The Value of a Good HeadhunterYou know I hear that a lot.I get that question a lot. What’s a headhunter? How I present myself as a headhunterto my clients is I’m a service that makes their hiring easier, faster, and moreenjoyable. And contributes profitably to their bottom line. And so a good headhunterwill do just that; they will make sure that they have a clear understanding ofthe clients hiring needs.
They will have a very clear picture or develop one,of the ideal candidate profile for the client. And they will go out and expertly source andattract the high demand talent that their clients are looking for. This istalent that’s not otherwise available to prospective employers.The Value in Using a HeadhunterAgood headhunter brings to bear resources, in the form of people that reflect onyour company’s bottom line in a positive manner. A good headhunter will buildyour bottom line all the time.
Aheadhunter who is not set out to do that is probably somebody you might want topass on. Recruiting exceptional talent is an art form. It is a very difficultrole because we’re dealing with people, we’re dealing with that fluid mix, andwe’re dealing with so many variables that are out of our control. Butthe one thing that we can always do well as headhunters is focus on the valueof the relationships that we’re building with the resources that you as anemployer need to build your company. That’s the value in using a headhunter.How to Use a Recruiter to Get aJobWhat I would suggest youthink about, when using a recruiter, is that they don’t find you a job.
That’sone of the first things they are going to tell you. All recruiters, nationwide,typically work fee paid by the client company. They are eithercontingency recruiters that they get paid once the individual starts work, orthey are retained recruiters, that they get paid during the search, but theydon’t get the balance of the fee until after the individual has started search,started to work. Recruiters are experienced or highly experienced in specificareas. So, when you begin to think about using a recruiter, I would focus onfinding a recruiter who specializes in your area of work. You can go to almostany state and look up the recruiting organization in that state. Then you can goand look at the membership and screen down to the city or the recruiter thatworks that area of specialty and then make the introduction that you have foundthem on that specific website.
You understand that they work that particulararea of specialty, and you would like to work with them to see if they happen tohave in your search of assignments, currently where your background would be afit. If you approach them inthat manner, instead of approaching them in finding you a job, then you could partnerwith them a lot better. They are going to be impressed with the way that youapproach them. It’s like you don’t need a doctor very often, you don’t need alawyer very often, and you may not use a recruiter very often, but when you do,you want to identify a recruiter that can partner with you, maybe throughoutyour career. You may, turn around, and find that you can use this recruiter tofill positions within the company that you’ve gone to work for.
So, theyunderstand that they need to treat you professionally so you would consider usingthem in the future. There are many clients that I’ve worked with, in the past,that may not have been placed by the recruiter they used when they go toanother job and use a recruiter, but the recruiter they use is the one that’streated them most professionally.So, keep that in mind. Askthem how long they’ve been in business and see if they would share with youwhat their area of expertise is. They may be a retained recruiter who will tellyou who their actual clients are. So, they are not going in the back door andstealing individuals from the companies they place in.
That’s really against anhonor code, an honor code within recruiters. So, in finding a recruiter, youwant to specialize with a recruiter that works in your area of work. You wantto partner with them. Find out what the rules are. How often will they callyou? How soon might they find something for you? How often might you checkback? Will they follow up with you after the interview to let you know how you’vedone? What’s the feedback from the company? Are they going to prepare you forthe interview? And if those are yes to most of those questions, then I thinkyou will have found that you’ve had a really good recruiter who is going tohelp you find a job, keeping in mind that they’re going to help place you withone of the company’s that they represent.
