Why do recruiters always look at the last role

[Anonymous]

I am applying for a role that my experience from a few roles ago applies-not my most recent one.

HR just keeps asking about my most recent role and how it applies.

I said “that role does not apply to this role. I’m interested in the role because it applies to X job.”

Why is everything based on the most recent role?

[Anonymous]

Rearrange your resume by pertinence to the job you're applying to. I know it's tough with the stupid online forms and dates they make you fill out but at least you can do it on your CV.

[Anonymous]

[Anonymous]

Because it's your most recent experience and that is relevant if the role you're seeking requires current industry knowledge. If your current or most recent role is adjacent to the role you want, you need to emphasize the overlap (think Venn Diagram) and minimize the non-overlap.

If it's isn't adjacent, you need to emphasize a pattern of transferable skills. Your story should be that you took the role (whether by choice or circumstances) because you have a desire to always pick up new skills. This is particularly important if those new skills coincide with an area of the industry where your new potential employer resides (but may not have expanded into yet).

Recruiters are under massive pressure to get viable candidates into their pipelines, but it's up to you to sell yourself.

[Anonymous]

In my experience, HR people are often not bright and get locked into rigid ways of looking at candidates. They gatekeep and cause their companies to lose out on good candidates.

[Anonymous]

Because most recruiters can only see what is right in front of them.

Recruiters frequently reach out to me with ridiculously low comp numbers, I politely tell them that we are too far apart. Then they press for where the client would need to be for me to consider the role. When I tell them they get mad and tell me that pay just doesn't exist in this industry, I reply with my last 3 roles have been in that range and they literally tell me I am lying. One of them said this over a teams meeting, so I pulled up my pay and shared the screen and didn't saying anything. They angrily said thanks and abruptly disconnected.

[Anonymous]

Actually, as a search person for 28 years, we do look and consider. Your current title is but a snapshot. Your career is a video….make sense?

Have you considered a killer cover letter? And the opening sentence has to be a grabber. We’ve had people hired based on that. A first sentence could be something like: the best job I ever had was X and I can’t wait to do it again. Get help writing it, if need be. Worth the work. It can also go in your resume at the top as an overview or an elevator pitch. Make it easy for the recruiter to sell you.

In the body of the letter, show how you’ve stayed current with that field and aware of its present challenges and opportunities.

Still, the odds may be against you. We present one out of the box candidate per slate. And clients can be risk averse and seek a lifer in their biz.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Because it's your most recent experience and that is relevant if the role you're seeking requires current industry knowledge. If your current or most recent role is adjacent to the role you want, you need to emphasize the overlap (think Venn Diagram) and minimize the non-overlap.

If it's isn't adjacent, you need to emphasize a pattern of transferable skills. Your story should be that you took the role (whether by choice or circumstances) because you have a desire to always pick up new skills. This is particularly important if those new skills coincide with an area of the industry where your new potential employer resides (but may not have expanded into yet).

Recruiters are under massive pressure to get viable candidates into their pipelines, but it's up to you to sell yourself.

I respectfully disagree. I'm in DC and have a weird expertise that I grew over a decade as a lobbyist and over another 4 as a simi-consultant while doing another role. The issues haven't changed, just the technology and I'll I have to do to understand the tech is read trade press and attend a particular confernece. I'd be caught up in about 2 weeks.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Because most recruiters can only see what is right in front of them.

Recruiters frequently reach out to me with ridiculously low comp numbers, I politely tell them that we are too far apart. Then they press for where the client would need to be for me to consider the role. When I tell them they get mad and tell me that pay just doesn't exist in this industry, I reply with my last 3 roles have been in that range and they literally tell me I am lying. One of them said this over a teams meeting, so I pulled up my pay and shared the screen and didn't saying anything. They angrily said thanks and abruptly disconnected.

I've had similar happen but work in the nonprofit space so I send the copies of 990s that require similar skills sets to mine and tell them to look at pg. X to see person Y who has the same job title. It stops low-balling real fast.