Finding that next great Contract as a Contract Recruiter can be tough with the current cutbacks at many companies.  In previous Blogs we discussed setting your goal and creating a plan for your search. 

Once you have your plan started, the next step may be to create your own marketing materials.  Make sure you have a good email address, small portfolio of your past work, and a solid resume to use in the search process.  Once you have the basic marketing documents in place. you are ready to begin looking for that next great Contract Recruiting role.

Last month I wrote about the sometimes tedious and always time consuming job of looking for a new Contract Recruiter position.  The steps can be remarkably easy however, if you create a search plan and stick to it. 

The action plan has several steps and can look something like the following:

1. Define the Goal of the Search �?? �??To Identify New Contract Recruiting Job Opportunities�?��??
2. Refine Your Marketing Materials (Resume, References, Recruiting Specialization and Examples)
3. Build and Expand Your Brand
4. Market Research
5. Networking
6. Managing Your Search �?? Tools of the Trade
7. Action Items
8. Plan Measurement Dates

In this post, I�??d like ...

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Over the last year, I have seen the peaks and valleys of job demand for Contract Recruiters.  Recently, my Yahoo Group (ContractRecruiterJobs) has been deluged with postings from Contract Recruiters looking for a new Contract Recruiting opportunity.  I guess it goes without saying that the economic crunch we all are feeling is also hitting the Contract Recruiting business. 

So, as I sat the last couple of days thinking about what to blog about (sorry I have been out for a while and not doing any blogging), I wondered what I should use for a catchy title for this small entry ...

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Many Contract Recruiters have contacted me over the last couple of years to inquire about ?virtual? Contract Recruiting opportunities.  Well, with the price of gasoline reaching $4.00 per gallon, maybe it?s time to get serious about virtual Contract Recruiting?  Certainly, it?s time to suggest it to our current employers.

So what holds back companies and agencies from setting up Virtual Recruiters?  I think the answer may just be ?out-dated thinking?!  I think they are afraid that if some recruiters do virtual recruiting that everyone may want to do it.  I also think they don?t understand the ...

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Every day we hear about the price of oil going up and of course gasoline and other fuels going up just as fast or faster.  It takes a fifty dollar bill to fill my SUV!  We also hear about some of the work going on in alternative energy products and strategies for fixing our energy problems in the future.  Well, I am here to tell you that there is an ?alternative energy? source right here in the recruiting industry which we can all start utilizing tomorrow.  It?s a Contract Recruiter!

OK, not in the car or lawn mower, but ...

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As many of you know, I founded and moderate a Yahoo Group for Contract Recruiters.  It is called ContractRecruiterJobs and is open to all Contract Recruiters, Agencies, and Corporations who employee Contract Recruiters.  There are almost 4,000 members to date and literally daily, job opportunities are posted, or contract Recruiters list there resume looking for new opportunities.

I created the Group to of course help Contract Recruiters and employers find each other.  I was very surprised and pleased to see the Group grow so rapidly and become so effective in helping this talented sector of the Recruiting world.  What ...

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OK, so all day and night I have been flipping channels trying to get away from the election results and the bad economic forecasts, bummer!  But it got me to thinking about the Contract Recruiter world and how Contract Recruiters may be impacted if 2008 continues to be doom and gloom?

If you look at some of the opportunities out there for Contract Recruiting positions, it appears that in some ways the professional Contract Recruiter is insulated from huge economic swings up or down?  When times are good, companies and recruiting agencies are in a position to add Contract Recruiters ...

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No, it?s not the ?jelly of the month club?, it?s Recruiter Training.  And it's time for every good professional Contract Recruiter to plan on giving yourself the gift that will improve your career and earning power in 2008 and beyond.

So where do I get this training you may ask?  Of course, right here on ERE and other very helpful web sites where you can find all sorts of helpful information and training ideas.  There?s also a host of books, webinars, and training tools out there that deal with recruiting which are applicable to Contract Recruiters ...

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As I spend more time in the recruiting industry, I continue to hear about the strength of the Contract Recruiters who are out there every day getting the job done.  I almost feel like Contract Recruiters are a subterranean group of experts who carry a major portion of the recruiting workload but who seldom are given the credit for their extensive capabilities in recruiting?  I often wonder how many thousands of Contract Recruiters are out there?

Last week I met with a company who is a leader in the entertainment world.  Our topic of conversation eventually came to the aspect ...

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The Holiday Season is almost upon us and traditionally, the job market can take a sometimes much needed rest.  But that rest signals a bad omen for Contract Recruiters because we can be the first to go when hiring slows.  So, are you ready for this Holiday Season in whatever it holds?  If you haven?t given it much thought; you might want to start planning for the Holiday Season right now!

Here are a few ideas which might ease you through the Holiday Season in the Contract Recruiting business:

�      Talk to your employer to get an idea of the ...

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Contract Recruiters need to invest in their own education and training to improve their performance as well as increase their earning power.  I recently met a great trainer, Dr. David Sweet and learned of a new class he is teaching on Top Billers for recruiters.  Better yet, he has classes in Orlando, Florida which provides a great winter get away and some time for fun in the sun with the Mouse as well!  I understand his classes fill quickly, so email Dr. Sweet as soon as you can to check out which dates are still open.  Tell him you heard ...

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• ERE - Well of course, look at the posts right here on ERE.
• Yahoo Groups - Come join my free Yahoo Group ...

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Recently I have felt the heat of the Orlando summer and also observed the slowness of late summer recruiting.  Or should I say ?lack of recruiting?.  I think every year I work my way in to the summer and fail to be observant enough to recognize the slowing of recruiting efforts as a result of summer vacations, the third quarter blues within companies, and other effects just prior to Labor Day.

I have become convinced that Labor Day was actually invented as a way to signal companies and the recruiting industry that it was time to start hiring people again ...

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Recently I have been receiving a lot of inquiries via my ERE email and also directly from individual recruiters looking for a Contract Recruiter opportunity.  I?m certainly not the expert in the category of trying to find a contact position, but I guess since I write this Blog I should at least have some ideas of where and how to mount a job search for a Contract Recruiter position/job.

Usually I advise people to mount a multi-pronged search.  It?s sort of ironic how we recruiters have such a tough time when we are on the other side ...

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What?s in your ?tool box? when you arrive at your next contract location?  I?ve asked that question many times of Contract Recruiters who are looking for a new employment gig and feel they have all the tools needed to land the opportunity.  Surprisingly, once they interview with the corporation or agency, they realize they may be a little behind the times in their tool box.  Their knowledge of technology (hardware and software), ATS systems, resume parsing software, interviewing techniques, and other recruiter tools may be outdated.

I think it would be interesting to get all of you Contract ...

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Summer is here and the Contract Recruiting business is HOT!  Not only is the weather pretty warm, but the job market continues to be hot, hot, hot as well!  Every day, I see more and more new companies posting Contract Recruiter opportunities on the web job sites as well as on various Yahoo recruiter sites.  It?s not scientific, but my observation is there are even more ?virtual? Contract Recruiter opportunities being posted as well.

So what is it about summer that heats up the recruiting business and requires more companies to fill their recruiting resource needs with Contract Recruiters ...

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Brand awareness isn?t just for the big consumer products corporations any more.  It?s also for Contract Recruiters who market themselves through the sophistication of the internet, networking events, and just plain word of mouth advertising.

Many Contract Recruiters looking for that next gig struggle to verbalize or even put in an email what their ?sweet spot? is when it comes to recruiting.  As I work with the major recruiting firms around North America in their search for Contract Recruiters, there is one very common thread that seems to come around every time a new Contract Recruiter is hired ...

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Recently I have received several emails concerning Contract Recruiter pay rates and each email spoke of pay rates exceeding $100. per hour.  It got me to thinking about how Contract Recruiters set their pay rate and whether the recruiting industry in general is working towards improved income levels as well?

The old statement that ?you get what you pay for? seems to apply for Contract Recruiters.  But, how is this relationship measured when it comes to Contract Recruiters and employers in the setting of fee levels?  Are we all the same or do you really get more if you are ...

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Have you tuned up your recruiting skills lately?  I was reminded of this the other day when I stopped to buy the $3.45 gas in Chicago during a business trip.  It made me wonder how efficient the rental car was that I had just rented and whether I should have chosen a smaller car just to have better gas mileage.

I think Contract Recruiters need to think about their career in somewhat the same way.  Are we doing everything possible to be the most efficient as possible for our clients?  Do we stay current on ATS systems, phone skills ...

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Recently I overheard a discussion among Contract Recruiters around their marketing efforts to find new contract assignments.  It seems many Contract Recruiters are great at finding candidates for a source list but always struggle when it?s time to find that next contract.

The conversation revolved around an old sales training topic I used to teach to my sales group when I was in industry.  It was the concept of filling your funnel with sales ?potential?.  Of course in this case, the concept is to fill your Contract Recruiting assignment funnel with new ?potential contracts?.

The concept is simple but ...

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