Earlier this year, an SAP Consultant asked me how they could shorten the time between finding their next contract and the benefits of working with an SAP Recruiter. He has developed excellent relationships with specific clients in his 20 years of SAP consulting and steadily found contracts through his network up until now. The uncertainty of where he would find his next opportunity and the delay frustrated him. This SAP Consultant also had difficulties finding cutting-edge opportunities that would allow him to work on the most current technologies and challenge him. He saw opportunities in the market but was having trouble pinning down a new position. This led to a conversation with him on how beneficial an SAP Recruiter could be for his career and secure a healthy pipeline of future projects.
Being an SAP contractor has excellent benefits such as high pay, flexible working hours, and being your boss. These benefits often trump some of the negatives you face when being a contractor. One of the challenges that a contractor faces is when and where their next contract will be. Traveling to be onsite at a client and working extra hours to put out fires are just a couple of examples that could delay your search. Knowing your contract will be done in 1-2 months can be stressful, and keeping track of your contacts can be challenging. One way to counter this is to establish a solid relationship with an SAP Recruiter who can help you navigate your job search. Since joining Mindset last year, I’ve seen the many benefits SAP Consultants gain when working with SAP Recruiters. From a seasoned SAP Consultant to someone just getting into SAP, there are several ways an experienced SAP Recruiter can benefit an SAP professional.
Talk the Talk
What is SAP? Is my client on HANA? MM is candy, right? You may have encountered one of these questions when talking to a recruiter from a generalized staffing firm. With the explosion of SAP contracting over the years, many agencies and recruiters have come into play in the SAP job market. Talking to an inexperienced recruiter who doesn’t know SAP can be frustrating, especially if you only have a short time to speak between meetings. I’ll admit I had no clue what I was talking about when I first started recruiting in SAP. But over the years, I’ve picked up on the language by reading books and articles and having many conversations with SAP professionals. Relying on an agency that has a couple of SAP positions a month but specializes in another area and talking to a recruiter fresh out of college when it comes to SAP may not be the best use of your time. The first step is to find an experienced Recruiter specializing in SAP at an SAP Agency or SAP Partner. An SAP Recruiter will be more beneficial to your search than a generalized recruiter because they can talk the language, appreciate your skillset, and understand what you are looking for in your next opportunity. A recruiter specializing in SAP will be able to get more details about your background for the client and also share more information about the unique opportunity we are presenting to you. It’s a win/win situation.
Opportunity
As the saying goes, “Don’t put all of your eggs in one basket.” This is especially true when looking to secure a new SAP contract. The more opportunities you have in front of you, the better your chances are of locking up a new opportunity. If you are flying solo and take the approach of applying and interviewing for one job at a time, it may take a while before your next gig. The benefit of working with an SAP Recruiter is that we will most likely have multiple opportunities that fit your skill set. Also, after placing an SAP Consultant, we are able to quickly find another opportunity to place this individual in when the contract is ending. Most of the time, this is not true for generalized staffing agencies that don’t specialize in SAP. Before coming to Mindset, I worked at a generalized staffing agency, and it was hard telling an SAP contractor that did great work that I did not have an opportunity for them after their contract ended. As an SAP Recruiter, there’s a good chance we will have multiple opportunities to present to an SAP contractor when reaching out. As SAP Recruiters, we have spent years building excellent relationships with companies that require SAP Consultants, and often many companies who know we specialize in SAP will only hire directly through us.
Get Noticed
Have you ever applied for a job online but were never contacted? Did you talk to someone who told you they could get a job at their company, only never to hear back? Another benefit to working with an SAP Recruiter is that we can help you get noticed. SAP Recruiters know the right person to put your resume in front of and sell your background. We talk to hiring managers weekly, sometimes daily, and follow up with them about resumes we have submitted. Also, there are times when managers don’t have much time to interview five candidates and ask for our top 2-3 consultants. If an SAP Recruiter has worked with a consultant or met them in person, we will sell the hiring manager on this. This works better in the consultant’s favor rather than them applying online and the hiring manager only seeing their resume.
An SAP Recruiter can advise on rates that will sometimes put you ahead of other candidates. Pricing yourself out of the running sometimes happens, and having an insider help, you get the correct number will get you noticed. Let us do the legwork for you in marketing your skills. It’s becoming a very competitive market; the more people you have on your team, the better your chance of being noticed.
Let’s Talk
Did these examples of the benefits of working with an SAP Recruiter convince you to partner with one in your search? These are just a few of the many benefits. Partnering with an SAP Recruiter can maximize your search and help you shorten the gap between contracts. We can help you not only find your next opportunity but the right one. Navigating the consulting world alone can be tough, and having a relationship with an SAP Recruiter can give you an advantage.
Are you looking for a trusted SAP Recruiter to assist you in finding your next contract or full-time opportunity? Please reach out to me at austinkessler@mindsetconsulting.com to find out how our team at Mindset can help you find your next SAP opportunity.
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