A Day In The Life of An ACS Recruiter

A standard workday; 7:30 in the morning. I arrive at my desk and find even at 7:30, I am not the first one here. Several of my colleagues try to manage Atlanta traffic and family commitments by arriving fairly early each day. Turn on my computer – can’t believe it takes so long for this thing to get started. Probably need to let IT have look, but that always falls pretty low on my priority list. Coffee in hand, I open my email. Priorities…priorities. Junk mail – delete. Industry news – put in a folder until I have a spare minute. ACS emails – Need to know what’s going on! – scan and decided if I should file for reference or read thoroughly right away. Candidates --- hmmm…. What position? Where did they come from? Any referrals? Need to make some quick decisions about how to invest my time. Now to our ATS (Applicant Tracking System). Where am I in the process? Requisition review meetings with hiring managers? Feedback to get? Interviews to be scheduled? Phone screens to do? Resumes to review? References to complete? What about time for ancillary projects? Priorities…priorities. I suspect my day is not much different from most recruiters. My biggest challenge is how to manage my time and deliver the best talent in the shortest amount of time. Today the approaches, techniques and avenues recruiters pursue are limited only by individual recruiters experience and exposure. The emergence of social networking has enhanced recruiting techniques providing the ability to respond to requisitions when they come in, but, more strategically, get ahead of the requisitions by reaching out before the need arises. But you just saw something online that has peaked your interest. You don’t know anyone who works for ACS and just don’t have a real sense of your chances. While we do a lot of proactive recruiting, we are the recipient of many strong resumes and many great candidates we ultimately hire. What made them standout??? Here are a few “do’s” and “don’ts” if you are interested in pursuing an opportunity with the American Cancer Society (at least if I’m the recruiter):

Do 1. Thoroughly review the position and tailor your resume to reflect your experience with the job requirements (One of my hiring managers was ready to immediately toss every candidate who clearly hadn’t considered how to customize their resume to the job description.) 2. Print the job posting or put it in an easily accessible area so you can refer to it quickly should I call. Speaking to your qualification for a completely different job is a death nail. I know, it’s tough when the job market has put so many in the unfortunately position of having to look for jobs after layoffs. Often the American Cancer Society position won’t be the only opportunity you are pursuing. But realize that if I am the organization’s recruiter and it’s my responsibility to find great candidates who are truly interested in us as an organization. I will hardly be convinced you’re the one if you don’t even remember you applied to my position. 3. Find someone to talk to. No need to mention how competitive the job market is these days. Applying online is simply planting the seed. You need to nurture your candidacy. Find someone to talk to. LinkedIn is fabulous for this. If you can find someone in Human Resources, contact them and chances are they will know who is responsible for recruiting. Be resourceful. Its smart and it makes you look even better. 4. Be ready to provide clear, concise responses to my questions. 5. Reference any technology you have significant experience. Almost every job function requires you to complete your work through some type of technology, so let us know what you know. 6. Mention any connection you might have to the American Cancer Society and our mission. It matters!

Don’t 1. Confuse the American Cancer Society with the American Red Cross (believe it or not, one candidate came in believing he was ready and printed a Powerpoint presentation with “American Red Cross” and their logo all over it – “oops” is an understatement!) 2. Ramble. Time is everyone’s most valuable asset. I understand you want to ensure you’ve covered all your qualifications, but recruiters have specific skills they are trying to identify quickly. We appreciate candidates and are more likely to forward those on who can provide clear, concise and directly responsive answers to our questions. 3. Apply to every posted position. In almost every case, the assumption will be you are not serious and lack direction. After all, no one is qualified for every job. 4. Assume I will read between the lines of your qualifications. If you see a requirement in the job description, however rudimentary it may seem, be sure to spell out your experience in your resume or cover letter. Use your professional experience to guide you and ask yourself, “If I were hiring someone for my position with my level of experience, what might I assume they know.” Then, make sure that is in your resume. Recruiters have stories!! Most could go on forever about the candidate with the “S” on their chest who flew in with a red cape trailing behind and the other candidate who spent an hour telling you why some other company he thought he was interviewing with should hire him. But, as we used to say in my agency days, “the best candidate will get the job.” Just make sure you are THE BEST!!