Oldies are goldies: I have written the first version of this post in May 2011 and it is one of the most viral ones, being published in print and online by careerbuilder, msn careers, businessinsider, several print media as well as – without my approval – on many obscure sites.
Here is a revised version on how to use a headhunter in the most efficient way for your career:
Many job-seekers are reluctant to use a professional recruiter. I consider this a mistake as a good headhunter has what you do not have: inside information as well as the knowledge of jobs that will never be advertised.
Here are 8 tips on how to use a headhunter – written by a headhunter:
- Prefer a specialist to a generalist: If you work in banking, find a headhunter who deals with banking people all day long as s/he will have a solid understanding of what you are talking about, what the client is looking for and how to councel you best
- Be careful: Do not give out confidential information about you or your employer on the phone without having met the headhunter or knowing who their customer is. There are some black sheep out there that are collecting resumes without an assignment. Find furthermore out how your headhunter works: if s/he sends out resumes without asking you or if they send “candidate flashes”, I would personally change the headhunter
- Be rare: Do not work with more than 3 headhunters. We try not to present a candidate who has already been sent by our competitor. You, on the other hand, will make a desperate impression if this happens
- Be prepared: I see candidates being late for the interview, badly dressed or with an outdated resume to the interview and then tell me “You know, this is only because you are the recruiter. I would never do that for the real interview”… Prepare your interview well, google us beforehand, meet us on eye-level and you will impress us and motivate us to do all for you
- Be honest: Do not lie to us as we will probably discover the truth through questioning or ref checks. I immediately stop the interview and blacklist the candidate when s/he is lying to me (usually when it is about the reasons for leaving or the last salary). We can talk about anything and if there are bumpy parts in your career, we will sort out how to explain them to our customer. But we must know
- Like us or leave us: Sympathy is an easy thing: If you do not like us, this will probably be the same vice versa. I rarely placed candidates I did not like. We are networker, sales people and if we like you, we will have a more convincing pitch. If you do not trust or like your recruiter, meet a competitor and ask the first one to delete you from his records
- Use us: A good headhunter will give you feedback on your presentation, your resume and will brief you thoroughly on the client including the people you will meet there. We know what the biggest challenges will be, what it takes to succeed in this given company and why the job is vacant. We have met your potential boss long before you do. Maybe we have even met former employees and know the weak parts of this organization. Ask for this information if your headhunter does not give it
- Keep in touch: Even successful headhunters place only 10% of the candidates they meet. Maybe you will not get the job you applied for – but you should do everything to make sure you get the next one that comes along. The biggest lie headhunters say every day is “I will call you by beginning of next week”. 9.5 out of 10 times they do not. If we do not call you, be strong and remind us in a gentle yet persistent way every other week of you: call us, send a message via LinkedIn, another time write an email
Conclusion:
A good headhunter with good values and business ethics can be far more efficient in your job search than you. His or her job is to find one for you. Do not forget that we have the same goal: if you get the job, we get the money. Use us wisely and we can be a catalyst for your career
sending...
Jorg:
Very precise and Very Professional !
People like you seem to make the difference wihtin your sector, and believe me there are not that many.
Congrats and Thank you so much!
Thanks, Angel.
Keep in touch:
Long term relationship with Headhunters is a winning game. Keeping Headhunters aware of our career changes is a good idea even when we do not need them for seeking a new position.
As we are seeking a new position, we are not in a weak position of deseparately asking for a free service. If we have the skills and the personality to carry out the job, we are a SOLUTION for the headhunter. It is important to establish a relationship that is at same level and take out of our mind that, as a candidate, we are asking for a free help.
(Furthermore, the headhunter knows that we may very well become his customer the day we will have to hire a professional).
Hi Jorg,
Excellent article.
You are quite right- the practices of a truly professional recruiter do stand out and can be somewhat rare. It’s good advice for job seekers to align themselves with a headhunter who truly has “best practices”.
I especially related to the point about calling a person back (or even an email). While not every individual is a potential candidate for a job order (i.e.: someone from whom he/she can earn a fee), every person is just that- a person- not a commodity, who deserves a level respect.
Victoria, Yves -
Thanks for the comments. Fully agree.
Best,
Jorg
Excellent.
One point of slight difference, I have placed people I feel “lukewarm” about but I am not the one who has to like the candidate. It’s easier if one does establish a positive “vibe” I agree
Don’t do any spamming with last minute bunches of CVs ,but create a solid and MUTUAL relationship with one or maximum 2 headhunters, using them as mentors.
But don’t fotget that you can be a candidate but also a client, and, above all, a source of candidates.
if you do not reciprocate favours the headhunter will for sure rimember that and behave accordingly.
Why should we stay in touch with headhunters who you *admit* are lying when they say “I’ll call you by the beginning of next week”? What does that glib remark say about the professionalism of you and your headhunter colleagues?
A professional relationship is a two-way street. Is it really so hard for you to hit the “reply” key or dial a few numbers and leave a message when an anxious job-seeker needs to know the status of a job application or who is waiting for a call you yourself said you would make? Do you mean what you say, or just say things to please (as I hear they do in the world’s oldest profession)?
When we finally get our new jobs and then are faced with staffing our own teams, which headhunters will we use? The ones who pay lip service to professionalism, or the ones who take the time and effort to be sure all potential candidates are treated with respect?
Mark -
I read many frustrations and bad experiences with professional recruiters.
My advice is to “use” us in a wise way, always be correct yourself but only give full trust to headhunters who have proven they are worth it.
No, as far as I know recruitment is not the oldest profession in the world. This honour goes to another, very different one…