By: Dwain Celistan
Whether someone is in an active or passive employment search, executive recruiters
or “head hunters” can play a vital role. These professionals are conduits to great
opportunities for professionals.
For many business leaders and up and coming professionals, using executive recruiters
can make or break their next step up the corporate ladder. However, the role of executive
recruiters is often misunderstood. Here are tips to debunking four of the most common
myths about executive recruiters.
Myth #1: Recruiters are agents who work for candidates. This is a major misconception
among job seekers. Recruiters are hired by organizations to source talent who have
specific skills and/or experiences. “Recruiters don’t find jobs for people, they find
people for jobs;” as stated by a top recruiter from a large executive search firm.
Importantly, recruiters are not charged with generating a large quantity of candidates but
finding the “right” candidates who meet or exceed the position specifications. While
some recruiters will include candidates who are not “on spec”, this is not the preferred
route.
The probability of someone getting hired who is not “on spec” is low. Thus, it is not a
benefit to the recruiter’s relationship with their client to provide candidates who are not
strong contenders to be hired.
Myth #2: It is more valuable to know a few recruiters very well. There are hundreds of
recruiters, many who focus on specific functions, industries or geographies. Each has
unique and occasionally exclusive relationships with organizations.
Thus, it is better for a candidate to increase their exposure to a large number of firms and
recruiters within those firms. This approach will broaden the amount of organizations
that a candidate can have exposure to via recruiters.
Tony W. had a long-term relationship with a Fortune 500 firm. During those 15+
years, he was the only recruiter to place executives with that firm. If you didn’t come in
through Tony, you weren’t going to get placed at that firm.
Greater frequency of contact with a recruiter always increases the probability of success.
The priority for recruiters is to forward a slate of candidates who are “on spec” and have
a high likelihood of being selected for the role. This is independent of the depth or length
of relationship with a potential candidate.
Net, it is worth maintaining contact with recruiters and assisting where possible on search
projects. However, monthly or more frequent calls are not necessarily the means to more
opportunities.
Recruiters have all the best jobs. While “head hunters” have access to many desirable
career opportunities, assorted data sources suggest that they only represent 15-25% of
opportunities for executives.
Networking is still the predominant source of new jobs. It dwarfs recruiters as a means
of identifying new roles. While the internet is appealing, the hit rate for new roles on line
is significantly less than recruiters. Combined this suggests that networking is the best
use of job search time. A helpful article on networking is http://tinyurl.com/26w3to4
Rob L. represents one of many executives who have landed a new opportunity. He used
his network and elevator speech extensively. This led to a contact introducing him to
another contact which led to an interview process.
In summary, executive recruiters should be included in any job search; however, they are
not the agents for candidates. One should work to add a long list of recruiters, contact
them periodically and focus most search efforts on networking.
Dwain Celistan is an Executive Vice President for DHR International, a global search
firm. Known as the “Career Acceleration Coach” he coaches talented executives, is a
frequent guest speaker, has published three books as well as numerous articles. He can be reached at 630-455-0172 or www.coachdwain.com