Cleared job seekers are in a talent pool all their own. And given the new way corporate recruiters are going about looking for the best job candidates, that’s a good thing. Take a look at the three most innovative things you might not know about how recruiters are finding you, and the tools they’re using to do it. It might affect the ways you go about looking for a second cleared career – and what you’re saying about yourself in the process.
1. They’re building talent networks
Recruiters are shifting to new methods to find talent, using other company’s sites to create not only a bigger pool of candidates, but also those with specific strengths and skills. Everything you post on your social network profiles and comments matters more than ever. Here’s why: Companies like TalentBin now serve as a recruiting gold mine – or data mine, to be more specific. They data mine your social network information to create a profile about you. For cleared veterans, it means they may build a profile that includes your technical skills, your clearance, military training and a host of other technical tidbits. All those posts you make are compiled and your profile is then ranked according to competency. Sounds sneaky, and it is. The boon for recruiters is they can use this information to find exactly what they’re looking for, people they might otherwise miss. They can customize their queries and achieve more expanded results than are typically available by just checking out your LinkedIn profile. The recommendation for cleared job seekers is to post away, as long as what you post backs up your competence in the areas you want to work.
2. They’re handing off to hiring managers
Anymore, recruiters are shouldering a different set of responsibilities and moving away from the old days of lengthy phone interviews with prospective candidates. Their value to companies continues to grow, and their jobs increasingly focus on sourcing. That means they leave the heavy interviewing to hiring managers while they take greater responsibility for finding and assessing the right candidates to get them to the interview room. The upshot? You need to impress recruiters first, if you want to get to the interview stage.
3. They’re using technology to track you
New technology tools keep coming onboard to help manage the recruiting process – including real- time data analytics. Some of the newer companies enable organizations to post jobs online and simultaneously search for candidates to fill them. For example, TribePad uses intelligent processing to match recruiters to candidates in real time, and ditto for candidates to jobs. Applicants can upload resumes that automatically turn into digital profiles. The company can match people to a role even if they’re not looking for a job. It also encourages them to engage in conversations in social communities talking about common interests. And it suggests jobs; maybe even recommending your job to other job seekers. By consolidating data with real time analytics, these companies know immediately, who is looking for whom, offering options before they’re even on your radar.
For cleared job seekers, this is all good news. The take-away is to step up your use of social media to post increasingly skill-centric information. Play up your clearance, re-post articles related to the career fields that interest you, tweet and comment and stay focused on branding your abilities. They’re already looking for you, but you can do a lot to help them find you faster.
