- Professional organizations. If you don't already belong to a professional organization, you probably cannot afford the dues for one right now. However, some of the people in your network may belong to one or more organizations. Ask if you can attend a meeting simply to make contacts.
- Job fairs. A job fair can give you instant access to a number of companies at once, all of which probably have current openings. You should be aware, however, that most companies resort to job fairs to recruit hard-to-find talent, particularly in highly technical fields. Because you have the time, however, it can only help to make more contacts through job fairs.
- Alumni associations and college placement programs. If you haven't kept up with your college alumni association, contact the local chapter to determine if they have placement resources. If you attended a local college or university, their placement office may be aware of companies that, in addition to recruiting college students, are also looking for people with more experience.
Recruiters and executive search firms belong in the same category because they perform the same function-matching appropriate talent with appropriate openings. That is where the similarity stops, however, and you should be aware of the differences as you decide whether to use either in your search.
Executive search firms are hired by the company that has an open position. As their name implies, these firms generally only deal with executive talent. If you annual income is not in the executive range (starting in the $50,000 to $60,000 range), you are not a likely candidate for an executive search firm. If you do have upper-level management experience and are a likely candidate for an executive search firm, you should contact a reputable firm and arrange to meet with them. Keep in mind, though, that executive recruiters do not work for vow but, rather, for the companies that hire them. They will only be able to help you if they happen to have an opening that happens to match your background.
If executive search firms are a finely targeted rifle working for prospective employers, recruiters are shotguns trying to make a match anywhere possible. Unfortunately, there are a few recruiting firms and recruiters that give the industry a bad name.
If you want to work with a recruiter, you should be careful in choosing a reputable agency. Contact someone in your area who has been in human resources for a number of years. He or she will be able to tell you which agencies are reputable. As you choose an agency, remember:
Agencies rarely have an exclusive on any position. If you are working with more than one agency, be careful that they aren't both working on the same position. Potential employers will immediately have a bad impression of you if they receive your resume from more than one agency.
Make sure the agency doesn't sell its client list. Again, a potential employer could end up seeing your resume from more than one agency, leaving him or her with a bad impression.
Make sure the recruiter you work with promises not to send your resume to any company unless he or she discusses it with you first. In this way, you'll avoid sending the same resume twice.
Make sure any fees the agency receives are paid by the employer, not by you. The last thing you need at this time is a bill for recruiting services.
In general, if your skills are in demand in your area, a recruiter can help. If you have an unusual set of skills, recruiters may be of little value. Because each recruiter in an agency is trying to fill up to 20 positions at any one time, he or she will have little time to really understand your background and goals. If you do choose to work with a recruiter and it doesn't work well for you, tell the agency you no longer require their services. If the agency has been making bad matches for you in the attempts of finding any match, you may be better off without them.
