When a Recruiter Calls You….

Over the years, I’ve learned that many executives and managers, regardless of education, experience, or salary range, don’t often understand what to do or expect with a headhunter calls.

Before getting to the “what to do” maybe a little background is in order to help you understand a few things about recruiters.

There are several type of recruiters:

Corporate Recruiters – works for HR Departments inside a specific company,

Agency Recruiters - which include temporary services, and part time employees, contract employees and can also be known as staffing firms which recruit permanent, full time employees.

Recruiters – which include staffing firms – large and small, generalist to specialists, contingency to retained.

Some recruiters work in a bull pen staffing firm atmosphere where sales and “making the placement’ are the utmost of importance. Then there are independent recruiters, who work is smaller companies, many boutique firms concentrating on a specific industry.

Headhunters – you can find headhunters in recruiting staffing firms but headhunters recruit differently then other recruiters. True Headhunters actually recruit through relationship networking, and direct sourcing within the clients industry. They don’t spend a lot of time farming resumes from job boards like their cousins in corporations or agencies. They are true hunters. Both recruiters and headhunters’ work is employer paid. Many work on a contingency basis (get paid 100% when then make a placement) while some work on a retained basis (partial payment up front from their client). Either way, they receive all or part of their income by placing a candidate with the company. This in no way, should deter you from working with a recruiter/headhunter. How they are paid by the employer should have little to do with your working relationship. Decide to work with them based on their reputation, integrity making a good match and results.

I’ve found smaller companies, such as boutiques and independents - the best to work with because they establish relationships with clients and candidates. You aren’t just a number to them. They want to make a good fit – not just “place” someone to make a sale.

Here’s some of that “what to do” when a recruiter calls:

When I make a headhunting call to a potential candidate, I usually ask “ would you be open to exploring a new situation if it were superior to what you are doing today?”

Some phone calls from recruiters may vary, and unfortunately, the level of professionalism you experience will vary as well. Recruiters and headhunters are all after the same end result…to get you to consider a new opportunity with their company or their client. If you feel the personality or professionalism of a recruiter isn’t a good fit for you, move on.

If you express interest, we can engage in a conversation to determine a good fit for you relationship as well as a fit for a potential company. If you are happily employed, just say so and the recruiter will move on, at least any professional recruiter will move on and not badger you like a used car salesman.

It’s always a good idea to help a recruiter you like with information of other leads. Refer former co-workers, or other qualified people you think may be a fit for a position. You never know when you will be looking yourself, and may need a favor from that recruiter in the future. Having a good recruiter working on your behalf during a job search is imperative, even if they don’t place you, the resume writing, interviewing tips and market assessments are invaluable.

Career smart executives maintain their networks and subtly promote themselves as knowledgeable and successful leaders during their “career lifetime”. Being on the recruiter’s radar and being prepared when a recruiter calls is second nature to those savvy executives actively managing their career.

Understanding the discrete phases of the recruiters search process and the role the candidate plays in each phase gives you a great advantage in working with recruiters to reap the greatest benefit form the recruiter contact.

How do recruiters execute a search? There are many common elements to the process of search:

• The client initiates a search by hiring a recruiter/headhunter who will identify and recruit candidates for the client. Retained recruiters negotiate a contract with the client that specifies the parameters of the search and the fee to be paid. The “standard’ fee is one-third of the first year compensation but this is negotiable. The fee will be greater given the difficulty of the search criteria and the prospect for placing a candidate.
• The client works with the recruiter/headhunter to define a position’s responsibilities and accountabilities, as well as experience, technical, educational, and personality requirements necessary for the candidate to meet these obligations. At this stage the search/client partnership is describing an ideal candidate; later, the position’s requirements may be revised to reflect the actual candidate pool.
• When the job specs are complete, a search strategy is developed. Anywhere from 12-60 target companies may be identified as places where prospective candidates or networking contacts may be employed. In addition to these targets, the recruiter may also contact industry leaders; commentators and consultants who can help develop a shortlist of qualified candidates.
• Once the search strategy is underway, the recruiter will begin to approach perspective candidates. When you receive a call at this stage in a search, you should not spend too much time selling to the caller. With this call, you should respond with the facts about experience and technical background. This will enable the recruiter to screen you in or out for the position – to ensure a good fit and not waste your time
• If your skills and experience match the initial search criteria established by the client, the recruiter will provide more details on the search, the position and any special requirements, as well as the hiring organization, its management, and culture. The recruiter will prepare a presentation of a candidate slate to present to the client.

At this stage in the search process, you should actively manage your role in the search.

You should undertake due diligence to understand all the dimensions and nuances of the client’s opportunity and the search process. This includes study of all company materials, the company web site, background research, and careful preparation of critical questions for all client interviews. Many candidates have successfully landed new career positions by identifying the problem the company is trying to solve with a new position and addressing solutions during the interview.

If a candidate does not get presented to the client, it is valuable to seek feedback from the recruiter in order to understand the dynamics of the decision. This feedback may be very insightful in understanding how others perceive the value and the abilities of the candidate compared to a field of peers.

Seeking feedback also provides an opportunity for you to contact the recruiter, demonstrating professionalism and a desire to learn from the experience. A savvy candidate will seek feedback and offer future support to the recruiter as well.

The search process has now come full circle. For the candidate who lands the position as well as the candidates not selected, the search process provides new contacts to add to one’s network. By keeping this network active you will always be on the recruiter’s radar.

Getting on the Recruiter’s Radar

Establishing a relationship with recruiters can be very difficult regardless of your qualifications because they prefer to initiate contact with candidates they have already checked out through their networks.

Your best bet for getting on a recruiter’s radar is to use networking as a way to make contact with the search firm. First, identify recruiters who specialize in positions in your field of expertise or industry by asking business associates who may have been contacted for names of executive recruiters. Second, go back to your network and try to find people who know those recruiters personally. Hiring managers as well as HR executives can usually recommend good recruiters they have worked with in the past. There are also materials such as Kennedy’s book of Recruiters and Recruiting Associations that can be helpful. Recruiters who are members of associations, such as National Association of Personnel, US-Recruiters or The Pinnacle Society, all must be highly ethical, subscribe to ethical standards to maintain their membership. Most members also possess certifications from one or more of these organizations.

Another good way to get on a recruits radar is putting your professional profile on professional networking sites, such as Linked-In. Linked –In provides the ability for you to post your current and past jobs, skills, experiences, former companies as well as some personal data. This can network you in with industry professionals as well as industry recruiters. It’s free too.

Finding connections with a recruiter or two can sometimes take time, but is well worth the effort. Ask someone to introduce you if you can, or make your own connection, but reach out and take advantage of this career-enhancing asset.

JC asked me: Is a Master Degree Necessary For Career Advancement?

A Bachelors degree is necessary for most jobs and career advancement today, especially in technology related fields, but a Masters? The short answer is “sometimes”. Unfortunately, this question is difficult to answer with a direct yes or no.

I see a Masters degree as a “preferred” asset, especially at a management level. The higher up the corporate ladder you go, the more important a Masters degree becomes.
Can you get promoted to management or an executive level position without a Masters – most definitely.
Can you find a new position in a new company as management or executives without a Masters – less likely, but still attainable.
Companies I’ve seen recruiting for upper management and executive positions still “prefer” a Masters degree. Rarely do they “require” one. But, if there are two candidates, everything being equal except one has a masters – the hiring decision maker is more likely to pick the one with the Masters.

I see many people rush out to get a Masters, especially an MBA, thinking that it will increase their salaries, marketability, prestige, etc., without deciding what career path they are taking first. Do you want to rise into upper management or executive level positions? Is your focus business management, finance, engineering management, and people management? An MBA won’t do much good to an R&D Manager wanting to become a VP of R&D. But a Masters in their technical field might.
I know many good people with MBA’s who are now receptionists and office managers. Not really making use of their advanced degree. Why? Some have decided not to climb the corporate ladders, others refuse to relocate to the jobs offering career advancement, and others took advantage of company paid tuition without any real thought as to what they want an advanced degree for.
I see a lot of PhD’s out there as well who can’t get jobs in many companies because they are too qualified. Many hiring decision makers believe if a Ph.D. isn’t relevant to their company, don’t hire them “they should be working in academia” or in a pure R&D environment.

A few ideas I would suggest if you are thinking about earning a Masters;
Do an informal survey of some of the executives of your company.
Ask how important a Masters is to them in determining career advancement in your company.
Ask if their peers in other companies require a Masters for career advancement.
Also look at job postings for upper management and executives in your industry. Are other ‘Like companies” looking for advanced degrees?
If you have relationships with a couple of recruiters in your field (which you should know at least one recruiter in your field in the event of a RIF or a surprise reorganization), get a feel of the landscape from them as well. Recruiters/headhunters will have a good feel for the industry as well as industry trends and future growth.