? It is best to talk with the recruiter now; he or she is making lots of calls, and you may not connect again. By this point you should have your priorities clear, your skill set firmly in mind, and the parameters most important to recruiters (such as your geographical flexibility) well considered. If you cannot speak at length say, "I'm in a meeting," take the recruiter's number, and establish a callback time.
Publications:
Listen to what he or she has to say; don't be impatient to start your sales pitch.
Respond to what has been said. Most likely the recruiter will describe the assignment and leave it to you to indicate interest yourself or mention the names of people you know who fit the specifications. In some cases the recruiter is not interested in you as a potential candidate but is "sourcing" -seeking only what names or information you might offer; this should be clear from his or her initial comments.
Indicate interest if the position appeals to you. Ask some reasonable, intelligent questions that demonstrate your knowledge about the field generally or the function specifically. Do not probe for information that the recruiter says is confidential. Mention your most relevant qualifications; don't exaggerate. Respond to a reasonable number of relevant queries. Don't be preoccupied with selling yourself at this point. The recruiter is interested in you; don't risk disqualifying yourself by pushing yourself too aggressively. Let the recruiter propose the next move. Be prepared to set up an appointment or to hear, "We'll be back in touch with you." Quite possibly, the person with whom you are speaking is not the recruiter but works in the firm's research department. In that case, he or she will be reporting on you and other potential candidates to the recruiter, who will set up a face-to-face meeting. Your appointment may be with a senior recruiter who is the primary liaison with the client or with a more junior person doing preliminary screening.
Be sure to get the full name and contact information of the person who called you: name, firm, mailing address, telephone, and fax number. If within several weeks they have not followed up as indicated, you may wish to call them, although a lack of follow-through generally indicates a lack of interest.
Understand the "Courtesy Interview"
Shortly after you lose a job, a good friend may say, "I talked about you with Mary Stuart of Softwick and Strangles; they've done a number of searches for our firm. She said she'd be happy to meet with you." Wow! A personal introduction to a top-flight headhunter! You thank your friend.
On entering the impressive offices of Soft wick and Strangles, you receive a warm welcome from the receptionist and are ushered into Mary Stuart's office. She is very friendly and interested in your situation, asks a lot of questions and makes some good suggestions. After a while her secretary reminds her it's time for another appointment, and you leave, expressing sincere thanks for her help and feeling very good about yourself.
Reflecting back on the meeting the next day, you realize that nothing specific was said about what the next step would be or what Mary Stuart would be doing for you. Still you're thinking, "Certainly it can't hurt to have someone like that on my side. As a matter of fact, this job search may not be as complicated a process as I had feared."
Quite likely, you won't be hearing from Mary Stuart soon, if at all. Your meeting is a service commonly offered by recruiters: the courtesy interview. A good client asks for help for a friend; to maintain the relationship the recruiter agrees to meet you. In some cases such meetings are a useful orientation to the job search process, with the recruiter giving practical advice and direction. The danger is that you may come away with completely unrealistic expectations, thinking the recruiter will take an active role in finding you a job.
High-level managers, with many friends in close contact with recruiters, may even go through a series of courtesy interviews and come away convinced that the phone will ring any day with a new job. Don't underestimate the negative impact of this thinking. In all likelihood none of the recruiters who were so pleasant and attentive had an assignment that matched your background and attributes. The more probable scenario is you're waiting in vain, becoming frustrated and less and less sure of your marketability. Too often the real bottom line of courtesy interviews is the loss of valuable time and a devastating blow to your self-confidence when the balloon of unrealistic expectations bursts.
Directory of Executive Recruiters
The most current and complete listing of recruiters is published by Publications. They also supply pressure-sensitive mailing labels that can be purchased in subgroups of recruiter specialization and disks for PCs.
Executive Temporary Placement Firms
The temporary employee concept has expanded to include upper-level managerial and professional positions with the recent growth in the number of executive temporary or interim management firms. Interim executives are a logical option in turnarounds, in crisis management situations or under circumstances where the longer-term prospects of the position are unclear. Another advantage to the prospective employer is the speed with which the need is filled. When a prospective corporate client contacts such a firm with a specific need, the executive temp firm undertakes to provide a suitably qualified person within several weeks.
Interim placement jobs typically last for three to twelve months. Fees are comparable to recruiter fees, in the range of 30 percent of actual compensation, and paid by the hiring corporation-with additional fees if the interim placement results in a permanent hire, a fairly common occurrence.
Executive temp firms maintain lists of prescreened individuals, including job seekers, retirees, and others in transition. Of particular interest are people with clearly defined skills and a willingness to relocate on short notice. If you fit these criteria, you can find out more information on executive temp firms, including a current directory, from Publications.
You now have a clearer understanding of these "facilitating agents" in the job market-the brokers who earn a living locating candidates for corporations. Use their services intelligently where appropriate; they can be valuable in your campaign. Keep your priorities uppermost and your self-esteem intact, and you'll avoid being used by them.
