Following up with recruiter

[ijack]

I just had a great talk with a recruiter at my company. I applied for a job that she didn't think was a great fit, but loved my resume so much she wanted to talk to me about my goals since she'd "hate to see experience like mine leave." She gave me a couple jobs to look at and asked me to keep in touch with her.
What do I do now? Obviously send a thank you - but what should it say? How often do I "keep in touch" and how? I SUCK at networking, really truly suck, so I'd like to work on this but don't know how. She doesn't work in the same state so meeting her is not an option.
Thanks!

[heyrebekah]

Are you interested in the jobs she gave you to look at? (Are those listings, or just job descriptions?) You could mention that. "Thanks for taking the time to talk with me. I have been looking over the jobs you gave me and they all look very interesting. I especially think Senior Widget Examiner would be a good fit for my skills. Please let me know if you have any openings in this area."

[ejpint]

I've done this with people. I'd mainly follow up via email. I'd say her main objective is to keep you engaged and to let you know that just because you didn't get this job, you're still a valuable asset. Look over the jobs, express your interest, connect via LinkedIn if you're on there (I'm sure she is!). From there, I'd keep an eye on posted jobs and check in with her whenever there's one of interest. She can give you maybe more insight into the soft skills or "nice to haves" the hiring manager is looking for.

Sometimes "keep in touch" is just a nice thing to say, but at some level, she means it. Your field is not an easy one to recruit for! Just update her as your career moves along.

[ijack]

Aug 7, 2012 12:17:14 GMT -5 heyrebekah said:

Are you interested in the jobs she gave you to look at? (Are those listings, or just job descriptions?) You could mention that. "Thanks for taking the time to talk with me. I have been looking over the jobs you gave me and they all look very interesting. I especially think Senior Widget Examiner would be a good fit for my skills. Please let me know if you have any openings in this area."

Not necessarily. One I might apply for, but I'm more concerned about staying in touch going forward.

[vtkgirl77]

Is this a recruiter that works for the same company as you and you are looking at jobs internally with your company? Does your company have a website that lists jobs that you can keep an eye on?

I would just make a note to touch base with her every 4-6 weeks (or whatever time frame makes sense). If your company has a job website, I would let her know if any jobs pique your interest so that you can try to get more information. If none of the jobs are of interest, I would just send her an email with something like "Hello X, We spoke last month about potential job opportunities. I have been keeping an eye on the jobs listing but I have not seen any jobs that match my skill set. I just wanted to touch base and see if you know of any new positions that may be in the pipeline."

Basically, I think you need to periodically put your name in front of her so that if a job opportunity comes up, she will remember and think of you first.