How do you get a Recruiter to notice you???

Recruiters receive 100's of emailed requests and resumes every day. Not only are they working on current positions, they are also trying to form relationships for future endeavours.

Applying for a Current Position:
The most  important thing a recruiter needs is up to date information.  This is where the email becomes very important.  You want to grab them right away.  Keep your email short and sweet.  A one line introduction  with the following information:

• Availability.  If they are looking for a contractor to start immediately, then put that in the email.  
• two weeks notice
• immediately
• current contract ending mm/dd/yy
• Location:  If your home is in Markham and the position is in Mississauga, be sure to say:
• willing to commute
• willing to relocate (especially if the position is out of province)
• or put in a specific location, ie downtown Toronto
• Salary:  Give them a range.  Most positions advertised have a salary on them, if this is acceptable to you then put it in the email.  

The next thing you want to focus on are the keywords in the resume that relate to education and skills:

• Education:  Tell them you have a degree from Waterloo or you are a "Sun Certified Java Developer", etc
• Technical Skills:  5 years experience working with IBM WebSphere in a Windows environment
• Management Skills:  10 years leading teams developing ......using .....

Then again a 1 line closing sentence.  "I can be reached at .........  Thank you for your time"

So remember:

• 1 short introductory sentence
• 6 bullets briefly detailing the information that makes you qualified for a specific position
• 1 short closing sentence.

Future Possibilities

If you are sending your resume to a recruiter for future possibilities, then use the same format as above, but instead of your skills detailing specific keywords in the advertisement, put down your strongest qualifications and/or the skills you would like to be working on more.  Another key item the recruiter would like to know is if you are looking at permanent or contract positions or both.

Good luck Job Hunting