Perseverance pays off

I received a great letter from a recruiter who gave me his take on job searching. I believe many of you will find it helpful so I’m passing along his words of wisdom.

Frank Bell of Bell Associates International in Raleigh, N.C., says the song from Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess, “It Ain’t Necessarily So,” is his guideline for recruiting. Here’s the advice he offers to job seekers:

* Avoid HR if possible. Bell says most are gatekeepers who don’t really know what the company is really looking for.  He says, “I consider it a defeat if I end up working with the HR types in the initial part of the search.”

* Find out who the “hiring authority” is – the person you will work for. “Remebmer what they say they are looking for “ain’t necessarily so,” he says. “I have seen folks hired that had none of the intellectual/background qualifications – but the hiring authority and the candidate were “simpatico.” 

 * The telephone is the most powerful tool to reach the hiring authority, Bell recommends. He suggests asking for advice rather than a job and asking HR to speak to you or recommending a contact at another company.

* Get used to rejection and don’t give up. “We recruiters (those who survive) say we can make a good living in being rejected 95% of the time – but those other 5% – WOW.

* Keep faith in yourself. Remember looking for a job, or recruiting, is not always linear, it is not objective. Laugh at the subjective and try to stomach the temporary misery of job hunting.