canadian headhunter

Don't Call Us.....

This is from Fortune Magazine and you might need a subscription to read it. So I am posting the full text here.:

"Dear Annie:

In my former job as a senior marketing executive at a major consumer-goods company, I constantly received calls from headhunters. I recently took 'early retirement' (not voluntarily), and now that I want recruiters to notice me, I can't get their attention. I've mailed out dozens of resumes, many of them to people who had contacted me before, and still have heard nothing. Any thoughts?
Big Dan

Dear Dan:
Ah. Mailing your resume is probably where you've gone wrong, according to Eileen Foley, a senior vice president at Boston-based executive-development firm ClearRock. She spent 15 years as a headhunter and now specializes in coaching managers on the care and feeding of same. 'The vast majority of recruiters prefer resumes sent as a Microsoft Word attachment,' says Foley. 'You can also paste a text version into an e-mail, which they can then add to their databases. But sending your resume via snail mail is futile.' Why? Most recruiters send resumes to their clients electronically, so anything on paper is likely to get tossed.

Ok she is partially right here. We prefer our resumes in WORD format and we do send our resumes electronically to clients. However we will still look at a paper resume if we receive it. If the candidate looks good on a search we are doing we will definitely call and ask for an electronic version.

After you've e-mailed, follow up by phone within a few days. 'Calling can often make the difference in whether a candidate gets an interview right away,' Foley says. She also recommends that you call again in six to eight weeks, just to refresh the headhunter's memory, and inquire whether you're still in the database. One other tip: Avoid posting your resume on job boards, since 'recruiters are best able to place candidates who cannot be found through other sources.' "

Headhunters are dependent on our clients and the opportunities that we have with them. Calling doesn't help if we don't have an opportunity that fits. Note that the person started out this letter saying he used to get calls from recruiters "constantly". Define constantly, was it every day? Every week? Every month? It may have seemed like a lot but it was probably once every other month. That seems like a lot when you are working but when you are looking for a job it seems like very little.

Headhunters work by developing lists of target companies not target people. Then we call to see who is in the appropriate position there and try to recruit them. Once you are not with a major corporation you will not get called as often. This doesn't just mean people who are unemployed but people who move from a large well known company like Procter and Gamble to a small outfit that is relatively unknown.

Also the person mentions he has taken "early retirement" this might be contributing to the reluctance of some firms to call him. If he has taken retirement why is he now back on the market? Some recruiters might peg him as someone who was allowed to retire because it was easier than firing him. Headhunters like to see nice clear progression careerwise and any type of hiccup throws them off.

Lastly - post your resume on job boards. You end goal is to get a job not to get headhunters to call you. If they aren't calling you - screw 'em go find a job on your own.

Original source here.