Whether you’re reentering the workforce after the pandemic or looking to leave your current position in search of a new challenge, a job search can be daunting and time-consuming. A recruiter can provide tremendous value to you by streamlining the process and matching you with open positions that require your skills and experiences. Recruiters have access to opportunities and information about employers that candidates don’t know about or have. They have accumulated years of hiring process expertise, built an extensive network of connections, and fostered relationships with employers that can be utilized to help you land a job and advance your career.

After applying for an open position online, you may get a call from a recruiter. Or, maybe you’re not currently looking for a new job but one day you get contacted on LinkedIn by a recruiter—95 percent are using the platform to search for job candidates—trying to fill an open position. After talking to the recruiter and learning more about the position, your interest is piqued and you want to move to the next stage of the hiring process and interview with the company’s hiring manager.

In either scenario, after talking to the recruiter, these are the steps you should take to prepare for the interview.

1. Review the company’s LinkedIn page: There are 58 million companies on LinkedIn so there’s a good chance the one you’re interested in has a profile on the platform. On an organization’s LinkedIn page, you can often find their:

• • Industry
  • Website address
  • Products and/or service information
  • Number of employees
  • Office locations
  • Story and values
  • Employees’ LinkedIn profiles

2. Review the hiring manager’s LinkedIn profile: Next, use LinkedIn to research the hiring manager’s educational background, length of time at the company, previous jobs, career advancements, skills, and areas of expertise. This will give you an idea of who he/she is on a professional level and you may even find something that you have in common. If not, you will still know more than most candidates going into the interview. This makes it easier to bond, build rapport, and make small talk beyond the weather.
3. Check out recent company developments and news: It’s always a good idea to be knowledgeable about the company’s latest news and developments when you go into a job interview. Most organizations have a page on their website dedicated to news, press releases, and events. This is a great way to find out current information about promotions, expansions, awards, and more.
4. Determine your transferable experience and skills: The way companies hire, develop workers, and structure work is changing and the future of work lies in skills—not jobs. There’s been an ongoing shift towards a skills-based approach to hiring and talent development. Using this approach, organizations evaluate job candidates and current employees based on their skill set and potential capabilities instead of their prior work history.

Related: A Skills-Based Approach to Attracting, Retaining, and Developing Talent

Transferable skills—also known as portable skills—are competencies that you have developed throughout your life that can “transfer” to a variety of different roles and industries. You may have obtained these skills in a previous job, during your education, through volunteer work in your community, or through hobbies.

Therefore, it’s important to identify both your transferable experience and skills before interviewing. How do you do this?

• Self-analysis: Start by making a list of skills and experiences you have obtained in your personal and professional life. Here are some examples of transferable skills that employers seek in job candidates. Next, compare your list with the required and preferred skills for the position you are seeking.
• Assessments: Sometimes is difficult to recognize your own skills and it’s easy to forget competencies obtain several years ago. Taking a self-assessment test can help jog your memory and assist you in recognizing skills.

After analyzing and assessing your transferable skills—when answering interview questions—be sure to provide stories to “show” not just “tell” your successful use of these skills.

The benefits of working with a recruiter

A recruiter can be a great resource in your job search because you both have the same goal—finding you a position with a great employer where you will be a happy, engaged, and productive employee. Using their exceptional market knowledge, connections, and tools a recruiter’s role is to guide you through the hiring process and save you time and energy. By getting to know you and understanding what you are looking for in your next role, the recruiter can help ensure that your personal and professional goals and those of their client are aligned. The benefit that you gain from working with a recruiter is proportional to the amount of effort you invest. Therefore, after talking to the recruiter, take these four steps to set yourself up for success.