Hello Friends, During the dotcom time, I also had my own recruiting firm. It was small, and I was playing up against the "big boys," so I know what you're facing. There were a couple of things I did well that really helped me. I networked a lot! I know that when you're small that you have to wear all the hats and it is really hard to do everything you need to do, but you need to fit it in where ever you can. I looked for networking opportunities with venture capitalists, because my targets were the startup dot coms. You'll have your own targets based on whoever your market is, and you look for networking opportunities there. Trust me, if you get some influential individuals or companies to refer to you frequently, it does wonders for your brand. It starts regionally, and it grows from there. One of the nice opportunities I had actually came from a vendor.
I worked very hard to try and find a resume database I could access through the web. Now that's a routine application, but when I was doing this, it was novel. I worked with the vendors and made some good contacts in the selection process. Well, when a leading trade reporter contacted these vendors for a story they were doing on technology and wanted someone they could interview with perspective, I was recommended. I got quoted in the Industry Standard, which during the dotcom time was the mark that you'd made it. Of course that got added to my "In the News Section on my website," and got as much mileage out of that exposure as I could. The point here is that you want to work with everyone. Don't consider yourself above anyone simply because you pay them and they are offering you a service. Everyone has connections and if you're known as someone who is a good resource by everyone, even if the route isn't immediately apparent, opportunities for branding open up ten fold, and are opportunities you couldn't have opened the door for yourself.
Hope this is useful. Warm Regards Meera |
