Recruiting in China

Change must be on our minds this week. In our last glimpse at Talent Force we explored the ever-changing job market and how it affects both companies and top talent. Today, we¡¯re going to look at the fourth right in our Recruiter Bill of Rights, which centers on a very different type of change:

4.Change: Candidates shall be willing to listen to advice given by the recruiter when advice is given in an honest attempt to help. Candidate will also be willing to make the changes necessary to make themselves a better candidate for the positions they¡¯re interested in obtaining.

We might have easily labeled it flexibility. It¡¯s about a candidates¡¯ willingness to take good advice and do the things necessary to make themselves as appealing as possible to the companies they¡¯re interested in:

¡±Faced with stiffer competition and tougher hiring requirements, companies of every sort are becoming single-minded about productivity and bottom-line performance. Consequently, competition for jobs is increasing as management seeks and hires only those persons who appear to have the most potential for helping to boost the company¡¯s profits.¡± (From Guerilla Job Hunting)

We know that candidates have their own unique skills and qualities to bring to the table, but we also know that great recruiters have insight into what else is needed to get the right candidates into the right positions. Career coaches and resume experts are quick to point out situations that most of us have faced at one time or another:

¡±You find a promising job listing online. Excited, you send a well-crafted cover letter and resume and wait for a response. Six weeks later, you¡¯re still waiting, your enthusiasm has waned, and you¡¯ve concluded your resume has fallen into a black hole.¡± (From ResumePower)

They often suggest tweaking your resume or committing more time to making quality contacts. Both of these steps can give you a leg up in your search, but there are times when it takes more than that. Recruiters can point out where skills and experience are lacking, and they can point candidates in the right direction to help rectify those weaknesses. However, the advice only works if candidates are willing to listen and willing to make changes when necessary. The task becomes easier for both recruiter and candidate when they can both look at a concrete breakdown of how the candidate stacks up against others who are vying for the same types of positions.

We know that change isn¡¯t easy and that not all advice is good advice, but top recruiters can help you transform into top talent if you¡¯re willing to listen and willing to use all of the tools at your and their disposal.