I interviewed a recruiter!

Ever wonder how recruiters hire? Find out in this 30 min interview.

Read Time: 5 min

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Here’s the route for today

🤔 How do recruiters select candidates?

  • 30-minute interview

  • 10 questions asked

  • timestamps included

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TOPIC
How do recruiters select candidates?

🔵 I interviewed my past recruiter, here’s the recording.

Last month, I made a LinkedIn post that went viral.

In it, I told the story of how I landed my 1st ever internship. To my surprise, the recruiter from that story replied and agreed to do an interview!

So we met and talked about how recruiters hire candidates for a job.

If you’ve ever wondered what a recruiter looks for in potential hires. then this interview is for you.

There are timestamps for each of the 10 questions and text summaries if you don’t have time to listen.

Interview with recruiter.mp4149.40 MB • File

Question 1: How would you encourage a candidate to be comfortable enough to express who they are in an interview?

Timestamp 1:30

Jordan’s answer: Remember that it’s best to be your authentic self in any conversation. Trying to fake a persona won’t get you far, and people will smell it from a mile away.

Question 2: How can applicants with no experience stand out in the recruitment process?

Timestamp 4:30

Jordan’s answer: Experience doesn’t just mean having past internships. Get involved as much as you can, go volunteer, or even play an intermural sport.

Question 3: Do recruiters actually consider a candidate’s LinkedIn profile?

Timestamp 7:38

Jordan’s answer: Absolutely yes. A LinkedIn profile is like a resume but with a personality, and personalities matter. Take care of your profile, spend time on it!

Question 4: How much time do recruiters spend looking over resumes or cover letters?

Timestamp 9:40

Jordan’s answer: To be honest, not that long because we don’t have the time. To stand out, take keywords from the job description, and put them on your resume. More keywords = better.

Question 5: What’s better? A simple resume? Or a fancy one?

Timestamp 11:15

Jordan’s answer: Fancy one if you’re applying for a job with a creative edge like marketing or graphic design. But, for finance or anything else, stick to the simple look.

Question 6: What qualities do successful co-ops tend to have?

Timestamp 12:38

Jordan’s answer: A positive attitude is everything paired with patience. But on top of that, the ability to build relationships will make you stand out.

Question 7: What is 1 advice for passing interviews? And what are the biggest recruitment mistakes you see?

Timestamp 15:22

Jordan’s answer: The #1 advice is to realize that the interview goes both ways. But for a close 2nd, remember to take pauses! As for the mistakes, don’t be too eager! Following up every single day is too much.

Question 8: What’s the difference between those who get return offers vs those who don’t?

Timestamp 22:00

Jordan’s answer: Those who get the return offer raise their hands for opportunities. They take the initiative to network and cross-collaborate with different teams.

Question 9: Have you ever hired someone through a referral? Do they matter?

Timestamp 24:15

Jordan’s answer: Yes, I have. Referrals don’t get an advantage in interviews, but if we have a good connection and you refer someone to me, I’ll trust your judgment and give them a shot.

Question 10: How would you find a job in today’s market?

Timestamp 27:00

Jordan’s answer: I would not be cold applying, instead, I would be going to as many networking events as I could. I’m going straight to people, not my computer.

Closing Thoughts:

Send me your thoughts on this interview format by using the bottom poll!

See you next Tuesday 🤝

-Michael Ly

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