Executive
Recruiters: Your Job-SearchCommandos
By Bill Radin
©1998 Innovative Consulting, Inc.
Career Development Reports
Executive
recruiters (also known as headhunters or search consultants) have
firmly established themselves as a visible and highly valued fixture
in today’s employment landscape. Through their aggressive
matchmaking, headhunters affect the careers of individuals, the
lives of their families and friends, and the profitability of
entire corporations.
No one knows
exactly what the business world would be like without the influence
of headhunters, but one thing’s for sure: sometime in your
career, you’ll either receive a call from a headhunter, or
initiate contact yourself. In either case, you should learn how
to work with them effectively, and take full advantage of the
many benefits their service provides. Here’s what you get
from establishing a relationship with an executive recruiter:
• Greater
exposure. Headhunters not only maintain a myriad of existing contacts
within your field, they can also scout out new companies you never
heard of.
• Increased
efficiency. Headhunters are obsessive networkers; they spend their
time researching and penetrating the job market. Their knowledge
can save you time in identifying and pursuing prospective employers.
• Personalized
public relations. Employers generally look more favorably towards
a candidate who’s professionally recommended. Headhunters
stake their reputations on the quality of their candidates, and
will always present you in the best possible light.
• Confidential
representation. Some job search situations require a great deal
of discretion. For example, you may want to explore an opportunity
with your present company’s direct competitor. In such an
instance, a headhunter can present your background confidentially,
thereby protecting your identity, and eliminating (or at least
minimizing) your risk of exposure.
• Authoritative
career consulting. Headhunters can help you determine the job
or career track that’s right for you, based on current market
conditions and your own values and abilities. They’re also
in a unique position to walk you through (and monitor) each step
in your job changing process.
• Private
training. Headhunters can give you practical, time-tested suggestions
on how to strengthen your resume and improve your interviewing
technique. In many ways, a headhunter acts as a personal coach.
• Third-party
representation. As experienced brokers, headhunters find ways
to put favorable deals together, and iron out differences you
and the hiring company may have regarding your salary, benefits,
and relocation package.
In addition,
working through a headhunter can actually improve your chances
for success once you’ve been placed. That’s because
the search fee the hiring company paid the recruiter represents
a sizable financial investment in your future success -- an investment
worth protecting.
Headhunters:
The Missing Link
Headhunting
is a multi-billion dollar international industry that acts as
the missing link between a half million job seekers and employers
each year. At last count, there were over 125,000 executive search
practitioners in the United States, according to The Fordyce Letter,
the industry’s leading trade journal.
There’s
hardly an industry or profession that hasn’t spawned its
own coterie of recruiters. They cover every conceivable pocket
of the job market, from food sales to machine design to motion
picture financing to mortgage banking to freight hauling to data
communications to haute cuisine to college administration to city
management.
Generally
speaking, headhunters work within well-defined niches. To make
sense of a complicated employment market, headhunters classify
their candidates according to:
• Title
or function, which refers to their descriptive title or rank within
the company, such as president, plant manager, staff accountant,
director of nursing, and so on;
• Skill
or application, which refers to their specialized abilities, such
as tax accounting, IBM AS/400 programming, secured lending, and
the like; and
• Product
or service, which refers to the industry in which the candidates
do their work, such as plastics, minicomputers, industrial tools,
public administration, hospitality, and so forth.
To give you
an example, a recruiter might place project engineers (title)
with computer-aided design experience (skill) into positions with
companies that built submarine hydraulic systems (product).
Other headhunters
might place CEOs (title) with plant management experience (skill)
who work for companies that process frozen broccoli (product);
or district sales managers (title) with marketing degrees (skill)
who work for companies that make high-top leather sneakers (product).
Think of your
own experience. How would you classify yourself? Your answer will
not only help you put your career into perspective; it’ll
help the headhunter determine whether you "fit" into
his or her market niche.
Of course,
recruiters can use other means to define their markets. Some take
an industry-specific approach. Let’s say you work in the
retail industry, or in construction. You’ll probably find
a recruiter who doesn’t care what your title or function
is, as long as you have experience in that target market. I knew
a recruiter named Jim, who specialized in the printing industry.
No matter what you did in the past, if it had anything to do with
printing, Jim would gladly take you under his wing.
The opposite
approach is taken by the skill-specific recruiters. To them, the
product or service of the host company is secondary to the skills
of their candidates. This is the preferred method of recruiters
who specialize in placement of data processing, accounting, or
clerical personnel.
Don’t
Get Lost in the Shuffle
Even though
headhunters can’t guarantee you a new job, you have much
to gain from working with them. And vice-versa, since you represent
an addition to their continuously perishable inventory. While
it’s true that headhunters owe their allegiance to their
client companies (who pay the fees), without candidates to fuel
the fire, headhunters simply wouldn’t exist.
For each search
assignment, headhunters may prescreen hundreds of prospects. Therefore,
the majority of their time is spent with the finalists for each
open position, relegating to their file drawers the "reject"
or the "maybe next time" candidates they encounter.
These candidates are often highly skilled professionals who simply
don’t fit the specific qualifications required by the headhunter’s
client company -- they’re simply in the wrong place at the
wrong time.
For that reason,
you should always press for a realistic appraisal of your chances
of being placed. If one isn’t forthcoming, you can assume
the recruiter is giving your candidacy a low priority. In that
case, you can opt to let your resume languish in a headhunter’s
file, or seek the help of a recruiter who’ll take an active
role in finding you a new position.
I try my best
to be up front with every candidate I talk to. If your skills
fall outside my area of expertise, I’ll steer you to another
headhunter who can be of assistance, or provide you with some
general coaching which I hope will be of value.
Always look
for a headhunter who takes an interest in your background, or
who specializes in your industry. The last thing you need is to
pin your hopes on someone who’s not in a position to help
you. Be prepared for mixed reviews when you talk to recruiters.
You might very well receive a brush-off like, "I’ll
call you in a week to 10 days"; or bad advice, such as "You’ll
never find the job you want with the background you have";
or discouragement like, "Nobody’s hiring now."
Just keep plugging away at your job search -- and never take "No"
from a headhunter.
Of course,
even the most qualified candidacy is subject to the whims of a
supply and demand job market. In many cases, a headhunter simply
won’t know what your chances of getting another job might
be until he or she puts out feelers or sends you out on an interview.
To work most efficiently, invest your time with a recruiter who
really wants to help you.
Sigmund,
Sherlock, and Donald
Headhunters
come from a wide variety of backgrounds, and exhibit the same
range of personal merits and character strengths as the rest of
the human race. The majority are honest, hardworking entrepreneurs,
who work diligently to help candidates find meaningful, rewarding
jobs.
I’ve
found that headhunters can be divided into three different personality
types:
[1] The Sigmund
Freud headhunter is a kindly, wise, and empathic counselor. He
or she listens carefully when you describe your values, your job
preferences, your personal goals, and your family commitments.
The Sigmund Freud headhunter wants to place you with a company
you’ll feel comfortable working for, and will spend lots
of time getting to know you.
[2] The Sherlock
Holmes headhunter is a clever, relentless, goal-oriented detective,
who’ll track down and contact every company which might provide
a match for your skills. This type can be quite creative in discovering
aspects of your background which can be successfully marketed
to companies off the beaten track, or only peripherally related
to your present industry.
A perfect
example of the Sherlock Holmes headhunter is Norman Roberts, who
works out of an office in Los Angeles. It was his ingenuity that
led to an unlikely (but highly successful) match in 1984. He took
an unknown travel industry executive -- Peter Ueberroth -- and
placed him as the head of the U.S. Olympic committee.
[3] The Donald
Trump headhunter is the consummate deal maker. This type is less
concerned with whether you’re a round or square peg, as long
as you can be crunched into whatever hole may be available, or
convenient. Headhunters like this tend to give the search industry
a bad name because of their insensitivity to the true needs of
their clients and candidates; and although they can often produce
positive results, many times their high- pressure tactics lead
to short-term employment.
While personality
and style are important aspects to consider when selecting a headhunter,
you should also evaluate the headhunter’s past results. Assuming
you feel a modicum of comfort with the person you’re dealing
with, it’s a good idea to check into their track record and
experience level. If you discover a consistent pattern of success,
you’re probably off to a good start.
Otherwise,
you might find yourself stuck with the fourth type of headhunter:
the Inspector Clouseau. This type embodies none of the above personality
traits, only the endearing, bumbling incompetence of the movie
character portrayed by the late Peter Sellers. In his Pink Panther
movies, Inspector Clouseau was able to crack the trickiest cases;
but only through sheer serendipity or plain dumb luck.
The
Two-Party System
You’ve
probably heard of the so-called schism in the world of executive
search between "retained" and "contingency"
headhunters. True, differences exist, especially in regard to
billing methods, candidate salary levels, and operational procedures.
However, I
prefer to think of the entire search industry as a microcosm of
the American political system, in which both Republicans and Democrats
live in peaceful co-existence.
"Gee,
that’s a far-fetched analogy, isn’t it?" you ask.
No, not really.
Republicans and Democrats are both loyal Americans; they just
have different views concerning society and the way the country
should be run.
The same could
be said of the retained recruiters (who get their fees paid in
advance and work to fill higher level positions) and the contingency
folks (who only get paid once their candidates are hired). Each
serves a different slice of the employment population, and each
has a different concept of how the search business should work.
Interestingly,
the lines of demarcation have begun to blur in recent years. Just
as Republicans and Democrats have cross-bred portions of their
constituencies, so have the retained and contingency headhunters.
Although the traditional break point in salary is around $75,000
(with retained above and contingency below) it’s no longer
unheard of for a contingency recruiter to place a CEO at $200,000
a year; or a retained headhunter to place a manufacturing manager
at $55,000. What’s more, each camp will, if the situation
warrants, borrow from the other’s method of billing the client.
Lately, I’ve heard stories of contingency recruiters charging
partially retained fees, and retainer headhunters accepting assignments
"on spec."
As the search
industry continues to evolve, it’ll matter less and less
how the client is billed. Currently, there are about a dozen different
billing schemes, from flat fees to hourly fees to itemized service
charges. One clever recipe combines contingency with retained
to produce -- voila! -- "contained" search.
Understanding
these broad divisions will help avoid confusion and save you time
if your salary level is fairly polarized. That is, if you’re
currently earning, say, $35,000, there’s virtually no chance
you’ll be working any time soon with a retained headhunter.
Similarly, if you’re earning over $100,000, the odds are,
the headhunter you work with will be retained by the client company.
Both contingency
and retained recruiters play for big stakes. Fees generally run
from twenty to as high as thirty-five percent of a placed candidate’s
first year compensation. With that type of arithmetic, it’s
easy to see why headhunters develop ulcers, not to mention a healthy
skepticism towards their clients and candidates. All it takes
is for an employer or candidate to change his mind at the last
minute, and the headhunter has lost, say, $10,000 or $20,000 in
personal income for months of work.
Some
Common Sense Ground Rules
Let’s
talk turkey for a minute about what to expect from headhunters,
and how to establish some common sense ground rules. Here are
seven issues you’ll want to discuss before you set any relationship
in stone:
[1] Compatibility
-- Make sure you feel comfortable with the style, personality,
intensity level, and integrity of the headhunter. As in any other
business relationship, you want the other person to understand
your needs and act accordingly.
[2] Confidentiality
-- Make sure your resume isn’t going to get plastered all
over town without your knowledge. An inept (or anxious) recruiter
can overexpose your candidacy; or worse, reveal your intention
to change jobs to your own company.
[3] Good Judgment
-- Make sure you’re being sent to interviews that match your
background and interests with the needs of the recruiter’s
client company. The most common complaint from both candidates
and employers is that recruiters "throw candidates against
the wall to see what sticks."
[4] Honesty
-- Make sure there’s either a bona fide job opening or an
upgrade possibility where you’re being sent to interview.
Otherwise, you’ll be spending your valuable time on one wild
goose chase after another.
[5] Tempo
-- Make sure to let the recruiter know at what pace you want to
proceed in your search for a new position. If you’re not
ready to make a change until a later date, or simply want to explore
the market, don’t let the recruiter waste your time by sending
you on an interview.
[6] Arm-twisting
-- Don’t be pressured into accepting a position or a compensation
package simply to please the recruiter.
[7] Exclusivity
-- It’s fine to work with a recruiter on an exclusive basis,
as long as you feel comfortable with the arrangement, and the
recruiter has earned the right of sole representation. On the
other hand, you might not want to limit your options. Despite
what you may be told, no recruiter has the exclusive "ownership"
of your candidacy.
By the same
token, you must be fair with headhunters. For example, if you’re
pursuing a job search on your own or through another party, keep
the headhunter aware of your activity, so you don’t cross
paths. A recruiter’s time and reputation are his most valuable
commodities; he or she deserves better than to be manipulated
or left in the lurch.
Recruiters
can’t work miracles by waving a magic wand over your resume;
all they can do is match your background with a suitable opening,
and help guide you through the job changing process efficiently
and competitively. While it’s true that headhunters have
their limitations and can’t be all things to all people,
It makes good
sense to build a solid relationship with a competent headhunter.
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