Answering the Phone to Recruiter Calls

Answer the Phone to Recruiter Calls

Many people dread phone calls. They will do just about everything to avoid phone calls, even if they’re looking for a job. But in the business world, the phone is still the go-to communication tool. That means if you’re looking for work, answer the phone. You should answer your phone when job hunting because it might be a recruiter phone call.

Phone Etiquette for Recruiter Phone Calls and FAQs about Answering Recruiter Calls

Question: If job hunting, do I need to answer an unknown or out-of-area number?
Answer: You should absolutely answer unknown numbers. You never know if it’s a recruiter phone call. Also, many recruiters may be using their personal cell phone to call you…and they might not even be in the same state they’re recruiting for–which means it’s likely to be out of area. Answer all calls when possible.

Question: Can’t I just call recruiters back?
Answer: The recruiting world is fast-paced. We don’t know how long it will take someone to call us back (or even if they will) and so we may not wait. This means we might call down a list of people and hope someone picks up and forget about the rest of the people.

Question: What if I’m in a noisy place…or at my current job? How do I answer recruiter phone calls?
Answer: That’s ok! Whether you’re in a noisy place or just don’t want to be interrupted, still take the call and politely schedule a time to call them back, preferably later that day during business hours. Most recruiters will be totally ok with this.

Question: Can I use Google voice to screen recruiter calls?
Answer: Our experience with Google voice has been pretty spotty. Google voice calls are often garbled. Also, from our perspective it feels presumptuous to have a “personal assistant” asking for my name and why I’m calling. Many recruiters might just hang up as opposed to trying to talk to you.

Question: Can I text recruiters instead?
Answer: You can try to text back recruiters–our systems support this! But phone lines (and especially land lines) shared by a group of people may or may not be able to deliver your messages. It’s safer to just answer the phone if possible.

Question: What if I really can’t answer?
Answer: At the very least, make sure you have a professional sounding voicemail that’s set up and that your voicemail is not full. Seriously, check it right now and make sure!

The Bottom Line

Often, the difference between who got the interview and who didn’t was who answered their phone to recruiters. Do your job search a favor and answer the phone to a recruiter phone call.

Are you looking for work? Our recruiters are here to help! Here you can find a list of all our current job openings. Want to read more phone tips with recruiters, check out what Chron has to say.

Best Employment Agencies in Austin

Picking the Best Employment Agency in Austin

If you’re looking to work with an employment agency in Austin, you have many to choose from. ResumeSpice lists at least 100 of them!

So if you’re looking to compare agencies, here’s our tips for doing so:

Tips for Comparing Employment Agencies

Look at their jobs

An employment agency isn’t going to do you much good if they don’t have a job that aligns with your skills and career goals. Also, many employment agencies will specialize. For example, we don’t often staff for warehouse or janitorial roles and many of our positions are office and professional jobs.

However, as opposed to taking one look at the company’s job board and moving on, it’s important to get an assessment of the kinds of jobs they have and check back in periodically if it looks like they may have jobs in the future.

Look at reviews online

Fortunately, many people are eager to tell you about their experience with an employment agency. Less fortunately, you have to take this feedback with a grain of salt–people will be inclined to leave bad reviews for many different reasons, especially with something as important as employment. Read the five-star reviews as well as the one-star reviews.

That said, these reviews can give you a good benchmark. I recommend looking on multiple platforms such as Google, Glassdoor, and even Facebook to assess how positive people are about working for an employment agency.

Look at the culture

Employment and staffing agencies can get a bad reputation. Sometimes, they fail in taking an interest in looking out for their employees’ well being and growth and are more interested in just making a profit from their human capital. You can often get a sense for the ethos and culture of a company by its mission statement and social media.

As a nonprofit employment agency, we help professionals with disabilities find careers. We encourage a transparent and agile culture and a commitment to treating all clients, employees, and future employees with respect. We encourage employees to keep in contact with our staff and also issue an employee of the year awards. Furthermore, we have a redeployment rate of about half of our personnel, about 5X the national average for employment agencies.

Look at their clients

While you are an employee of the employment agency, often it will feel more like you are an employee of the client. Therefore, it’s important to partner with an employment agency who has refutable clients for whom you would be happy to work.

This may not always be obvious since many job descriptions leave it off. But you can often get a general idea from reading the job description and reading online reviews.

For our part, most of our clients are government agencies, nonprofits, and corporations who are committed to disability hiring as part of their DE&I efforts.

Look at their benefits

Benefits are expensive. Sometimes, evaluating an employment agency is a simple as asking them to “put their money where their mouth is.” Some employment agencies skimp, offering little or no benefits. (Especially avoid companies where you are “independent contractors” and not actual employees.)

Peak Performers offers health, dental, and vision insurance covered at 80% by the employer. We also have an Employee Assistance program and just launched a 403(b) retirement program.

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Are you looking for the best employment agency in Austin? We would be honored if you considered Peak Performers employment agency! You can find our open jobs here.

Job Search Recommendations and Referrals

Job Search Referrals

Ask around for job recommendations and referrals when looking for your next job.

When I first moved to Austin, I needed to find a dentist. So I asked my co-workers and friends. Who do you use? After talking to a few people, I found one who was in my area, covered by my insurance, and well-regarded by multiple co-workers. And they’ve been great–which is especially valuable to me since I’m afraid of going to the dentist!

The jobs we see online are typically the ones that are best advertised. After all, Indeed and Ziprecruiter make a lot of money through paid advertisements.

These jobs may not be the best one for your skill set…or the best paying…or even the best company. They’re simply the most visible. Perhaps ABC Dentistry is going to treat me and my smile right, but I’d feel a whole better about it if someone I knew recommended them as opposed to them just popping up in my Facebook feed.

Ask for Job Referrals and Recommendations

Are you looking for work? If so, call up your friends and colleagues (past or present) to ask them:

Do you know anyone who is hiring?
Can you get me in touch with someone to discuss the job and the organization?
What kinds of organizations in the area could use my unique skills?

Then seek to build relationships with each new person you meet and ask them these same questions. This core to your networking strategy!

Most people want to help you. Even if they can’t think of any job referrals right now, they may help you keep an eye out for future opportunities.

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Want to know what people think of us? Check out our testimonials page or visit our listing on Google.

Focus on What You Can Control

Job Seeking Challenges

If COVID-19 and the last couple years has taught me anything, it’s to take a step back and focus on what I can control (because there’s an awful lot of things I can’t!)

I feel the same goes for job seeking…

I talk to many, many job seekers who are feeling frustrated, burnt out, and like their situation is hopeless. They feel like they’re either stuck in a job that they don’t like or stuck without work altogether. This in spite of employers nationally struggling to find workers.

So what can you control?

-What jobs you apply for
-How often you apply for jobs
-The follow up you do with recruiters and hiring managers
-Your networking activities
-Your interview preparedness
-The presentation and quality of your resume, cover letters, LinkedIn, etc.

How to Stay Motivated while Looking for Work

The job search process can be a long one, especially if you’re trying to get back into the labor market, switch careers, have an employment barrier, or are trying to find your very first job.

But I will tell you what I tell all the job seekers I talk to: no matter how many “no”s you get, it only takes one “yes” for you to get hired. The best job search strategy I have seen is persistence. If you keep trying, the odds are in your favor.

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PS: Peak Performers is hiring! Furthermore, you’re always welcome to follow up with us if you submit a resume and don’t hear back. Check out our many open jobs!

Take Advantage of Peak Hiring Cycles

Timing Your Job Search

Hiring often comes in cycles. As a job seeker, you can take advantage of these cycles in order to apply at the right time. Here are several examples of hiring cycles:

Budget-based Hiring Cycles

Typically we see an increase in hiring activity towards the end of the fiscal year for government agencies as they seek to fill headcount and get projects done with their leftover budget. The federal end of fiscal year is September 30 and state of Texas is August 31. Many private companies begin their budget year January 1st.

Seasonal Hiring Cycles

Retail will start aggressively recruiting in the summer in order to bolster their workforce for the coming Christmas season. By contrast, construction and landscaping companies in colder parts of the country will slow hiring during the fall/winter and accelerate in early Spring as the weather warms up. Think about your industry and when do they hire most people?

Surge Hiring Cycles

Tax preparation, for example, is a $10.8 billion dollar a year industry. The Internal Revenue Service also must surge its workforce to handle all of the annual returns. These two entities will often start recruiting heavily around January 1, though the IRS will often keep workers well into the summer to handle all the tax returns.

Staffing firms are often used during these surge hiring cycles to help handle the need for extra workers. If you’re hired during one of these cycles, don’t be afraid to work for a staffing agency.

Project-based Hiring Cycles

The recently passed infrastructure bill, for example, will mean construction and public transportation across the country will see a huge boost. Currently, many of our customers have hired workers to handle COVID-19 -related projects. You can look at other macro trends in your area and your industry to anticipate what workers will be needed.

New-business Hiring Cycles

When a new business moves into town (such as Tesla here in Austin) they will need to hire a lot of people. Local news such as Austin Business Journal and Community Impact Newspaper can help give you a head’s up that there’s a newcomer in town. These businesses will need a lot of people and may want to see your resume!

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*You know who’s always hiring? Peak Performers Staffing Agency is! We can help you navigate these cycles to get your resume in at just the right time!

How Do I Compare Multiple Job Offers?

Tips for Comparing Job Offers

Many job seekers now may be getting multiple competitive offers and be faced with a new predicament: which job do I accept?

While it’s tempting to look only at the bottom line—the pay—there are many other intangible factors to consider.

To start off with, as you begin your job search, it can help by making a list of what matters to you. Then seek to compare apples to apples. For this I included a video that can help you evaluate all the offers of benefits packages.

Factors to Consider When Comparing Job Offers

Compensation

This is a straight-forward comparison. Who will pay you more money. However, also factor in location of the job. From a cost of living perspective, a $50k / year in Austin, TX is way different than a $50k / year job in San Francisco CA. Here’s a free calculator to compare cost of living. Also keep in mind any bonuses or commissions you may be entitled to in your equation.

Insurance

Medical, dental, and vision are the primary offerings. When comparing insurance packages, make sure to consider things like annual deductibles, monthly premiums, and out of pocket maximums. Employers may offer disability insurance and life insurance.

Retirement Benefits

This often takes the form of a 401k, pension, or 403b if you work for a nonprofit. Peak Performers is excited to soon be offering a 403b to all of our employees!

Fringe Benefits

Fringe benefits from an employer may include things like a work phone, airline miles, or possibly even a company car.

Paid Time Off

Paid time off from an employer is another key benefit. This often takes the form of sick days and vacation days, but also may be one single allotted amount of time to spend as you choose.

Remote Work/Location

Currently, there are way more job seekers looking for “remote jobs” than just looking for “jobs.” Many job seekers factor in location as key deciding factor. For our part, about 46% of our jobs are remote. And if you are working on-site, factor in your daily commute and how much that will cost you in time and gas.

Time Flexibility

Don’t forget to ask about whether your hours can be flexible. This is important for taking care of things outside of work, such as childcare duties or going to the doctor. Time flexibility is a non-tangible but extremely valuable job benefit.

Workplace Culture

While not a tangible benefit, having ping pong tables in the break room has done the start-up industry wonders! Seek a workplace culture that will align with your own work style. Use social media to research the company and ask acquaintances who are currently working there what it’s like.

Organizational/Role Prestige

Finally, factor in the “prestige” when considering job offers. People spend less than 3 years on average at each job, so this job will likely not be your last. Does the company or your job title look good on your resume? Will it help you find an even better job several years from now?

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Don’t Forget…

At the end of the day, remember to politely decline the offers you don’t choose and keep those people in your network. Perhaps that organization will be a fit for you several years down the road when you’re ready for your next career journey?

Austin Job Seeker Resources

Peak Performers employment agency is an active part of the recruiting and job seeking community and connected to many organizations and resources that may help job seekers find work. Here is our curated list of Austin job seeking resources:

General Job Seeker Services

Workforce Solutions is the operational arm of Texas Workforce Commission in providing various job seeker services. Peak Performers does not provide job seeker services and will usually refer job seekers onto Workforce Solutions.

You can turn to Workforce Solutions for services such as:

Unemployment benefits
Free or discounted training and education opportunities
Workplace accommodation resources
Childcare assistance services
Resume and interview coaching
Career coaching

Job Search & Training

NEW! In response to the sudden rise in unemployment, Workforce Solutions has launched a “Jobs Now” website, which is a manually curated list of jobs that are still hiring despite current market conditions.

Additionally, they hold job fairs periodically throughout the year:

Bi-weekly general job fairs
Industry-specific job fairs
Public sector job fairs
Disability-focused job fairs
Second chance job fairs
Veterans job fairs

https://www.wfscapitalarea.com/events

There are multiple locations in the Austin area, and they’re open 8 a.m. – 5 p.m., Monday – Friday. They accept walk-ins and appointments for job seekers with specific needs.

9001 N Interstate Hwy 35 Ste 110, Austin, TX 78753 (North Austin)
575 Round Rock W Dr Building H, Suite 240, Round Rock, TX 78681 (Round Rock)
3401 Webberville Rd #1000, Austin, TX 78702 (East Austin)
7701 Metropolis Dr, Austin, TX 78744 (South Austin)

Austin Job Clubs

Job seeking can be demoralizing, especially if you’re told “no” over and over. It can be valuable to join a community of other job seekers to keep you motivated and to offer guidance along the way. Fortunately, Austin metro area has three prominent job clubs which you can become involved in. They will often feature speakers, job fairs, and resume workshops. These are free to attend—they ask for donations from previous job seekers and from employer sponsorships.

Job Seekers Network – Meetings in Northwest Austin every Monday

LaunchPad Job Club – Meetings in North Austin every Friday

Note: currently job clubs are suspended due to outbreaks in the COVID-19. This article will be updated when the job clubs are back in session.

Recommended Job Seeker Websites

There are a lot of websites out there to help job seekers find work and much of your time is going to be spent utilizing these resources. Gone are the days of walking into businesses and dropping off your resume at the front desk. “Help wanted” signs now hang in the digital window.

You should use all or many of these websites to aid your job search. Generally, these websites are free to job seekers and require minutes to start an account.

ZipRecruiter – this platform has taken the recruiting world by storm as it does a great job of proactively finding jobs that may be a fit and inviting you to apply. It is also pulls jobs from hundreds of other websites and centralizes them in one place.

Monster – this platform is used by many recruiters for its advanced search features. It also tends to attract many professional and information technology job seekers. From an employer side, the cost is rather daunting but that tends to attract larger employers looking for hard-to-find candidates.

Dice – this is widely used in the Austin information technology job search community. Dice tends to attract mid and senior -level professionals.

WorkInTexas – this is used in Texas by Workforce Solutions to post jobs. Jobseekers filing for unemployment will be required to build a profile….but take time to do it right—many job seekers don’t fill in all the information! Savvy recruiters use this website because it’s free and because it’s a snap shot of nearly all job seekers available, not just the ones who have their resume up on other platforms.

Glassdoor – jobs are posted to Glassdoor but perhaps more important are the tools to read company reviews and explore salaries. Glassdoor is an important part of your research toolkit so that you spend time engaging with reputable companies.

Austin Chamber of Commerce – in response to the COVID-19 unemployment crisis, the Austin Chamber of Commerce has launched a listing of businesses in Austin who are still hiring. Great for doing some research and discovering companies that you haven’t heard of before.

Additional Job Seeking Resources

Here is a list of other resources that I refer people onto who are looking for work:

AustinUp is a local nonprofit that connects older adults (ages 50+) with employers seeking experienced professionals. AustinUp also partners with AARP in order to connect older adults with a host of other services. AustinUp has periodic job fairs throughout the year as well as regular meetings.

Texas Veterans Commission supports Texas veterans and their spouses who are looking for work and other services. Texas Veterans Commission career advisors work out of Workforce Solutions offices.

Austin Community College Employment Readiness Training is a “boot camp” to help job seekers get ready to look for work. Perfect for those who have not looked for work for a little while and are feeling overwhelmed.

Other Community Resources

There can be other barriers getting in the way of finding a job. Here is a list of some of those local resources:

Austin Urban League is a local nonprofit that seeks to help African Americans and other under-served urban residents with job training, housing programs, and education.

Homeless Veteran Assistance the local VA helps homeless veterans get connected to housing and jobs. Local resources available to help veterans and their spouses.

Dress for Success helps disadvantaged women by providing professional attire, a network of support, and career development resources.

Workforce Education and Readiness Continuum is a branch Workforce Solutions here to connect job seekers to specific resources they will need prior to starting work.

Foundation Communities is a local nonprofit that assists central Texas residents with financial assistance, health insurance, and access to other services to help ensure they are able to start work.

So…What Do You Do?

Focus Your Job Search

“So…what do you do?”

Don’t you hate that question? You get it at parties, you get it at job fairs, you even get it at the dentist! I don’t know about you, but I’m a lot more than just my work. If I’m a job seeker, though, my resume is not the place to tell you who I am.

Employers get hundreds (sometimes thousands) of applications for every position that they post. This creates a mountain of reading that recruiters just cannot do. Often, computers read your resume first and rate it based on how relevant it is to what the recruiter wants. Or, if you’re an overworked recruiter, you read really fast (i.e. 6-10 seconds per resume).

“Who” is a complicated question that gets to the core of our humanity. “What” is a lot easier to communicate. In recruiting, it’s how we evaluate a candidate for further consideration. In this article, I want to get your resume from “Who” to “What.”

Questions to Ask Yourself When Looking for a Job

One of the hardest parts of the job search is knowing where to start. Full time work provides a location to work, equipment to work on, a community to support and direct you, and, in most cases, clear instructions on what to do on a day-to-day basis.

When you are seeking work, that can all go out the window very quickly. Job searchers must now turn inwards and answer a couple of deep questions.

What do I want to do?
What can I do?
What place (where) do I want to do it?
What do I expect from my work?

I have found these questions to be the most basic as well as the most troubling. I ask you to ask yourself, because every day that I’m at a job fair I ask job seekers, “what do you do?”

We’ll take a deeper dive into each, but first you need to gather a few tools:

A copy of your resume you can write on
A pen
A highlighter

1) What do you want to do?

For just a minute, I want you to imagine a perfect world where you don’t need to work but instead just want to work. What would you do? I want you to ignore the lightness of your wallet and the anxiety you feel about being around the house all day.

But I’m going to make this harder. You now need to answer this question in three words or less. Write them at the top of your resume where it’s so big you can’t ignore or forget what you wrote.

2) What can you do?

Now, write down a list that ignores your list of what you want to do. This list is for the things you can do whether you want to do them or not. Here’s where I want to you get really specific and list all of the things you can do.

This is the most important part to recruiters and companies. Many will train you, but they want you to come in being able to meet the minimum job expectations.

Now I want you to condense this list down to just three words. Maybe you can do a lot! That’s great, but what are your key skill sets? What would jump out to me as a recruiter? Write these skills down on your resume.

3) What place (where) do I want to do it?

The easy answer to this is “within a X distance drive.” Let’s include this and then go beyond the physical location. You should also consider things like a welcoming environment, a company with a social mission, a younger/older workplace, a progressive/conservative workplace, etc. These are going to be different for each individual.

4) What do you expect?

Now we’re getting into the nitty gritty of the job details. Realize that expectations may have to be compromised, but it helps to write them down. Start with the most obvious expectation and the reason most of us go to work each day. Here are some things you might expect

I expect to make $XXXX
I expect XXXX kind of health insurance
I expect XXXX other benefits
I expect to have some level of autonomy in my day-to-day work
I expect to be valued for my creative contributions
I expect to work in a team-oriented environment
I expect to maintain a work-life balance

We expect a lot out of our work. As well we should. We spend a lot of time there! But get this down into three words.

Edit Your Resume

A common misconception is that resumes should be only one-two pages. A resume should be as long as it needs to be provided that:

It accurately and concisely represents all of you
Is long enough to thoroughly address everything that a job description asks for

We’re going to make a generic resume from which you can start. You will constantly be editing this resume for every single job for which you apply.

Highlight: I want you to highlight everything on your resume that points strongly to one of the words that is written above. It can (and usually should) be the word itself.
Circle: Anything that may be relevant for a job. Education is a good example; you may well need or should include it on your resume, but often the role you’re applying for does not explicitly require it. Often, these circled items will be listed on your resume but de-emphasized.
Cross Out: There’s probably a lot of stuff left on your resume. Cross it out. These are like hoarding shoe boxes or 1980s Christmas decorations or Beanie Babies. Channel your inner Marie Kondo and throw it out.

Want more resume tips? Be sure to check out this article.

Getting to “Who”

It’s not that recruiters and HR managers don’t care about who you are…it’s just that resumes are not the appropriate place for it. “What” is clear and objective. It’s also what catches our attention in a stack of resumes.

Once you get to the interview, show off “who” you are in order to stand out from the other applicants.

Are you looking for work? Check out our open jobs.

Applicant Tracking Systems

What is an Applicant Tracking System?

Modern-day recruiters are flooded with resumes from candidates applying for their jobs. Additionally, recruiters have access to countless resumes online through places like Monster and Indeed. For this reason, similar to how you use Google to find what you’re looking for online, HR departments are relying on Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) to find the candidates they are looking for (using keyword searches, mostly) and to “save” promising candidates for future opportunities.

In this article, let’s take a deeper dive into the world of recruiting and the tools that they use (Applicant Tracking Systems).

Why it Matters

Many larger organizations get an even higher volume of resumes and have fewer recruiters to sift through them. Additionally, large companies or public sector departments often have tight deadlines and must rely on their recruiters to find the best candidates very quickly. It is estimated that recruiters for larger organizations spend less than 6 seconds on each resume.

Imagine for a second that you are asked to find the best qualified candidate and you have a hundred resumes to review. How would you go about this task?

First, we start by using keywords from the job description and matching those to what’s found in the resume–very similar to how you might find something on Google. The results are returned to us as a “relevancy score.” Basically this means that the computer is trying to figure out how relevant a candidate is to the job we’re trying to fill. Many recruiters might only look at the first few results (the ones on the top of the page).

Ultimately, recruiters are there in order to go through the resumes and then recommend a few of the most promising candidates to their hiring managers. The recruiter may not make a hiring decision but is influential in choosing who gets invited to interview.

Resume Optimization in 5 Steps

Now that you know why it matters, I’m going to tell you how to prepare your resume in 5 steps to make you stand out.

1) Print the job description

What I recommend to job seekers is to print the job description and read it aloud. Next, ask yourself what the recruiter is looking for and how will they find it when they have a lot of resumes to go through. Now, take a highlighter and highlight those words and phrases. Recruiters are generally asked to find candidates based off of hard skills (tangible skills such as experience with a particular software or a unique named skill set, such as accounting) and soft skills (things like being team-oriented or being organized).

2) Insert keywords into your resume (multiple times)

Now take those keywords and put them in your resume if they are not there already. I recommend finding multiple places to insert them. Typically, I find it helpful to put them in a breakaway skills section under the objective summary and build them into each work experience where you used them. Including keywords multiple times will help increase your “relevancy score” according to the computer, and it is also what the recruiter will first scan for. But remember, your goal is to optimize and present your experience as favorably as possible–not to trick the recruiter by misrepresenting your experience or stuffing your resume with keywords.

3) Update your objective summary

Many recruiters skip right past this bit on the first read through. That’s because it often boils down to under-qualified job seekers trying to talk their way into a job or job seekers saying everything that they say in their resume again…except in paragraphs as opposed to bullets. Use the objective summary to specifically call out this job that you’re applying for and make it a true summary of why you are the best qualified candidate for this role. Additionally, use this section to address any concerns that a recruiter may have that might get you screened out without your providing further explanation: for example, returning to the workforce after a long work hiatus or applying for a job from a different state (here at Peak we work predominately with local candidates or those who have already moved to the area).

4) Move pieces of your resume around

In my jobs, our clients are typically more focused on direct experience as opposed to education. When a candidate sees that there is no education requirement and yet puts their education front and center, it simply slows down my eyeballs from getting to the part of their resume that’s relevant to the job. Again, put yourself in the shoes of a recruiter and think what is important and then figure out how to put it on the first page or as close to it as possible. Also, relevancy score is often affected by how close the desired keywords appear to the top of the page.

5) Remove/minimize extra content

Many, many job seekers have a notion that they have to have a resume that is one or two pages long. (I work primarily in within the public sector within Information Technology staffing and resumes for positions we fill tend to be much longer than this.) However, I think where this conventional wisdom comes from is recruiters who are used to sifting through hundreds or thousands of resumes for a particular job. This means (theoretically) that the recruiter has to read less content in order to get the gist of a candidate. Having a resume that’s short and sweet is great…if it gets to the recruiter at all. More important is making sure that the resume is specifically targeted to the job using keywords, includes an appropriate objective summary, and is arranged in an order that is relevant. Where you can cut or minimize content is by removing all that extra stuff the job doesn’t call for. Are you applying for a java developer role but you spent the last 6 months in retail while you went back to school? I don’t need to know about your time working retail except to know what you’ve been doing for the last six months and why you were doing it.

Are you looking for work? Don’t forget to check out our jobs!

Best Job Hunting Websites in Austin

Top Job Hunting Websites for Austin Texas

There are a lot of job hunting websites out there. We often get asked which are the best ones to use? Short answer: all of them. It is so easy to get your resume multiple places that you might as well. The bigger task then becomes managing all those resumes and the correspondence you may receive from recruiters.

Here’s one recruiter’s take on the top job search websites for job seekers to get noticed in Austin, TX.

ZipRecruiter

ZipRecruiter has taken the hiring market by storm. They aggregate many millions of resumes and are a great starting point for getting recruiters to call you. Also, since ZipRecruiter “scrapes” resumes from other online platforms, it’s possible your resume already has some visibility on this platform.

Indeed

There are a lot of other platforms recruiters use that tie into it. Many Applicant Tracking Systems can already search Indeed and many other commonly used recruiting tools like Ziprecruiter or Mightyrecruiter access it’s immense database effortlessly. Indeed boasts 200 million unique visitors every month and is used in over 60 countries.

Google Jobs

Known for disrupting marketplaces and aggregating hoards of data, Google recently rolled out an updated job search platform that seeks to solve the problem of the same job being posted multiple places. Does it work? Usually. This is a great place for discovering jobs posted on other platforms or directly on company websites.

Increasingly, LinkedIn is being used by recruiters to search for living, breathing resumes. In the recruiting community, some rely on it so strongly that they’re advocating the discontinuation of the resume If you know someone — or know someone who knows someone — LinkedIn can be a valuable networking tool. You can draw extra attention to your resume when you connect with a contact and/or send them a personal message through the LinkedIn platform. A LinkedIn profile can direct the viewer to specific credentials and expertise, and often the most regular users of the site are those who are currently employed but entertaining other options.

Glassdoor

Glassdoor wins points for most insights into companies — but, you can find jobs on it too! Employees past and present are encouraged to post anonymously about their employment experience: including wages, other benefits, work environment, and their personal experience. As with all online review platforms (*cough* Yelp *cough*), the voices of those who had a bad experience can often drown out the silent majority who had a good or fine experience, but Glassdoor does seek to mitigate this by collecting as many reviews as possible. Still, take what you read with a grain of salt and use Glassdoor to get an idea of what you’re walking into with a company.

Work in Texas

WorkInTexas.com may not be the most user-friendly interface but you will often be required to create a profile if you’re filing for unemployment benefits in Texas. Don’t think this tool can’t be valuable, though. Your career advisors will use it to help match you up with potential jobs, and recruiters like me peruse it regularly for candidates that have recently joined the job market and may not be visible on other platforms yet. Also, since many job seekers do not fill out complete profiles, WorkInTexas.com provides a unique opportunity to stand out from the crowd.

If you’re looking for work in Texas, don’t forget to send your resume to Peak Performers!

Master your elevator pitch

Elevator Pitches and Job Searching

Frequently Asked Questions

What is an elevator pitch and why do I need one?

An elevator pitch (for job seekers) is a short speech meant to pique the interest of a prospective employer. The idea is that it’s a short introduction speech that could be delivered on your way up an elevator with a stranger you’re trying to make an impression on.

You will need one in order to quickly introduce yourself in order to get a business card from someone on the inside.

How long is an elevator pitch?

The length of an ideal elevator pitch depends. Are you going up 2 floors or 20? Are you trying to get a business card or schedule lunch? Are there other people waiting in line behind you waiting for you to finish?

While many will say “around 30 seconds” I recommend timing it based on your surroundings and the attention span of the person you’re talking to. However, make sure you don’t talk continuously for more than a minute–that’s a long time!

Do elevator pitches work for job seekers?

A successful elevator pitch can get you a business card or allow you to make a favorable first impression, which is all it’s really meant to do. With this first impression and brief access to someone on the inside, you now have a competitive edge over the other job seekers who are blindly applying for a position.

When will you use an elevator pitch in job seeking?

At a job fair, over the phone, or even for the first few minutes of your interview to make an impression. Elevator pitches will come up constantly for job seekers. Think of it as a quick way to introduce yourself to strangers.

Advice for delivering a better elevator pitch

Listen before speaking

While it may seem like you don’t have a lot of time, the single biggest mistake I see people make is by just launching into an elevator pitch that is completely irrelevant to me and my position. Furthermore, when you waste my time with an irrelevant pitch (even if it didn’t take that long), I’m less likely to want to help you.

Don’t overthink this–a simple question such as: “what are you hiring for?” or “what do you do for XYZ company” is enough to give you information to help you deliver a better pitch.

Make eye contact, smile, shake hands

Focus on the basics here. You’re trying to impress them but even more important is leaving them with a positive impression. Make consistent eye contact (if you’re able to) and watch for signs of disengagement, like looking away. If they do disengage from your pitch, stop and ask about them instead of talking at them.

It’s important to realize that most people don’t like strangers by default. You’ll be seeking to tell them about yourself (briefly) and identify yourself as not a threat.

Crafting your pitch based on audience

Your elevator pitch is not static. You’ll need to change it not only based on how much time you have but also who you’re talking to.

Potential subordinates: if you’re talking to someone that could report to you someday, your # 1 goal is to show them that you’re not a jerk. The more that you can make yourself “likable,” the more likely they are to help you. Identify who you are and what you do, politely ask them how to be considered for the role, and then focus your time on building personal rapport.

Recruiters: recruiters are looking to check all their boxes and quickly pass along resumes for close fit candidates. You can get ahead with recruiters by asking who they’re looking for and then seeking to check their boxes. If appropriate for your experience-level, you can get ahead by presenting yourself as a subject matter expert so that they’ll go back to the office and tell their boss “guess who I just met!”

Peers/lateral connections: 75% of all jobs are filled via networking so it is critical that you make friends with your potential future co-workers. Similar to pitching to subordinates, focus less on impressing them and more on making a friend. Ask them about their day and identify with their struggles. Make sure to add them on LinkedIn and send them a friendly follow up email. Lateral connections will then go on to keep you in mind for this job and others like it if they like you.

Bosses: when talking to your potential future boss, it’s important to present yourself as being able to solve. Focus on how you add value to the organization and their department. These are the people you’re looking to wow and impress so keep it professional.

Practicing and Delivering your Elevator Pitch

Now that we’ve talked about how to craft your elevator pitch and tailor it to the audience, let’s talk about how to actually compose one.

1) Put it on paper.

Write down everything you would like a prospective employer to know about your skills, accomplishments, and work experiences that are relevant to your target position. Now edit until you have just a few key bullet points or sentences. The goal is to interest the listener in learning more, not to tell your whole life story. Shoot for 75-150 words.

As you’re writing this, think about how it will change based on your audience.

2) Format it.

A good pitch should answer three questions:

Who are you?
What do you do?
What are you looking for?

Don’t get bogged down in the details!

3) Read your pitch out loud.

The best editing you can do is to hear how it sounds out loud.

4) Practice, practice, practice (then ask for feedback).

Rehearse your pitch in front of a mirror or use the recording capabilities of your mobile device, so you can see and hear how you sound. Continue to fine tune your pitch until it no longer sounds rehearsed. When you are satisfied with your pitch, try it out on a few friends and ask for honest and constructive feedback.

6 Tips for Resume Writing

Your resume gets you the interview . . . you get the job!

Resume writing can be a long process with lots of conflicting advice. As a recruiter for Peak, a staffing agency in Austin, I’d like to share some of our recommendations and then also share tips from other top websites. One thing that recruiters and hiring authorities agree on is that the purpose of your resume is to provide a snapshot of your experience and skills with an emphasis on how they relate to the job you want.

Tailor your resume.

This can be hard, especially if you are submitting your resume to a lot of different places. Making your resume specific to the job really does help it jump out to recruiters. Are you applying for an Administrative job? You need to say explicitly how you’ve worked in similar roles before or had experiences in different roles that exposed you to similar environments. Your resume should include relevant experience like answering the phone, responding to customer questions, generating reports, coordinating schedules, etc. Are you applying for a technical role? Be detailed about the kind of technologies you know and experience you’ve had.

How long should it be?

This varies. On the Information Technology side of things, I look at a lot of highly technical candidates. An IT professional’s resume should reflect the technologies they’ve worked with and the environment—it’s not uncommon for me to see 5-10 page IT resumes. On the Office Professional side of our business, resumes are being reviewed for less technical roles and successful applicants will focus on experiences but also keep it briefer, around two pages in length. Regardless, I recommend that job seekers build multiple versions of their resumes of varying length and details to submit depending on the job and the organization.

Make it readable but not ostentatious.

Remember tip #1? Tailor your resume. We work with state agencies and many are more conservative in the kinds of resumes they’re looking for. They’re screening for experience and hard skills first and will get to know you during the interview. On the other hand, if you’re applying to work for an ad agency, your tailored resume should probably be flashy. Know your audience and write to that audience.

Don’t date your experience or credentials.

It can be tempting to go all the way back in your work history, especially if you’re a late career job seeker. However, conventional wisdom holds that you do not need to date experience in your resume that is older than ten years. If you possess relevant but dated experience, include it in an ‘other relevant experience’ section omitting dates. Note: also remove graduation/completion dates from schools/training that you have attended.

Avoid unnecessary personalizing details.

We recommend not disclosing anything in the resume that is overly identifying in a personal, non-job relevant way. No photos of you, your spouse/partner, your kids, your pets. Avoid mentioning your political affiliation, your religion, your heritage, your favorite ice cream flavor…just ask yourself if it’s necessary for the hiring manager to see this side of me on paper?

Read it out loud.

Ready to hit the submit button? Take an extra ten minutes to read your resume out loud. You are your own best editor and reading your resume aloud will help you catch awkward phrasing, extra words, and sometimes even misspellings.

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Was this helpful? You can read our other two articles on resume writing (Professional email address resume tips) and (What’s in a name? resume advice). Ready to send us your tailored, pitch-perfect resume? You can do so online.

Don’t just take our word for it. Many recruiters have different opinions on this subject. Here are some tips from Monster and here’s what Glassdoor has to say.