they aren’t able to place writers who have been long-time contractors—people with whom they have solid relationships—into positions that would have previously been good fits. There was little comforting news.

Being in a room full of writers, editors and other communications professionals did have a positive effect. Each person added to the feeling of warmth and support for one another’s success. People nodded in understanding as someone talked about their proprietary work that couldn't be used in a portfolio. Support was also given to one woman who related her frustration at hiring managers who expected contractors to come in as a "clean-up crew." The chance to put faces to names and to meet the people "behind the scenes" who dedicate time to the Web site, Zine, and coordination of Seattle Writergrrls was particularly gratifying. The opportunity to meet other Writergrrls proved a key part of the evening.

There were important elements of the discussion, too, that we took away with us. Recruiters are on our side, and they honestly want to fit qualified people into positions that will make everyone a winner (the agency, the customer, and the contractor).

• Resumes that show "specialty" skills requested for the job at hand come out on top. Years of experience doing the exact job that a client wants accomplished still beats just having the overall skill set and knowledge of tools.

• Agencies use keyword searches to find potential candidates from stored resumes. Knowing these keywords helps you to craft a resume that gets more "hits." Keywords might include tools (Robohelp, FrameMaker, Word, etc.), programming keywords (XML, VXML, scripting, C++, object-oriented, for example), job titles (writer, programmer/writer, systems admin, editor, etc.) and other words like end-user, developer audience, API, SDK, network, server...you get the idea. The more specific, the better.

• Clients are using agencies to fill increasingly technical positions. Gaining technical experience is important to success in this market. Look for ways to get education and experience, and leverage opportunities where you can pick up new technical skills on the job or by volunteering.

• Experience often outweighs education, but a down-turn like this it is a great time take those courses or get the certification that you have been considering. Seattle has a number of respected programs. The University of Washington, Bellevue Community College, and the University of Washington Extension Program should not be overlooked. Again, try using that newfound skill in a volunteer project to show experience as well as education.

• Know how to represent your job in a concise descriptive paragraph using keywords. Never change your job title, as this may be confusing and could be construed as lying. List important achievements and contributions that you made while on the job.

• Trust recruiters and agencies to know their clients and also to know how to best represent you. Maintaining several resumes, or tailoring your resume to a specific job may be useful when agencies need to move quickly to present information in a particular way for a certain type of job or customer.

• Your background may be key to getting an interview. Agencies seek to find candidates who most closely match the corporate culture and the specific requests of the customer. When there are many candidates to choose from, clients expect to bring in candidates that are an exact match for their stated requirements.

• Online portfolios relevant to the jobs that a candidate is being submitted for are quite convenient, and really do show a level of technical savvy. Get permission, when appropriate, for use of materials in your portfolio. Volunteer projects often are key in building a portfolio in a given area.

• Involvement in professional affiliations like Writergrrls, National Association of Science Writers, American Medical Writers Association, Association for Women in Communications, and others are a great way to meet people and to network. They also show a commitment to your profession and look great on a resume.