Introduction (to the Self-Recruiter® book)

WELCOME

Congratulations (for the work you are about to do)

Really. Congratulations- you just took on a serious challenge, one that you may not be sure you are up to meeting. That, a period of challenging oneself in an unfamiliar area, is where magic can happen. I still believe in making magic happen. Maybe not the tricks you performed as a child at family gatherings, but taking on, and making, the unexpected or unattainable happen. Simply being willing to take on the challenges that I will put forward to you in this book will make you a better candidate for your next position, significantly increase your chances for success in each role you apply for in your job search, and make you a better employee that contributes more to your company. Now that is someone a hiring manager wants to hire, especially when companies face many of the same types of challenges that you may be experiencing personally.

Why, Why Now and How this Book will help you as a

Personal Specialist and Coach.

Over the last ten years, I have worked as a recruiter in several fields and industries, and they all have a central commonality: people, human and social nature, combined with different styles and methods companies use in their hiring process. It can feel scary and out of control.

“Why haven’t they called me? I’m perfect.”

“Why did I not get that second or third interview, or an offer?”

“Why did they offer me so much less than I was expecting?”

“Why do I feel like they think I’m not qualified?”

And endless others.

Doubt and insecurity creep in and, little by little, you grow less and less confident. You may seem to be a weaker candidate as more time goes on without finding that right next step in your work-life. It can become a self fulfilling prophecy of missed opportunities.

Change the Cycle, and Change the Rules.

I never met a rule I didn’t like (to break).

We all know them: the rules. Social and work convention has slowly stripped the humanity from the hiring process. We apply. We wait and wait. We call, but rarely get any meaningful answers. Sometimes they never call. But what happened? (Answer: You followed the ‘Rules’)

Hiring managers and HR professionals are too busy and overworked, just like everyone else these days. They have real work to do and participating and driving their own hiring process is just one small part of their responsibilities and challenges that have to be met. More and more on their plates, until vital things (like great candidates) begin to fall off the pile. Lost opportunity for the candidates, the hiring managers, HR, and the company’s stockholders, who will ultimately feel the results when the best talent slips away and the aggregate results of this happening again and again result in the company’s lower shareholder earnings.

This key reality of the modern business world is why the recruiting business can exist. Companies and hiring managers need an expert, a specialist that will not take their eye off the ball and, in the end, will provide them with individuals that are not just ‘capable’ of doing the job, but exceptional. And exceptional individuals add to a company’s bottom line, regardless of their role.

So, why not just find a recruiter that specializes in your niche? You could, and maybe should, but in this market and economic climate, recruiters are facing many of the same challenges and frustrations, along with lack of results that individuals are facing. Everyone is closing the purse strings trying to cut costs (of course, now is just the time that companies should be using really great recruiters even more). In my experience over the last ten years as a recruiter, recruiting and sales trainer, and as VP of a nationwide system of recruitment offices, the numbers never lie. The reality is that even in a good market, for every candidate a good recruiter interviews and qualifies as a ‘good candidate for their niche’, ultimately that recruiter will only place 1 to 2 out of every 100. Scary, I know. It’s a sales business and sales is always about getting past many, many of the typical responses and rejections, until you finally get that yes. Recruiters may seem to be paid quite handsomely by their client companies, but they work extremely hard for each result that comes to fruition. Typically, only the very best of the best candidates in any niche will find occasional success through a recruiter (from a candidate’s perspective). The companies know and understand the value that recruiters offer and that’s why they are (usually) willing to pay recruiters for help.

But in these times, you really need to be your own specialist, your own career counselor, and your own recruiter: a Self-Recruiter.

And I’ll teach you how.

I’ll demystify the process step by step, and without the ‘filter’. I’ll show you how to begin to take back the control and how to ‘drive’ your own hiring process with companies for which you want to work. And along the way, I’ll share the secrets and insights recruiters use to benefit their clients and candidates. You’ll learn how to get your resume noticed and get that next interview. How to reach out directly to hiring managers and how to beat the other candidates that you are competing against. You’ll learn how to build chemistry with anyone you meet. You’ll learn how to negotiate a better offer with a better salary. I’ll teach you how to avoid common traps in the Human Resources department. How to utilize the Internet resources available to you. How to plan for the unexpected and I’ll teach you how to plan, set goals, and manager your job search.

Taking that first step back toward control can be a very difficult one whether your confidence may be suffering after a layoff, restructuring or even while you are still employed but worrying about your future security with your current company. The techniques that I will teach you here are the necessary steps for you to learn, grow and get that right next career challenge. You will grow in ways that will add to your performance successes, both immediately and long into your future.

This book is not about finding yourself. It’s not about making a silk purse out of a.. wait, no more swine references! It’s about how to leverage your real assets, not just your desires. Those assets are why you will get the job.

So, what are you waiting for?

Let’s Get Going!

John Crant

Author, Career Coach & Speaker
on Job Search and Career Management

© John Crant