Peter told me about a call he received last week from a candidate he placed a few years ago as a Lotus Notes Developer. He's now the Application Development Manager, and he's looking for a developer on his team. It's relationships like this that can open doors for you.

Follow the program
Successful recruiters are successful because they've found a formula that works. There may be as many formulas as successful recruiters. If you want to be part of that success, let them guide you through their process. In my office we've developed a questionnaire specific to the Notes professional that'll allow us to present a candidate's background in what we consider to be a complete manner. Some other recruiters use skill testing, some only work with candidates they meet face to face. If you want to get the most out of the relationship, follow along. They've found something that works for them, let it work for you.

Keep the recruiter up to date with your experience and expectations
When a recruiter becomes aware of a position, she likes to respond quickly. If she has your latest information in the files, you'll be one of the first calls she makes when a reasonable match comes along. The first place a recruiter looks is her active files, then her entire database as a second run through. If you want to be in the first round, stay current.

Peter says, "Never go more that three to six months without touching base you're your recruiter, even if you have no immediate intention of changing jobs. Let us know about changes in your life, changes in experience and expectations. Tell about experience changes including new skills, new technologies you've used, your latest projects, and any new certifications. Equally important is to keep us aware of changes in your expectations, promotions, salary increases, new boss, company stability, increased need for money (kids in college, etc.), or relocation plans."

Additionally, keep your recruiter up to date on conferences you've attended, (like Lotusphere or those sponsored by The VIEW or IBM), industry panels you've participated in, awards you've won, or any articles or tips you've written. This will help keep the recruiter on track for positions that will maximize your experience and fit your lifestyle.

Keep your resume up to date
Keeping your resume up to date is a good practice whether you're working with recruiters or not. Keep the recruiter up to date with a call, but also keep your records up to date. There's more on this in one of my previous DominoPower articles, "Update your resume as you tackle the new year," in the January 2001 issue at http://www.dominopower.com/issues/issue200101/resume001.html.

Some recruiters present candidate profiles and some present resumes. Have your resume up to date so you can be the first candidate presented and thus the person to try to beat in the interview process.

Additionally, stay in touch with people you can use as references. Touch base with them every six months. People move and change contact information. When you need to reach these people, you'll want to be able to get them quickly. Tracking them down takes time.