My brother in Philadelphia was laid off the other day. He was a
mid-level manager in an engineering firm that has some financial
difficulties. This will be the first time my brother, the brilliant
engineer, ("brilliant" is a family term) has had to seek employment
rather than be sought after by multiple employers.
He calls me and asks, "So what is it that recruiters do again and how
can they help me?" Finally, after five years of family reunions,
someone finally has an interest in what I do! Actually it has only
been four years since I started my own executive search firm, but I
have been talking about it for at least five years. While I can't
tell you all my family secrets, I can share with you the
information that I gave to him.
Opportunities!
It all comes down to finding new opportunities and
who has access to them. Please note that I have used the word
"opportunity" and not the word "job." Recruiters can help you find
opportunities for employment, but it is up to you to get the job.
Recruiters come in two flavors: those who work on retained searches
and those who work on contingency searches. On retained searches,
clients pay the recruiters regardless if they are successful in
finding the right candidate. Generally a retained search is done in
a niche market for a highly specialized and highly compensated field.
In contingency searches, the recruiter only gets paid if they are
successful in placing the right candidate. Both types of recruiters
are important and, if possible, you will want to work with both. The
key thing to remember is that if they do not have an appropriate
opportunity for you, all they can do is keep you in mind as new
opportunities arise.
Recruiters spend a good portion of their day networking, talking with
people--both clients and candidates. All of these conversations have
the potential to turn into an opportunity. Your goal is be one of
those candidates that the recruiter thinks of when the opportunities
present themselves. How do you do this?
Establish a relationship
with two or three recruiters you
trust and are comfortable with. Share with them what you want your
next position to be and what positions that you think you are
qualified for.
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