This is the story given to every applicant you are serious about working with. It is the story you give so that they do not use other agencies or try to get a job on their own by calling a client directly or answering an ad. It is the story you give so they will provide you with leads they have heard of through the grapevine. It is the story that will convince them to call you and discuss a position they have read about on a job board!

It is a story that must paint a vivid picture. No glib or vague explanations will do, because they don't understand this business. The applicants who say they understand are the ones who understand least of all!

It is a story that, unless you are a skilled recruiter or your version has been approved as acceptable, must be said verbatim as written here. Because there is only one thing worse than an applicant who thinks he/she knows everything about recruiting and that is a recruiter who thinks he/she knows everything! Here is the story:

Recruiter: I need to know where you have interviewed or where your resume has been sent in the last six months.

Applicant: Why?

Recruiter: So that we don't waste your time or mine discussing positions that have already been covered. Each position you may be a fit for is carefully reviewed via our computer. We will often spend time with other recruiters at, your company, who have more detailed information about a position. We may even call a client to get more information on a potential position. This work adds up to many man-hours, even if only a few days have passed. If all this work ends up with 'I've already been there' after the fact, it's only human nature to invest less than the 100% effort you deserve! Also knowing where you have been and what the results were gives me an insight that no amount of conversation between you and I could ever provide!

Applicant: Some agencies/recruiting firms have my resume and they do not tell me where they have sent it.

Recruiter: You cannot let them do this! This is an unprofessional way to represent a professional like yourself. You have to tell these agencies they must tell you or you will send a letter to them and other agents forbidding them from representing you in any manner! If a recruiter is reputable, they will want to work like us. Calling clients and sending resumes without discussing it with you first, makes them and you look bad; and remember, a potential employer evaluation of you includes what he/she thinks of your recruiter. So you must make sure your recruiter is reputable. If they are not, you may be locking yourself out of many good opportunities with top notch employers.

Recruiter: You can also help both of us by letting me know of any leads you have heard of through the 'grapevine' or saw on the web.

Applicant: Why?

Recruiter: Because for each potential employer you have only a 'Single Bullet'. We don't expect job searchers to know this but you should, and I'm going to explain it to you. By CONTRACT LAW, a client will only recognize the first person who has presented an individual for employment. Anyone else will be turned away no matter who they are or what the connection is! Therefore this presentation (the single bullet) better be by someone who can do a good job, who has influence with the client and knows the 'hiring source'. If the presentation is made by someone with no influence, then your name is registered and you get no interview! Any recruiter with influence attempting to represent you is turned away! The worst case would be if you or a recruiter sent your resume to Personnel, because they are not the hiring source. Personnel people are trained for one thing 'to screen out people'. They look for reasons to 'not hire'. So if one of these guys gets your resume, chances are good you will be screened and your resume will be filed, locking out any recruiter who might have influence with a hiring manager. So call me if you hear or see something and I will tell you if we have an in. We have 30,000 professionals in your field in our database. We contact thousands of clients via email or phone every week! If I can't help, I may be able to give you a name and suggest how you can best use that 'Single Bullet'.