It's simply statistics when looking at the leakage that occurs in The Recruiter's Pipeline, you must figure, realistically, that the odds are against you. However, does that mean that it's not worth the try? Absolutely not! In the short run, if you need a job today, using a headhunter is, at the very least, another possible way of landing your next position, with all the benefits attached. However, in the long run, and more in line with the idea of career partnering/ career management, if you simply want a hired-gun pair of eyes and ears observing the vast, ever- changing market of career opportunities for you, a recruiter is a very solid investment.
The point is: I probably won't be able to place you immediately. Yet, if you needed a job yesterday and contacted me today, at least you've initiated a possible relationship. Who knows-I might have something! If not, with the myriad number of searches I will see over the long term, both from my own clients and those of my networks, I'm certainly going to come across some opportunities that will interest you. Over time, I may place you. The problem is that many professionals don't parlay this shortsighted, emergency need for a job into the more profitable, long-term payoff of an ongoing relationship with a headhunter. Thus, they eliminate the greatest benefit available to them from the recruiting industry: lifetime career management.
As headhunters, we want to help you, yet the odds are against our placing you immediately
Consider that any job opportunity lost by being open with your recruiter was not your opportunity in the first place. Headhunters are bright! Their intelligence is born, in part, by financial motivation- if they can ever see a way of placing you, they will. But, if they say a position is not right for you, based on your disclosed information, it only saves you wasted time and effort.
- Describe, in-depth, all of your background (not just what appears on the resume)
- Show a W2 for your last 2 years of employment and a paystub to verify salary
- Tell your recruiter about all pending interviews/offers so they don't cover the same ground
- Spend time prepping and debriefing around interviews
- Provide contact information for references (ideally former managers)
- Provide degree verification information
- Disclose any criminal, legal, or credit issues that could arise in a background check
The point is simple: don't waste your time or the recruiter's. Layout your cards as they are and trust that all will be done to play them right. With Honesty: Be honest, straightforward and tell your recruiter everything. Leave no skeleton closeted! You and the recruiter can decide together just what information is pertinent to your candidacy with a potential employer-and what can remain unsaid. A headhunter is an expert packager. You might describe some simple aspect of your personal or work history which the recruiter can package, or spin, in such a way as to render you more attractive to an employer-while at the same time maintaining complete honesty. Therefore, you want your headhunter armed with all the ammo needed for either the preemptive strikes or defensive maneuvers required to present you in the best possible light. Never let a recruiter be caught off guard, which happens when the client, in an interview, uncovers one of your dark secrets that you didn't share with the recruiter. In that case, the headhunter cannot help you because it shows she didn't really know her product... you! The very same information, artistically packaged by the recruiter in advance, could be conveyed preemptively and rendered less harmful.
With Courtesy and Respect:
Just keep your word. Do what you say you are going to do. Yes, if you deal with every Tom, Dick, and Harriet recruiter out there, perhaps it will be difficult to meet all your agreements. But if you have chosen selectively, simply honor your commitments and follow through with scheduled phone-calls and interviews. How you interact with headhunters is an indicator of how you conduct yourself professionally. Don't blow your image with your image-maker.
