If you are a LinkedIn member (you are a LinkedIn member), you probably get regular inMails from recruiters asking whether you might be interested in a job that they are trying to fill. Should you take the time to respond?
That’s the question for today; I hope this solves the dilemma for you.
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Should I respond to an InMail from a recruiter? The short answer is yes but let me explain why.
The recruiter reached out to propose a situation to you. You are not interested. That’s okay. But your goal is to create a relationship with people who might be able to help you. A polite response that says, “Thanks, but no thanks,” or, “Thanks but I’m not looking right now,” or, “Thanks but I don’t know anyone will be qualified right now. Stay in touch,” or, “thanks. I’m not interested”… Whatever it is, a quick note of response starts the opportunity for building a relationship.
Why do you want to build a relationship? So that this person feels like they want to reach out to you again. Before you start groaning, “Why would I want to talk to a recruiter,” because they have job opportunities that may help you in a certain time of your life and career. If you are arriving “cold,” they may not really know you well enough to recommend you to one of the better clients. That’s reason number one.
Reason number two is kindness. LinkedIn charges them if you do not respond to an inMail in 90 days. They deduct inMail’s from the recruiter’s account if you respond to it within 90 days of it being sent to you.
You should be on daily and, if not daily, every second day at a minimum. Check your inbox for messages, as well as doing a number of things on LinkedIn to market and promote yourself.
After all, if you just lurch from job search to job search when you are in desperate need of finding a new position, you are not doing the work of career planning or career management. You will just be getting out there and looking for a job each time you need one and it takes a long time to build things up in order to get results.
So, I am encouraging you, respond, answer, quick things. It doesn’t have to be a big long production. You will benefit by the relationship building and they have the second benefit of having the inMail credited back to them.
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Do you think employers are trying to help you? You already know you can’t trust recruiters—they tell as they think you need to know to take the job they after representing so they collect their payday.
The skills needed to find a job are different yet complement the skills needed to do a job.
Jeff Altman, The Big Game Hunter has been a career coach and recruiter for what seems like one hundred years.
JobSearchCoachingHQ.com is there to change that with great advice for job hunters—videos, my books and guides to job hunting, podcasts, articles, PLUS a community for you to ask questions of PLUS the ability to ask me questions where I function as your ally with no conflict of interest answering your questions.