When a recruiter contacts you, it's to discover whether you would entertain a conversation about a specific position. No recruiter expects that every person they reach out to will be a great fit. But something they learned about you -- whether it be your resume, LinkedIn profile, portfolio, website bio, etc. -- was enough to trigger a conversation. (If you received a message from us, this short video explains why we contacted you.) 

We get it. If you're receiving a constant barrage of outreach emails from recruiters, responding nicely to them might be the last thing on your mind. But you also don't want to miss a future opportunity because of rudeness. (If you're wondering how to best manage your career during an economic downturn, check out our latest career advice.)

Once they're in the workforce, many people go through life wondering.

Wondering if they are in the right job.

Wondering if they have some hidden talent or secret superpower that would burst forth if only the environment were right.

Wondering if someone with a better knowledge of career paths and the job market could help them discover their latent talent and suggest a perfect job for them.

Wouldn't that be awesome?

Job seekers are always curious about how search firms work. Who pays the fees? What are the differences between a contingency recruiter vs a retained search firm? Which is best for the job seeker?

First things first. You can pay a career counselor to help you write your resume, or to help you plan your search, but no search firm should ever charge you. Ever.

One of our most popular posts was on "How to Introduce Yourself to a Search Firm." But what happens when you have already been contacted by a search firm and are going on an interview with one of their clients?

(This post originally appeared in the Washington Business Journal)

When we're recruiting someone, we're often asked the salary range for the position, but we never disclose it.  Candidates think that knowing the salary range will help them decide if an opportunity is worth pursuing.  In fact the opposite is true.   Whether you are above, below or in the middle of the salary range, talking about it just gets in the way.

I talk to job seekers almost every day and find that most people are still using a badly dated strategy to find jobs. And for some reason, HR professionals (who should know better) are no better off than any other profession. (Hint: just surfing the job boards won't cut it). Face to face networking and connecting with people you know is always a good strategy, but not enough to guarantee success this time around. Ignore social media at your peril if you are a job seeker, and the tools and rules of the game are still being invented.

Linkedin is an incredible useful tool for anyone that is job hunting, but sometimes it can seem impersonal. If you want to contact an individual recruiter or hiring manager instead of sending generic emails into cyberspace, listen to what Chad Levitt has to say. Levitt suggests you use the Advanced Link at the top of the Linkedin homepage to search for a particular company you’re interested in.