Working With Executive Recruiters

By: Ford R. Myers

Let's make one thing clear right from the start - executive search firms, recruiters, and employment agencies are not in business to help you land a job. The recruiter is not your advocate, your friend, or your agent. Recruiters, employment agencies, and search firms are merely channels through which you may secure an opportunity for an interview!

Contrary to popular belief, most executive recruiters do not "hold onto" your resume, look for opportunities that will suit you, and eventually contact you when they find a "perfect match." The process is much more immediate and transactional than that. If you happen to send your resume to a recruiter right at the time that they're conducting a search for someone just like you, then you're in luck and you might get an interview! But if the recruiter does not have an "open order" appropriate to your background at the time when he or she receives your resume, you'll usually be treated almost like you were "invisible" - and your resume will tend to "disappear." Unfortunately, you are not the most important thing on the recruiter's mind, which is why it's wise to contact your search firms periodically to "check in."

When recruiters ignore you or reject you, don't take it personally! This is just the way the business works, and it's no reflection on you or your qualifications. I have worked with too many clients who get despondent when they don't hear back from executive recruiters. It's vitally important that you do not get "emotionally attached" to any recruiter, job opening, or prospective employer.

On the positive side, recruiters and search firms can be quite helpful in your job search, as long as you know how to manage the process! But again, never forget that they work for the organizations that pay them to find candidates - not for you.

In order to gain the most benefit from working with executive search firms, you must first understand the different types of organizations in the search industry:

Placement Agencies that Charge you a Fee

These agencies should be avoided completely. They collect a fee from you, the jobseeker, presumably in exchange for arranging the entire placement process with potential employers. They generally handle lower-level jobs.

Many people have been "burned" by these types of agencies that charge you a fee, losing up to thousands of dollars. These types of companies prey on desperate job-seekers who have little or no other information at their disposal. So, always be sure to read any agreements before signing anything.

Contingency-Fee Recruiters

Contingency Recruiters tend to handle the low-to-mid level opportunities, with salaries generally below $75,000. They are paid a percentage of the candidate's salary - but only if they actually place a candidate. They are generally not paid anything unless a position is filled, and thus their primary business strategy is volume - to handle many assignments, refer as many candidates as possible to potential employers, and place as many people as they can in jobs. Think of contingency recruiters as working "strictly on commission," and competing directly with other contingency recruiters who are trying to fill the same spots. Therefore, contingency recruiters usually will not work closely with you to ensure the job is the best possible fit for you

You must take full responsibility for judging, filtering, and sorting the opportunities suggested by contingency recruiters.

Retained Executive Search Firms

Retained Executive Search Firms tend to handle the higher-level executive opportunities, with salaries between $75,000 and $500,000 or more. These are the classic "headhunters," who are granted an exclusive right to conduct a search on behalf of their client company and are paid their fee (or at least some of it) even if the search is unsuccessful. They are called "retained" because they work on retainer, much like a management consulting firm. Executive Search Consultants usually receive between 20% and 33% of the candidate's first year's salary. These types of Search Consultants generally play a more active and selective role in helping to frame job requirements, pre-screen candidates, conduct background and reference checks, and facilitate negotiations. They work very closely with the senior management over a period of years, getting to know the culture, preferences and staffing needs of their client companies.

It is in the retained search firm's best interests to make sure a candidate really is an excellent fit for the industry, the company, and the specific position - because successful placements ensure that the firm will get additional search contracts from the same employer.

General Guidelines

When working with any type of executive search firm or recruiter, you must maintain control of them and their activities. In fact, even though the search firm is not working for you, I tell my clients to "supervise" the work of recruiters as though they were managing a group of employees. This means following some important guidelines:

• Be careful and selective in choosing which recruiters you want to work with, and politely decline to work with those who don't appeal to you or are inappropriate for your situation.
• The best resource for finding and selecting search firms is the Directory of Executive Recruiters, published by Kennedy Information (kennedyinformation.com). This book is also available at many large libraries.
• When speaking with your search firms, be totally honest and direct about your job objectives, past compensation, desired salary, geographical preferences and other details.
• Never pay any sort of "registration fee" or any other money - for anything! All the search firm's fees should be paid by the employer.
• When interviewing, make sure that the job is exactly what the recruiter described. Confirm (and re-confirm, if necessary) the important job details, responsibilities, and compensation.
• Remember that you are the source of the recruiter's income (indirectly). You are entitled to courtesy and respect, as well as honest and prompt answers to your questions.
• Do not sign any contract or make any agreement that obligates you to work exclusively with one agency, or that requires you to pay any fee. Have all forms from the search firms reviewed by an employment attorney.
• Ask that your resume and other information not be forwarded to any prospective employer without your prior approval.
• Be sure that the recruiter does not edit your resume or any other documents without your permission.
• Work closely only with a handful of carefully selected search firms, not an unlimited number of agencies.
• At the point of negotiating your compensation for a new position, do not rely on the recruiter. You must either conduct the negotiations yourself, or at least be actively involved in the negotiation process.
• Focus only 5% or 10% of your job-search energies on recruiters. Remember that most of your time should be spent on more productive activities, such as professional networking.

Some Executive Search Consultants will also provide vital information about such things as industry conditions and local business trends, as well as insightful feedback about your campaign strategy, your compensation level, etc. However, never confuse Executive Search Consultants with Career Consultants - they play very different roles.

Large, national search firms may have offices in many cities, and these offices generally share online resources. If you get into their database in one office, your profile will come-up in another city's database if an opportunity arises that matches your credentials. This may be helpful if you are willing to relocate. Smaller search firms may also have excellent reputations in their own geographical areas, and certainly should not be overlooked.

If you have a basic understanding of how the search industry works, and follow the guidelines above, you will find that search firms and recruiters can serve an important role in your successful job search or career transition!

Copyright 2008, Career Potential, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

Ford R. Myers, President of Career Potential, LLC, helps companies and individuals achieve maximum results through career development! He is also author of "The Ultimate Career Guide," the only comprehensive manual for career management and job search. For free career resources and assessments, please visit www.careerpotential.com.

Article Source: http://www.ArticleBiz.com

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6 Professional Resume Tips: Know What Human Resources Really Want

Author: Andrew Chin

If you know what Human Resources professionals want, you will have a better chance to be the next candidate called for an interview. Professional resume tips will definitely give you that much needed edge!

Professional resume tips #1 - Size really does matters

The length of your resume will be partially determined by how much working experience that you have, but length prevents your resume from standing out.

If you are new jobseeker or just do not have much experience in the field in which you are applying, Human Resources staff prefer to see just a one page resume. This is a brief way to sum up the qualities and work experience that you do have without wasting their time.

Of course, if you more experienced in the position for which you are applying, a two page resume may be more suitable. Of course, if you are just listing things to make the resume longer, you may not have the outcome you would like.

The bottom line is to be as brief as possible without ommitting something that the Human Resource people would like to know.

Professional resume tips #2 - Are the dates consistent

Many resume writers are worried about whether or not to alter the dates of their different jobs just to make a seamless chronology of their work history.

First of all, that is being dishonest. And you do not want to begin a new job with a lie that could be discovered.

Second of all, HR professionals prefer to see the gaps of your work history and how these breaks were filled by you. Perhaps you had a newborn baby or there was a family crisis that caused you to leave your career for a period of time. Whatever the reason, just be ready to explain the gaps.

Professional resume tips #3 - Discussing your previous positions

What you might need to do is describe positions that are related to the one that you are applying for. While you will still be asked how long you were in each position, showing the relevance is much more helpful to the HR people.

You must give your positions their correct titles or ones that express the same idea. Manager and Supervisor are frequently used interchangeably. For example, supervisor sounds slightly more professional.

As long as you are not fabricating titles, you are fine to smooth out their wording.

Professional resume tips #4 - What are your accomplishments

Hiring managers need to know what you have already done for your previous employers. You should have all the facts and figures that you could quote and discuss. Did you increase sales? Did you save the company money? Provide the HR person with things in black and white and you will see that you get better responses.

Discuss the positive things that you have done for your previous employers, and if there were any negative situations, find the positive side in them in case you are asked.

Professional resume tips #5 - Cover letter please.

Do you really need a cover letter? In many cases, hiring managers like to see something that demonstrates your individual personality. After several resumes, they will begin to look the same. This is not to say that you should begin with a something funny or send a photo of yourself, but you should use a cover letter to provide some indication of the kind of employee you are.

You want to show that you know what kinds of responsibilities is expected of you if hired and that you fully comprehend the goals of the company.

Show them that you really want this job and that you are more than ready for the challenge.

Professional resume tips #6 - 100% error free

Simple errors in grammar and spelling will hurt your chances of getting hired in any higher position. Take the extra time to have someone proof read your resume to make sure that you sound and look professional.

Just remember that hiring managers only have a limited time to read every resume that they receive. Get right to the point and your resume will get you the interview.

Article Source: http://www.articlesbase.com/resumes-articles/6-professional-resume-tips-know-what-human-resources-really-want-260439.html


About the Author:

Andrew Chin is a recognized authority on the subject of Employment. His website Employment Exposed provides a wealth of information on Employment Opportunities. All rights reserved. Articles may be reprinted as long as the content and links remains intact and unchanged.

Finding Jobs Successfully For The Older Jobseeker

Author: Martin Haworth

This is, in part, because employers have started to recognize that some of the skills that an older jobseeker can offer are different than those offered by younger people, especially those fresh from school or college.

This is because there is segregation in the types of roles that older applicants can fill much more effectively than younger employees, typically because they are stronger in certain skills due to the work experiences they have, and which young people have not, as yet, been able to acquire.

So this works well for employers, since they get employees far more suited to the type of role they need to fill and older jobseekers are able to benefit from a rejuvenation in the opportunities they are finding available.

Certainly, there is evidence in a number of countries, that younger people are losing out to those of the previous generation as employers assess what their precise needs are in a number of role types, and recruit accordingly - and often, these days, from the older population.

So, if you are in the position of looking for a job and you feel that your age might be against you, just what are the steps you need to take to have the best chance of a positive outcome?

Here are four key steps you must focus on:-

1) Getting Your CV or Resume Right

The big thing in your favor is the life and work experiences you have already had and that cannot be replicated by younger people. So, without making too much of it, emphasize what you have done in your work (and increasingly, outside the workplace too).

Carefully indicate the experiences you have had; the challenges you've faced successfully and the qualities you have, both that you feel for yourself, as well as that substantiated by evidence from co-workers, clients and customers as well as those you worked for.

You might also need to know that your length of service, especially with a limited number of employers over your career, is a good sign that you will be reliable as well as that you were held in high regard by your previous employers.

2) Prepare Yourself Well

When you are an older jobseeker, you need to work at it to ensure that you become irresistably attractive to prospective employers. To get this right, you need to be proactive.

By seeking out opportunities where you can develop your skills in the direction of roles you have been attracted to, you will look like you are very interested in the job.

This can take the form of additional training courses as well as taking on temporary experiences, maybe even unpaid, that will get your ready to hit the ground running when you get the job you're looking for.

3) Play Your Cards Right

It can be a huge challenge to seek out the right opportunities, however much time you can put in. So here's a secret. More people, especially older jobseekers, get jobs through people they already know than from applying cold.

So, you don't know anyone huh?

Truth is we all do! We all have networks that we've developed since we were little kids, so it's time to get others involved and fighting on your side. Tell your friends; tell your colleagues and (grit your teeth!), your ex-colleagues; tell your family. Even be prepared to tell just acquaintances.

It's not just the 50 people you first think of. On the one hand, it's the next 200 where you make the extra effort, but it's also about the hundreds of people they each know too! Indeed if you get this right, you'll have thousands of people all on your side, helping you out. You might be surprised at how valuable this asset is for you.

4) Look Specifically

If you are older, there are agencies that are working just for you. You will have likely as not, somewhere in your town that can help you in your quest. The world is getting savvier now of the possibilities that older workers offer, so it's much more available in your very own main street now than it ever was.

There are places where jobs for people like you are being advertized. Get 'Googling' for keywords like 'older workers' & 'older jobs' etc., in your location. It's quite possible that there is a role for you lurking somewhere, so doing all you can to find it, is down to you, as it won't always be possible for that perfect employer to find the older applicant they are looking for.

The jobs that are most likely to be available for older jobseeker?

- customer service roles, where experience of one-to-one interaction often comes easier after a lifetime in that sort of role.

- interim roles, where an organization is looking for short- to medium-term cover, which might be of a timescale to suit older applicants as well.

- professional roles, where long experience is of great value in supporting and mentoring newer, younger staff and where sometimes there might be a desire for the older applicant to lose a few hours in the week

This is just a small selection of possibilities. It is not exhaustive. Remember this is a win-win situation where employers in all sorts of businesses will benefit from having older jobseekers in their employee mix. It's out there for you, so make the effort and you will be rewarded.

About the Author:

(c) 2007 "How To Land Your Dream Job". You can have the job of your dreams. It takes application, attention and the information you need to get you there, young or old. There's all you need at Martin Haworth's website, http://www.HowToLandYourDreamJob.com

Red Alert | An Over-50 Jobseeker Has Just Entered the Building

by: Teena Rose

Interviewing Tips for the Older Job-seeking Population

A red alert is probably melodramatic, but I’m sure jobseekers in this age bracket probably feel there is one. The bulk of the job-seeking population is currently facing job-search woes that the elderly population has been experiencing for years.

In recent years, I’ve seen that over-50 jobseekers have wised up to the fact that age bias is still existent in America’s workforce. Armed with this information, these jobseekers are redesigning their résumés so that obvious red flags are no longer present. Employers are finding it more difficult to "guesstimate" someone’s age because these individuals are eliminating older positions, degree dates, and shaving information from the backend of their career; information that generally makes a résumé lengthy and less focused. With a targeted and lean résumé, an over-50 jobseeker is likely to obtain more interviews than with a heavy, all-telling version.

Other factors older jobseekers should consider are personal hygiene, attire, and language skills. A person who takes the time to adequately prepare a résumé should also take enough time to work on personal appearance and traits too.

Certainly I’m not recommending that an individual run out and get thousands of dollars worth of plastic surgery, or spend an insane amount of money on a new wardrobe. I am, however, recommending that you take a good look at your appearance. Ask yourself, could a new hairstyle or an attractive new business suit provide an added edge? Willingness to change your appearance is solely up to you. Keep in mind that you’ll likely be interviewed by someone younger, so trimming a mustache, wearing a new pair of shoes or shirt, and using ageless words during the interview, will likely make a substantial difference.

Interviewers will ask loaded questions if he or she wants to determine your age. Watch out for questions, covering age of grandchildren, possible retirement date, or health status. These questions are considered illegal; and although they’re not jail-worthy, they will give him or her the ammunition to make a tainted employment selection. Contact the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC), if you suspect a company of being age-biased.

Staying ahead of the technological curve, and representing this in the résumé and during the interview, will allow you to speak to the interviewer using acronyms and jargon that’s familiar to that person. A knowledgeable individual, regardless of age, will impress an interviewer and leave a positive impression.

Keep a positive mindset and you’ll appear young and lively. An optimistic outlook is not always easy, particularly when you’ve gone on several interviews that don’t result to job offers. Support and golden age groups -- provided by county career centers and sponsored by colleges -- will provide support, a networking forum, and employment contacts that will make your job search flow smoothly.

An over 50 jobseeker can also benefit from the help of a career coach. A coach can help identify and resolve employment concerns, as well as, personal and life issues that may be hindering personal development. Filling a much-needed gap, career coaching is becoming a crucial tool for those seeking to career transition and advance -- even at the youthful age of 50 or more.

About The Author

Written by Teena Rose of Résumé to Referral http://www.resumebycprw.com

Jobseekers! Look For Smoke, Not Fire...

by: Jim Stroud

"If you always do what you've always done, you will always get what you've always received,” said some wise person. This is certainly true when it comes to job-hunting, especially during a "sucky" economy. How many times have you applied to a job on Monster.com? Now ask yourself, "How many other people have applied for the same position?" The numbers are discouraging I assure you. Should this keep you from applying to jobs online? By no means, job boards are a necessary part of the process. However, if you limit your jobsearch to seeking only those jobs that you are qualified for then you are making a mistake. Am I suggesting that you do a "shotgun" effect with your resume and apply to as many jobs as you can hoping that by some miraculous twist of fate you catch a recruiter's eye? No... and yes, in a way.

Let's put on our imagination cap for a minute and think of a horrific fire in a subdivision at the peak of rush-hour traffic. What is your immediate focus? The fire blazing bright? Sure... Are you concerned for the people in the subdivision? I hope so... "Now breathe deeply and concentrate," I say in my Yoda voice. "See more, you will, young Jedi." Could it be that you see smoke? Could it be that you hear a fire engine? Perhaps a helicopter with a reporter giving the TV viewers a scoop on what is happening? Perhaps there is another chopper for radio listeners? Perhaps in the distance are people who don't know about the fire yet and are honking their horns and cursing the 5 o'clock commute? Perhaps all of this and more and why are they all there? Well, duh... they are all there because of a fire.

Now, I know what you're thinking, "What does all that have to do with my getting a job?" "Everything," I say smugly.

Let's say that you are looking for a job as a network engineer. So what do you do? You look for Network Engineer jobs, which is a good start but not the finish. Consider the events and surroundings concerning your job and imagine what surrounds that job. Let's see... to network computers, there must be a group of unconnected computers somewhere. For a group of unconnected computers to be sitting somewhere, that would mean that some salesperson had to sell them to somebody else. So, who sells the computers that I am qualified to connect? Why "Computer Company A" sells the kind of computers I am qualified to connect. Why don't I call Computer Company A and ask for a friendly sales person? Perhaps with my powers of persuasion (and a little bribery of lunch), I can get him to tell me who his best customers are. I bet his best customers could use a network engineer to hook up all the machines they just bought.

You like that? Let's go deeper...

New computers being connected suggest new office space. If I was going to buy new office space, who would I go to? Maybe I can call the leasing office of some business complexes and ask who handles their leasing. Maybe they can refer me to someone? Maybe they lease their own space and will give me a tip on companies looking to move into their space. A possibility... Better yet, I could pick up a copy of “The Atlanta Business Chronicle” (assuming you are in Atlanta) and review their real estate announcements to see who bought what. Whoever is buying lots of office space is someone I would want to talk to.

Do I have your wheels rotating yet? The trick is not to look only for the fire (in this case, a network engineering job), but the smoke (those people who operate on the periphery of that job). Let me go a step even further. What happens after a fire has been put out? There is water damage, smoke damage, medical issues on occasion and so on. There has to be someone or some group of some ones to clean up the mess left behind. All that to say, as soon as one person gets hired somewhere, there is a possibility of an opening behind them. So, when you read in the paper about Company X has just signed on a new CIO formerly of Company Z, my advice is to call Company Z for a job. This is an especially good technique if you are an Executive, because many senior management types foster a "cult following" and bring other execs with them. (Happens all the time...) Does this go for executives only? No, this would be a good heads up for techies and marketing types as well. Why? New leadership means new processes and new processes often demand people to adapt or stand aside for new personnel who can.

"Now let's go deeper into the force," I say in a bad Darth Vader accent. And imagine that you cannot imagine other positions that are connected to the job you are qualified for. Imagine that you are just clueless on how to think along these lines. (Anybody can draw a blank…) For these folks I say, look for the recruiter jobs. If you see a company looking to hire Recruiters, Staffing Consultants, Internet Researchers (people who support recruiters by finding resumes online) or Online Sourcers (same thing as Internet Researcher), then that should sound like a cowbell at dinner time.

If you are thinking to yourself, "Why should I care about HR jobs? That's not my background." I suggest that you slap yourself. Why would a company hire recruiters? They hire recruiters because they are about to load up on new employees! What kind of employees? Well, look at the kind of recruiter they want! Are they hiring technical recruiters? Sales recruiters? Executive recruiters? Ahh... I see the light bulb has just flashed over your head, you're with me now. (Glad to meet you-wink).

There is an old joke by a comedian named Robin Harris that says, "If you cannot get to the man, get next to the man that is next to the man. And if you can't get him. Get next to the man that is next to the man that is next to the man and so on..." If you are feeling frustrated in your job-search, look beyond finding jobs that fit you, but rather seek out people connected to what you do. If you cannot connect with them, then connect with the person next to them and so on and so on and so on...

About The Author

Jim Stroud is a Recruitment Specialist and the author of "How Do I Find A Job When The Economy Sucks?" a collection of jobsearch strategies for people who need to work NOW! His book can be read from his website: http://jimstroud.com.