1. DON'T BE PUSHY
Don't try to force yourself onto a recruiter, and don't cold call to start the relationship-unless you just want submission information (fax number, e-mail address) or to inquire about specialties. Recruiters need a resume first to know if it's worth the time to talk. Submit yourself and several days later make a follow-up call, if you like, to confirm receipt. However, know and trust that you are being reviewed and considered to the best of a headhunter's ability. Hounding him won't make him work any more efficiently and will get irritating-not the best way to get started. After submitting, if you don't receive a response within a reasonable time frame (2-3 weeks), it probably means that he can't help you because either 1) he doesn't have any current openings for someone with your background, or 2) he deals in specialties different from yours. It does you no good to have him on the phone telling you that he doesn't have anything for you-that is time he could be using to find something. Believe me, if you have chosen your headhunters wisely, your resume will not go unnoticed. But time is precious, so recruiters can't hear every person's personal story until there exists a potential search that fits.
Remember: headhunters focus on finding candidates/or the searches they currently have, which often require very specific qualifications. Your resume alone gives the recruiter enough information to make that determination. If you don't fit a current assignment, but may well fit a future one, she will keep your resume in the database or even give you a call. But she won't spend as much time with you then as she will when and if she actually has a search that might be a match for you. So be certain your resume and cover letter give the recruiter explicit details about your background and future interests to enable her to foresee the best possible match.
2. MAKE FRIENDS
Try to establish a friendly connection with a recruiter any time he initiates contact with you. If he hasn't contacted you, refer to Item 1: Don't Be Pushy. Friendly relationships keep you in the forefront of a headhunter's mind. If you are a top candidate in his area of specialty, he will always want to be your friend. Even if you are only marginally valuable to him for placement purposes, an amiable connection on a personal level can help you in countless ways by reserving more of his consciousness for you. Recruiters talk to candidates all day. You want to do anything to instill more awareness and memory of you (short of proposals of marriage, reciting Shakespeare, etc.). I can't tell you how often I've spoken to candidates who've approached me (as opposed to my approaching them through a recruiting call) who interact with me as just another cow in the herd of headhunting cattle. If you're talking to that many recruiters, you're bound to grow cold and numb.
Limit the field of recruiters you court so you can always appear fresh, open, and receptive to their overtures. But, if you're going to blanket your resume throughout the recruiting world, at least be prepared to smile when they dial. To "partner" with a headhunter for the long term, you want to feel comfortable with one another as soon as possible.
3. ONE GOOD TURN DESERVES ANOTHER
Take any opportunity to provide a favor to a recruiter, not as an opening to be used, but as an opening to schmooze. If you have developed, or are developing, a potential ongoing relationship with a headhunter who calls for, say, some referrals for a particular position she is trying to fill (commonly known as "bird-dogging"), point the way for her if you can. You might even offer names of companies you hear are hiring, friends or coworkers who are planning a career move, etc. This kind of favor only serves to put you in greater conscious awareness with that recruiter. Don't think in negative terms, such as "she wants my help, but she can't place me." If she could help you, she certainly would. But, given that she can't, for the moment, establish a greater friendship by doing a good turn, which could serve you well. What goes around, comes around.
4. DO UNTO OTHERS AS YOU'D HAVE THEM DO UNTO YOU WITH TRUST:
Trust is a basic factor in choosing a headhunter. Yet human relationships are always a two-way street. It's sometimes difficult to determine how far to go in trusting someone until you've formed a solid, trusting relationship. Which comes first, the chicken or the egg? Basically, it is incumbent upon one of you to take that first step. Remember, there is always the dilemma of the recruiter, cautious about spilling his brokerage beans too soon-his client information and contacts. A headhunter does have to gain a certain sense of safety before baring all. You, the candidate, can help establish an atmosphere of trust through your manner of interaction. Be open with your recruiter about everything. What you say will not always make it to the client (e.g., what you really thought about your last boss, etc.). Yet, it is important for a headhunter to be completely in the know when sticking his neck out for you with clients. Your level of openness can only foster greater personal rapport, which always comes back to serve you.
