What Should You Do When the Headhunter Calls? Important Tips and Advice

 

Hopefully by the time you become a middle management executive you will have learned what the role the headhunter plays in the overall picture of your total working career. When you were a green employee at your first company, a phone call from any headhunter most likely put the fear of God into you. Flashes of termination crossed your mind every time the phone would ring. Mr. Green, there is a Mrs. Red on the phone. She says it's a personal business call. Sweat begins to drip from your brow. Who could this possibly be? Is it a telemarketer? Did I forget to pay a bill? Worse yet, what if it is one of those dreaded headhunters? Panic sets in. You don't take the call. At this point you don't know what you should do when the headhunter calls.

The second year of your employment, you accidentally take a call your secretary puts through. It's a call from a headhunter. Before you even listen to what s/he has to say, you immediately tell the recruiter, I have no interest and hang up in their ear. You then run to your boss to inform him that you have just been called by a headhunter. Your boss stares at you for a moment in disbelief with a little smile just starting to round the corner of his/her mouth and thanks you. You leave his/her office seemingly covered in brownie points. You did well. You warded off the deadly headhunter.

It's now year two and you still don't know what you should do when the headhunter calls. You busily work away hard at your job, secure in the fact that your boss knows you are loyal.The third year of your employment, you over hear a conversation that your friend and co-worker is having in the next cubicle. Could your co-worker actually be talking to a headhunter? As soon as your friend gets off the phone, you look up over your cubical and ask who they were talking to. She looks back at you and smiles, but tells you it was nothing important, just a personal business call. A month later, your co-worker and friend resigns and says she has been promoted to a new position at a competing firm for $7,000 more a year. When you ask her when this happened, she smiles and reminds you of the day that you asked her who she was talking to. She says she was talking to a headhunter.There is a lesson to be learned and a point to all of this.

What should you do when the headhunter calls? You should take the call. You should keep the conversation confidential. You should not tell your boss, nor your co-workers. You should always keep all of your options open because you never know what the future will bring. Learn what you should do when the headhunter calls so you will can remain aware of what kinds of jobs are being recruited for in your industry and what kinds of salaries they are paying. You should learn to talk with the headhunter because perhaps you can be helpful in recommending someone else for a position and thus further build your network. You should build a rapport with several headhunters so that when the time comes for you to decide to further your career, you will have access to them because of your past attitude.The retained headhunter works on specific, exclusive assignments so unless you take the call, you will never hear about what might be the next best opportunity of your lifetime.

It may take a few years for you to learn what you should do when the headhunter calls, but the sooner you learn the better it will be for your career in the long run.

A Headhunter With Many Meanings

What is a headhunter? Well, it can be any one of three things, a pitcher in baseball, a savage, or an executive recruiter. But when you get right down to it what does the word headhunter really mean?

Definition of a Headhunter

There are three main definitions of a headhunter:

(1) a pitcher in baseball who intentionally seeks to harm an opponent 
(2) a member of any tribe or race of savages who have the custom of decapitating human beings and preserving their heads as trophies 
(3) a person whose profession is to find executives to fill open positions in corporations

The Baseball Headhunter

In baseball, a beanball is a pitch which is intentionally thrown at a batter's head. Pitchers who are know to throw beanballs are know as Headhunters. A headhunter who throws a beanball rarely uses it as a strategic throw, most of the time it is thrown in anger and frustration. However batters who are facing known headhunters may alter their approach to hitting the ball in interest of self protection. In the history of major league baseball there has been only one player who has died after being hit by a headhunter, Indians shortstop Ray Chapman, who was hit by a beanball on August 16, 1920 and died twelve hours later.

The Tribal Headhunter

Headhunting has been practiced all throughout history in almost every corner of the world. In fact headhunters had thrived in the Balkan region right up until the early 20th century. Headhunter tribes usually believed in the existence of soul matter, which could be captured and added to the general stock of soul matter belonging to the tribe. The soul matter could then be used in rituals to contribute to anything from the fertility of the human population, to livestock and even crops. Taking the head of an enemy was also said to weaken the power of that enemy. Headhunters would keep the heads as trophies as tokens of courage and manhood. In many societies, young headhunters are not able to marry until they have taken their first head.

"...there came vividly to my mind recollections of the head-hunters--those grim, flinty, relentless little men, never seen, but chilling the warmest noonday by the subtle terror of their concealed presence..." The Head-Hunter, by O. Henry (1862-1910)

The Corporate Headhunter

A headhunter is another name for an executive recruiter who usually operates as a third-party, whereas a recruiter who works in-house is known as Human Resources. The first person who described their profession as a 'headhunter' would have probably been using the term jokingly, well aware that their audience knew the normal (tribal) meaning of headhunting. However the headhunter name caught on due largely to the efforts of the people engaged in headhunting. Headhunters quite literally "pirate" the heads and key people of a corporation, leaving that corporation without their leadership, and core people - subsequently loping off the heads of the organization.

Ways Of Getting On The Radar Of Headhunters For Legal Grads

Headhunting for legal jobs is picking up speed in the sphere of legal recruiting and more and more law school graduates are turning to legal recruiters for legal jobs and attorney jobs.

The conventional method of recruiting, that law firms earlier adopted, of placing advertisements, campus interviews and speaking to the candidates is no more the preferred option and firms are, more and more, approaching headhunters to find them the right candidates.


So how do law school grads and others keen on pursuing a legal career get on the radar of these headhunters obviously until they know that you are there, they cannot approach you. Not only must you use all avenues available to let them know that you exist, it is also important to recognize and ascertain the right headhunters.

Talented legal professionals would be well advised to thoroughly investigate the headhunter who, dangles lucrative carrots before them and promises the best of attorney jobs. Anyone with even a smattering of legal knowledge can claim to be an expert and chances of being misled are high.

Well then, how do the candidates catch the attention of the headhunters who have the most lucrative and choicest legal jobs, including attorney jobs. The first thing to remember is that headhunters explore and chart the legal market. They search directories, shared networking sites and the press that is legal-specific. Candidates will be well served if they get themselves on these avenues, so that when the headhunters do their research, their names and details are accessible to them.

Update your LinkedIn Profile, write articles in the press on your areas of expertise, or comment on current legal matters and interact with editors of newspapers - make yourself as visible as possible. Visibility puts you into the limelight and marks you out one amongst many. Moreover, getting published in the legal press, shows that you not only have a passion for the job but that it is backed by knowledge of your work - it helps build your standing and status. Upgrading your LinkedIn profile will send a message to the headhunters that you understand the worth of marketing and promotion.

Headhunters also have contacts in law firms and they will be asking for recommendations so keep your networking contacts on the know that you are looking for an opening and would they be kind enough to propose your name when headhunters come calling.

If the headhunter cannot find you, you find the headhunter. Research the headhunter by doing an advanced search on Google, plug in different keywords, legal headhunter, legal jobs headhunters, attorney jobs headhunter. Once you find them, interact with them and then use your wisdom to decide if they are worthwhile or not.

How to Find a Good Headhunter

A headhunter is a person or a company who basically on the payroll of a company and his primary function is to seek out the best people for a job and recruit them. Headhunters may work for more than one company at a time. They can be useful for a job seeker but there are certain things a job seeker must take into consideration before working with a head hunter.

In order to get a good headhunter you can begin with asking around. Getting in touch with other job seekers or people who have landed jobs through headhunters makes a lot of sense. They will know who are the best headhunters and will also know which one of them is genuine.

Once you have shortlisted the headhunter you want to work with, set up a meeting and discuss with them exactly what you are looking for in a job. When you speak to the headhunter about yourself make sure everything you say to them is the truth. If you lie to them, they will not be able to help you find a good job. Also, give the headhunter a copy of your resume and take their advice regarding the same.

If a headhunter speaks to you about a company, don't only take his word for it. Spend some time asking people and doing your own research on the internet about the company. Headhunters get paid to recruit people so it is obvious that no matter how good or bad the company is, they will try to convince you to take the job.

There are so many headhunters available today that you have to be careful who to work with and who not to work with. If you feel that the headhunter you have contacted is giving you the run around or is overly commercial and is trying to sell you a company then it makes sense to move on and find someone else.

How Executive Headhunters Source Talent

Executive headhunters are there to do a clear job: fill the top jobs with the best people. So the question for the executive job seeker, is how do you attract their interest?

As a recruiter and Executive CV writer, the aim of this post is to tell you how executive headhunters do their job, and what you need to do to attract their interest.

The key headhunters question...

At some point in every successful job application, the job applicant will be called by the employer, the headhunter or the recruiter. At that point, after a few pleasantries are exchanged, the caller will ask the job seeker a question, posed using the following form:

Give me an example of when you were tasked to deliver (the key business gain this job requires), and how you successfully achieved this? (by deploying the key skills this job requires)

This is known as the headhunters key question, because it instantly removes both:

·        Those who have no track record of delivery

·        Those who won't fit in with this company/organisation

While employers may be more lenient, and all recruiters will ask a less stringent form of this question, in executive head hunting you have to hit the right answer to stand a possible chance of getting to the next stage of the recruitment process.

How executive headhunters find talent

While many recruiters are paid on a risked/reward basis, executive headhunters are employed to deliver speedy results. This means that they need to get down to a list of core candidates quickly.

In the old days of recruitment, even as recently as just post the millennium in 2000, headhunters were wholly reliant on their networks, and hence their address books. While 90% of executive positions are still never advertised in public forums or media, the internet has allowed the whole recruitment industry to leap forward in two key areas:

1.      The ability to find a greater number of better qualified candidates: if you want a CEO with experience of successful product launch into the South East Asian market, then the right search string tapped into Google or some key social media locations such as LinkedIn allow the creation of an instant list of potential job applicants

2.      The ability to quickly qualify and vet all job applicants: once you have a name and a position, tapping those details into Google allows the headhunter to quickly assure themselves that the potential job applicant is either credible and with good references, or can be instantly removed for the process. Even before first contact or the telephone interview is undertaken

How to get an executive appointment

From statistics, the three most effective ways to get an executive appointment are:

·        Promotion

·        Networking

·        Track Record

Assuming that you are either found by an executive headhunter, or have created a profile such that you fit what they are looking for and can hence answer the key question, do you think that just a great Executive CV will secure you that post?

My key point in this article is to point out that executive recruitment is not as simple as just having a better Executive CV. While it may have been the core of the old way of recruiting, now it is just a part of both being found and communicating your inherent value delivery. That communication - which some call a personal brand - also needs to appear across both the printed and the internet mediums, as well as being known inside your network.

Hence, if executive headhunters have moved on, don't you think that your Executive CV and approach to executive appointments should as have well? Perhaps its time to find a better Executive CV service.

What to Consider When Using a Headhunter During a Job Search ( Part - 2)

6) SOME HEADHUNTING GROUPS HAVE SPECIALIZED PERSONNEL. Some of them have a lean number of people working for them. Depending on the structure of their organization, some have people who do both marketing (of the headhunting services to clients), and the search services ("hunting" for prospective candidates). Some headhunting groups usually have their marketing people getting in touch with you as among their prospective candidates for a search assignment. But they won't know much about the job details. If you agreed to come over for an initial interview (which some headhunting groups still do), you'll be asked to talk with a recruitment specialist who will then conduct the interview. Your next step is gather more about the job, if this happens - so that you can decide if you will pursue the opportunity or not.

7) THE BEST HEADHUNTERS ARE USUALLY AMONG THE BEST MANAGEMENT CONSULTANTS IN THEIR FIELDS. They provide the best search specialty advise, the best matching services (between a job vacancy and a candidate) in terms of their capabilities in showing two or more candidates for a shortlist within reasonable period of time. However, not every one among headhunters is able to do this. Some of them may just still be learning the ropes of this type of consulting business.

8) COMPLETION OF PROJECT. The headhunting process may take a minimum of 4 weeks of processing before completion. Expect to spend time waiting before a job is offered to you, if you get the opportunity to be interviewed and shortlisted (i.e. among the top candidates, usually not more than 4 candidates) for a job.

9) SEEK HELP FROM HEADHUNTERS FOR YOUR NEXT MANAGERIAL JOB. Headhunters have to be worth their fees so that their client-companies would be most willing to pay them big professional fees. Usually, client-companies will just be willing to pay such amounts for higher level recruitment, of which the headhunter is best suited to handle.

10) BACKGROUND OF HEADHUNTERS. Some headhunters and clients belong to the same "old boys network," those who have the same (social) backgrounds. Members or insiders play "chummy-chummy" with each other, just like in other exclusive groupings. Figure out how to penetrate their circle. This will be a key for you in getting access to high-level job opportunities usually available to those who are in-the-know. 

What to Consider When Using a Headhunter During a Job Search ( Part - 1)

Headhunters are great to have as among your friends and acquaintances in growing your job network. Make sure you have two or more headhunters in your regular work contacts. And consider building great relationships with them. Make them aware if you're on the look out for a job in the market. They're usually among the best sources of latest information (not posted on job ads) on what's been taking place in the labor market, particularly the jobs available that call for certain particulars on background, depth and breadth of experience - even in a down market. But keep in mind the following (which this author culled from his own experiences doing headhunting with a small firm, immediately after college):

1) HEADHUNTERS WORK FOR THE INTERESTS OF THEIR CLIENTS. Their clients are the ones who pay them their fees to keep their businesses going and growing. As such, they're always on the look out for applicants to successfully place candidates for their clients. The faster they're able to complete these assignments, the better. This is another gauge for clients to keep on giving headhunters succeeding assignments (preferably on an exclusive arrangement). As such, you may subsequently be treated like a commodity on which their best hopes (based on their expertise and experience) are rested (or wagered) so they can do their next billing.

2) WHEN TO MEET WITH A HEADHUNTER. The best period to meet and know headhunters is when you're still employed, and doing very good in your job. As such, your resume looks better to prospective employers when you're currently employed. This also gets you, as a job hunter, to be in an advantageous position to negotiate for a better package. Ask any headhunter about this observation, and they'll usually say "it depends." However, the best match for a job and a candidate happens usually with someone who's still employed. Competitors among players in the same industry who use headhunters usually have the ideal or the near-ideal candidate they have in mind who are currently employed by their competitors - or else they could have easily done the recruitment themselves.

3) SOME HEADHUNTERS SPECIALIZE BY INDUSTRY, OR BY LOCATION. The job hunter has to approach headhunters who may be specializing in industry/ies where the job hunter is targeting to get into. But in case you've known a certain headhunter, it's best to approach this headhunter to introduce your credentials and background to him / her. The headhunter may give you referrals to their other contacts in their business.

4) HEADHUNTERS' ETHICAL PRACTICES. Headhunters don't "headhunt," or poach prospective candidates from their own clients (or where they have previously made a successful placement), for this creates a lasting poor impression on clients. If you are aware that your current employer makes use of certain headhunters, it's very helpful to make the approach, meet and know the headhunter in case you decide you're in the market. The headhunter may then be able to consider you as a prospective candidate - as you are the one who approached (and not the other way around).

5) SOME ACCOUNTS ARE ON A BEST-EFFORTS BASIS. This means a "job requirement" in a client-company has been waiting for referrals from several headhunting groups, or even from the own recruitment being done by the client-company. As such, there may be several headhunters working to make a successful placement of a candidate. Ask the headhunter you're talking with about this, so you, as a job hunter won't be disappointed when recruitment and placement completes so fast (or so slow, depending on certain situations).