Busy mornings, sleepless nights…
I am sure that all of you are pretty tired after a working day, and while watching your favorite drama on Netflix your phone keeps buzzing & blinking: email notifications, Linkedin messages and other flashy icons that grab your attention away from your TV.
Or maybe you are just trying to catch some sleep, when some funny individuals, all posing the same way on fb professional profiles ( suit, tie, arms folded ) are trying to connect with you.
Then, the same exclamation comes out “..another Headhunter…” And they look all same, copy-catting each other, pretty much trying to engage with standard messages, claiming to be “specialists”, “professionals” , “guru” , or maybe wizards …
But how would you value the service headhunters, and what are the key traits to spot the difference and find the one?
Guess it’s time to write down a checklist for those of you getting annoyed at times, maybe interested in looking for a job, but surely tired of receiving the same messages at any given time, possibly when you are enjoying your favorite movies.
Check the Headhunter – an ultimate checklist
- Not all the recruiters are headhunters although all of us are dressed the same way and sporting the same black folder, majority of those claiming to be “headhunters” are nothing more than robot brainwashed by major recruitment firms. I guess that it is fair to say that headhunting was never the dream job for any of us, as we just happened to be here, possibly because we are eager to make transactions, or because we just had to find the way to stay in a foreign country (in my case, Japan). A true headhunter would be always able to create value at any interaction, any touch point with candidates.
We share insights, strategies, company gossiping because we know the hiring managers and key people personally, by the heart (and possibly we already know your boss, who maybe is already under offer with another company while we are talking to you ). Beware of those funky coffee drinkers approaching you with a Job Description: having that document it does not means that the recruiter is knowledgeable about the position is working for. - We know you before we meet with you it might sound a bit cheeky , but seriously we know our targets, and we make the best effort in our/your interest to turn you into a candidate. An headhunter knows his candidate before the meeting , and his knowledge would not come from a superficial look to the Linkedin profile or the Facebook Page (although trust me , we check that too) , but as we have a ramified network of contacts that goes above and beyond our geography ( it happened to me in numerous occasion to get referrals of talented candidates living 1,000 miles away from here), sometimes we beat secret service agencies on time!
We know your background, your favorite color, if you do like golfing, if you are happy or if you hate your boss, and possibly we get tons of other information that you might not even be aware of (you know, market is small and people love gossiping ).
If you want to rate or test one of us, ask a simple question: What you know about me ? And see what we have to say about it… - We don’t work for you there are quite a few things that upset me in this work, and trust me for a very inpatient person like myself, finding the Zen virtue to deal with multiple individuals, coping with their time frames and irrelevant questions, it is quite challenging. But all in all, it really puts me off when I interview a wannabe headhunter who believes that the main mission is to help people to find a job.
Nah man , this is not Hello Work, I want this to be clear: WE DON’T WORK FOR YOU. We are not career counselling staff (although counselling and coaching are some of the tools we use to engage with our Rockstars), we have one main objective: making transactions. Possibly it is not the best way to describe our profession, and surely we are not just money hunters, but what we do in a way is to trade excellent professionals to top organization in the interest of time , and profit.
It also happen at work to create life-time lasting relationship with some candidates who become friends, or even family (some of my clients in fact were at my wedding ceremony back in Sicily a couple of year ago) but that said, do not expect us to join your ikebana class, or hang out for window shopping, cos we won’t unless it’s worth the penny. - We build long-lasting relationships that literally last for years and get deep, as mentioned before. This happens because we do not deal with CVs, sending job applications , or candidates pipelines to our clients: we really go above and beyond, as in our position (and that is what I love the most about my job) we get to know the human side of people, their ups and downs, strengths and weaknesses, and in the end we build up a real relationship which goes beyond the mere “money transaction”.
And this is not just about the relationship we build with candidates, an headhunter has his own community where there is no distinction between candidate and client, who pays the bill or who gets the job: everyone is a stake-holder, and in virtue of that status, cultivating a relationship with a RockStar is a must. My colleagues at times ask why I always meet the same people, and how do I make money out of the same candidates: it is not about the CV you send, my friend: it is about the relationships you build.
I meet my people 3, or 6 times per business quarter , and we do share updates, we get to share information, but we get to know each other more and more, building a solid trusted relationship. Why coming to you only when I have a job? A relationship has to be cultivated, level of trust have to be increased , making sure that your headhunter will be there at the given moment, to catch the life-time opportunity you are waiting for, serving it on a silver platter.Please note that we do not need your CV to get you to your next job, because we know you already. - Ego & time efficiency Yeah, some of you might think that most of headhunters are arrogant as#$@les with ego and attitude (well, partially you are right ), however time is money and we need to be quick, reactive and efficient.
Don’t get mad if we don’t call you at the timing you wish, because possibly we are working on other priority tasks, and it might be the case that you are not as cool as you believe (and let’s be honest, whenever we chase you and you are not looking for a job, you would not give a monkey about calling us back). Being reactive to the market stimulus 24/7 puts us in a swirl of never-ending calls, marathons for chasing people, connectivity exercises to get to the right contact, and so on: I know we are not the sweetest ones, but we are quick and effective to save time as the market never sleeps, and there is no second prize for the runner up in a recruitment process that all of us want to win.
If you are just desperate looking for a job, probably an headhunter would not be the right choice: I would advise to send your CV to some search and selection low-touch firms, they might call you back, or send you an automated canned response to inform you that you have been screened and that will come back to you, one day. - Insider market knowledge and confidentiality A recruiter usually spends time in getting rejected by the HR Recruiter on daily basis, and will inform you about an appealing job only when and IF they will receive a Job Description. But do they really know what’s happening at their client’s side ? Beware of these guys, as in most of the cases they will never get you in front of the CEO or the Head of Sales, simply because they have no visibility inside the firm. As we said, an Headhunter spends hours in build relationships: we know our clients as we know you , and then we happen to know in & outs, reasons why the role is open, and in most of cases, as we are aware of who is moving around before the resignation happens, we are able to predict and know in advance where the next role is going to be, 2 or 3 months in advance.
Do you think that that “recruiting expert” from that global multinational mega recruitment firm who sent you an email earlier knows about it ? Well ask him, ask who are his clients / hiring managers , and ask whether he is aware of future opportunities for you. I am sure he will hide himself behind the JD he sent you, as he wont know the answer.
Also, make sure that whatever is discussed about you is “confidential”: this is an important matter as your personal info, your story, your CV are data that need to be handled with care – make sure that the wannabe agent approaching you can give transparency on the introduction process.
Who is the person receiving the info, how well he knows that person, and how easy he can access him/her. Some recruiters just like to spam around resumes behind candidates back, and I have been finding myself defending confidentiality right in front of clients, who had received CVs without authorization and this, trust me , can be a serious problem.
Last but not least: an Headhunter has a very good memory: we do remember gossip, chats, info and people background at glance ( trust me, I could write Bio for more than 200 bankers in Tokyo, starting from University days to whole career, knowing all details such as friends/enemies in other banks, former colleagues, and other small but colorful things ), and that’s a key to our success.
Nominating the full market on a meeting in 10 minutes is something mesmerizing that our clients love, and so do you , when we give you a market picture in a minute.
Are you sure you are dealing with a true Headhunter? or is another failed recruiter knocking at your door? Guess now you know enough to spot the difference, then choice is always yours.
Marco
The Banking Insider 