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When you contact an executive recruiter, you are personally investing in the advancement of your career. It’s an important step. Congratulations!

For some job seekers, introducing yourself to a recruiter can be the most intimidating part of the job search process, but it doesn’t have to be. The fact is we want to hear from you no matter where you are in your career journey.

At Building Careers for example, we work with a range of clients in commercial real estate who have engaged us to help them find top tier talent for open positions in their companies. And, you just might be an ideal candidate, but we won’t know that until we know you!

The good news is once we connect, while you still have work to do, you’re no longer alone in your job search.

The best thing you can do for this first stage of the process – reaching out to a recruiter for the first time – is to be prepared. We expect you to have a complete resume and up-to-date LinkedIn profile. What I mean by “be prepared” is be ready to clearly tell us what your career motivations are, the type of employment opportunity you are looking for and what qualifications you possess that make you right for the job.

For example, we recently had the pleasure of working with a candidate, Justin, who we were able to swiftly place as a result of his intuitive and organized approach. He knew that his analytical skill set was a compliment to his outgoing, friendly personality and that he would fit best in an acquisitions analysis role with room to move more to the sourcing side.

Justin reached out to us nearly nine months before he was to graduate with his MBA and was able to accurately describe what part of the industry he was passionate about and why and how his experience and skill set lent itself well to that path. He was also very forthcoming about other opportunities he was interested in, which allowed us to narrow our search based on the types of roles and companies that motivated him.

As he explains: “When preparing to talk to Carly about what I was looking for in my next career move, I needed to first get clear on what I was bringing to the table for prospective employers and then get clear on what I wanted in my next role. I made sure I was able to (concisely) articulate my past experience, technical skills and education and also made sure to list the things I was specifically looking for in my next job regarding the size of the organization, roles and responsibilities and geographic location.”

Justin accepted a full time role as a senior associate on an acquisitions team upon his graduation in June, nine months after our first introduction, and he couldn’t be happier… And we couldn’t be happier for him!

It takes a certain amount of self-awareness but the more relevant and succinct you can be in describing you and your professional experience to us upfront the better. Something to also keep in mind: Sometimes knowing what you don’t want is just as important and helpful as knowing what it is you do want. And don’t hesitate to show us roles that you have found that interest you. By doing so, you are giving us more insight into what your dream career looks like. (And, we can get you in front of the decision makers to give you a leg up for that role as an added bonus!)

We want to know what would make you jump out of bed everyday excited to go to work.

Here are some things to think about (and we will most probably ask you) as you prep for that first introduction with your recruiter. From there, it’s our job (and goal) to match your best interests with the needs and expectations of a client’s to create an inspiring and successful partnership between you.

• Opportunity you are looking for
• Ideal role / Dream job
• Interests / Aspirations / Motivations
• Career history / Background experience
• Your current situation and responsibilities
• Level of job management / Specific title
• Skills / Gaps in skills / Desired new skills
• Work process and style
• Work environment (in which you work best)
• Compensation requirements
• Other must haves / Deal breakers

Carly Glova is the founder of Building Careers, LLC a San Diego-based, commercial real estate focused recruiting solution. Her team offers free career consultation.