10Maximizing your recruiter contacts
Market yourself broadly
to all the right recruiters
hether they are called search firms, contingency recruiters or headhunters, all recruiters work for employers. They screen and recommend prospective employees. These firms are not in business to serve job hunters. They fill jobs at $50,000 to $1,000,000 and up. Elite firms are retained at fees averaging up to 33% of compensation.
Executive search firms are referred to as "retained recruiters." Other firms, called contingency recruiters, are active up to $150,000, but operate on commission. Another category is the "temporary or contract recruiter." They earn fees when employers hire professionals on an interim basis.
While 8,000 to 10,000 firms claim to be active, fewer than 50 dominate the upper-end business. Importantly, the best recruiters play a role in helping management set up position specifications.
Regional recruiters have been playing an increasingly important role in the job market. Some specialize by industry... and others by career fields. There are thousands of local recruiters that can be helpful.
Recruiters are typically articulate professionals who have a broad knowledge of business, and are generally excellent marketing executives themselves. It will pay you to develop relationships with those you respect and to maintain them throughout your career. Independent firms that specialize locally or regionally are likely to really know what's going on in their local markets.
Recruiters prefer achievers, people making strong first impressions and who are employed. Being visible in your industry can be key, especially in a hot field or industry. Of course, to develop any level of good activity with recruiters, you'll need superior materials.
When you communicate with recruiters, never be negative about your employer and never appear desperate. Also, keep in mind that recruiters focus on filling their active job listings. So, when you send them a resume, or register online, most of the time if your resume makes the cut, it will simply be scanned into their files.
Direct mail to recruiters
It pays to contact as many recruiters as possible. The vast percentage will not be working on an assignment that might require you... but as time goes by... they may need someone with your background.
When you contact recruiters, be sure to send them a one-page universal resume, suitable for scanning. Cover letters or letter resumes will not play a role. Recruiters will give your resume about 10 or 20 seconds to grab their attention. So you must have a clear objective... and a compelling summary that covers not more than one-third of your one-page resume. But, you don't have to bother with personally addressed letters.
What to expect from resume distributions to recruiters
People with recognizable "tickets" do best (for example, well-known schools, degrees, blue chip affiliations, etc.). Distributions will be most effective for those in popular fields (e.g., sales, accounting, finance, IT or IS, manufacturing or service operations and other fields where there is a sizeable demand).
Contacting recruiters will be less effective for those in narrow or low demand specialties (e.g., a patent attorney, city manager, technical writer, blood chemist, etc.) or for those making a career change (e.g., an educator moving into business).
Also, as you go up the pyramid, there are fewer jobs available, so the response rate will be lower. Those who position themselves with lofty titles, as well as those without recognizable "tickets" who are in narrow demand areas, should expect very little here. It's a low percentage game. Compensating with greater numbers of recruiter contacts is required.
Responses come in over weeks and months. A second distribution to the same list three to four months later produces about 80% of the initial response. First class mail does best, followed by fax and email.
When responses come in and they engage you on the phone, be ready with a 30- or 60-second commercial highlighting your most marketable features. Keep in mind that you will be most popular with recruiters if you will explore attractive situations, are upbeat and positive about where your career is going, and not openly unhappy about your employer.
The 40 leading executive search firms*
*Source: Kennedy Publications
Battalia Winston Bench International Boyden Callan Associates Carlyle Group Cejka Search Ken Clark International Conley & Company CTPartners Cook Associates Crist | Kolder Associates Cromwell Partners DHR International Diversified Search Ray & Berndtson Howard Fischer Associates |
Furst Group/MPI Gilbert Tweed Associates Grant Cooper & Associates Heidrick & Struggles Hodge / Niederer / Cariani / Lindsay Horton International The Howard-Sloan-Koller Group Isaacson Miller JM & Company Kaye/Bassman Korn/Ferry |
Herbert Mines Associates Preng & Associates PrinceGoldsmith Rhodes Associates Russell Reynolds Morgan Samuels J. Robert Scott Slayton Search Partners Spencer Stuart Stanton Chase Strawn Arnold Tyler & Company Witt/Kieffer Egon Zehnder |
Realize that the recruiting business is highly affected by the economy
When times are good, the recruiting industry often soars. This is true relative to the recruiting of professionals at all levels. As a rule the senior executive portion of the market doesn't fluctuate as much as the market from $50,000 to $150,000.
Because of this, your expectations from placements of your resumes with recruiters should be modest in periods during downturns or recessions.
Occasionally, people mistakenly think that contacting recruiters by phone will be effective. This is rarely the case, in any economy. At all times, you need to keep in mind that recruiters are having conversations with dozens of professionals every day. However, as previously stated, their focus is on filling the limited number of assignments on which they are currently working.
Besides recruiters, venture capitalists can help
A surprising number of VC firms have assumed an active role in hiring for both start-ups and developing firms in which they have an ongoing investment. People who will generate the most interest are normally executives who are candidates for "C" level positions (COO, CTO, etc.) or those who can fill a role as head of a line function (VP Sales, etc.). Others who do well here are primarily in their 30s and 40s. Typically, they've been with major firms and have advanced degrees.
What some people say about recruiters
"I got all I needed from recruiter distributions."
"My activity with recruiters was for the best quality jobs. Employers who spend the money on recruiting fees value their positions more."
"Recruiters will work if you have degrees from well-known institutions, and experience with recognizable firms."
"Recruiters won't produce if you want to change fields."
"In the past I did very well with recruiters. However, in this economy, companies just are not spending their money in the same way, and listings with recruiters seem to be down."
What some people say about VCs
"My position came through contacting a venture capitalist in Atlanta. My background is in biochemistry."
"I would not recommend the VC route for everyone. I am 53 years old, and had very little response because of my age."
"I had several things emerge with VCs, but all were related to my previous industry experience and my MBA."
"VCs worked for me. I wanted to make the shift from staff work as a consultant to a line position in general management."
"Like contacting employers, getting in touch with VCs works only if your materials arrive at the right time."
"If you contact VCs, the possibilities that come your way will be all from small firms."
Why not get into the files of a lot of recruiters?
It can help you now... and in the future.
Recapping this chapter. Once you have a superior resume, send it by first-class mail and recruiters may scan it into their files. If you are early in your career, you may hear from them for many years. As your career progresses, stay in touch and make yourself easy to find. If you're seeking a middle income position, contact a lot of local recruiters. At the executive level, send your resume to national recruiters. For executives, keep in mind that the chance of one recruiter working on a job that is right for you is very small.
Quick action steps. For our clients, we place their resumes with appropriate recruiters. However, on your own there are several other sources available online. Check for how up-to-date and thorough they are. Spend time on the Internet, download samples where available, and assess this for yourself.
"What we see depends mainly on what we look for." — John Lubbock
Before you search
Understanding the market