Frequent question: How do I hire a headhunter?
Brutal answer: You don't. Headhunters -- who would prefer to be known as executive search specialists -- do not work for individual job hunters. Done honestly, there's no money in it.
Executive search agents work for employers who pay them, either on retainer or a contingency basis, to locate executive or professional candidates who meet employers' needs for specific positions.
Workers have heard so much about headhunters that many think they can call up a search firm, send in their resumes and sit back while their availability is broadcast to the inner sanctums of the business world.
For the vast, vast majority of workers, that does not and will not happen.
Legitimate executive search firms may or may not accept individuals' resumes and add them to their data banks. But such legitimate search specialists also will tell individuals not to hold their breath. Their resumes will be sent out only if they happen to match a paying client's current need.
And, once again: The paying clients of executive search firms are employers, not job hunters.
Misunderstandings about headhunters and desires to seek or improve their jobs have driven many workers to enterprises that promise them access to the "hidden job market."
For example, hundreds of clients of the former Bernard Haldane chain, now doing business as BH Careers, paid thousands of dollars, allegedly to get access to that hidden market. But many left believing they didn't get their money's worth in job-finding assistance, much less a job. They were prime targets for the inflated sales pitch partly because of ignorance or confusion about headhunters. Individuals who get employer-paid outplacement services are given job-search assistance. They're exposed to the tools it takes to network, use Internet job boards, send out good resumes and cover letters, and consider jobs in different industries. But upstanding outplacement companies are religious about telling workers that they are not being paid to find them jobs. Rather, they're being paid (by the employer who let the workers go) to expose the workers to job-hunting techniques and resources. Job hunters who haven't been given an outplacement package are pretty much on their own. They can register with employment agencies and temporary-help firms -- at no cost -- because, once again, reputable agencies are paid by the employers who hire their candidates. They can hire professional resume writers or personal coaches to help them with interviewing skills for set fees -- generally a few hundred, not thousands, of dollars.
They can read job-hunting advice in books, magazines, newspapers and trade journals, and on the Internet. And they can call everyone they know and ask for job leads. That's what networking is all about. Somebody might refer someone's name to somebody else who might have an opening that fits. I just called four reputable executive search, outplacement or career coaching professionals. Each said the same thing: There is no magic formula for finding jobs. There is no hidden job market. Nobody is in business to find you a job. You have to do the work yourself. That's frustrating, disappointing news to many job hunters. But it's the truth. 2004, The Kansas City Star, Mo. Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News. Powered by YellowBrix, Inc.
