It's no secret that working with a headhunter or recruiter can be an effective way to advance your career.
Headhunters often have access to jobs that are not advertised elsewhere and can speed up the hiring process between an employer and potential candidate.
The trick, however, is understanding how a headhunter operates.
"As a career management coach, it is always surprising to me that even senior level job seekers often don't know that 'headhunters' work for the companies, not the candidates," says Bettina Seidman of SEIDBET Associates.
"Clients sometimes say: 'I'll just contact a headhunter who will get me a job.' Headhunters aren't career counselors ... they're motivated by earning the commission."
To find out how to increase your chances of landing a job through a headhunter, we spoke with several executive recruiters and career coaches to get the low-down on the errors job seekers make.
Holding back information can make you look sneaky
It's important to be as honest as possible with your recruiter about your career, preferences and anything else that could affect your job search.
"Job seekers sometimes fail to tell their recruiter when their company, position, or compensation preferences change. Second, job seekers hurt themselves by not telling recruiters about personal obligations and other things that might interfere with their job searches," says Katy Keogh, of the staffing firm
Winter, Wyman.
"Bring these things up at the last minute, and they can be a deal-breaker. Why? Changing the game at the last second with a hiring company makes you look sneaky or complicated for no reason at all."
Providing a vague description of your accomplishments makes it harder for a headhunter to place you
"Leave out the jargon," says Caroline Ceniza-Levine, a career coach and co-founder of
SixFigureStart. "Show specific and measurable results."
"Don't make me as the listener/recruiter/prospective employer have to translate what you're saying into how it will benefit me or fill my needs. Talk to me in terms of my needs and what you will do for me."
Don't assume that a headhunter will do all the work for you
Jennifer Lenkowsky, a managing partner of
The Corporate Ladder, sees it all the time. "The biggest misconception a job seeker makes is that they assume because a headhunter agrees to meet them, that headhunter will find them a job," she says.
"And then, they (job seekers) tend to put all of their eggs in a headhunter's basket. Unfortunately if the companies that we work with don't pick up on your resume, it's out of our hands."
"A headhunter's job is to find the right candidate for the client (company) who hired the recruitment services -- not to find a job for every single job seeker who contacts the recruiting firm," adds Laurent Guerrier, CEO of the staffing firm,
Luxe Avenue.
See the rest of the story at Business Insider
Please follow
War Room on
Twitter and
Facebook.
See Also:
