At last count, some 5,200 recruiting firms in
North America were trying to play matchmaker
between hiring managers and job seekers. Many
of these outfits opened shop during the hiring
frenzy of the late 1990s and are now struggling
to land clients in the current slowdown.
But the number and variety of recruiters
(also known as headhunters) is good news for
job-seekers. Headhunters can be terrific
partners in career management. As our
guest feature writer Darrell Gurney
describes in his book Headhunters
Revealed!, headhunters can turn you
on to hidden job leads, prepare you to
really shine in interviews, SELL
you to employers, and negotiate
a great compensation package for you.
Read his thoughts on choosing a
headhunter in this issue, as well
as a review of his book and another
one by an author in the recruiting business.
Formula for Finding the Right Headhunter: Trust and Clout = Trout!
by Darrell W. Gurney, CPC, JCTC, RScP,
Principal of A Permanent Success National
Career Coaching & Search Partners
When you start fishing the waters for
recruiters, focus on a good "trout" stream
because Trust and Clout are two determinants
of a winning catch. Let's first consider trust.
Do you sense that you can trust a particular
recruiter? Do his or her client companies trust
him or her? The more you can answer these
questions regarding a potential
"career partner,"
the better. On a personal level, the gut speaks
volumes that the mind can't always absorb, so you
may just need to go with it. Client trust, however,
may be more difficult to determine given that many
headhunters will not necessarily divulge their
client's identity until absolutely necessary.
But here is the very nature of the beast --
reticence to reveal the names of clients they
service may reveal something about the strength
of foothold established with those clients --
an indicator of the level of trust and clout
in those relationships.
In our newest section, check out some of
the best recruitment resources for job-seekers
-- organized around critical recruiter-related
resources, recruiter/headhunter directories, and
recruiter associations. Go to:
Recruiter Resources, Directories, and Associations.
Our newest tips section offers recruiter-related tips
on capturing the attention and partnership of top
recruiters, playing and winning "placement politics,"
and more. The tips come from Darrell W. Gurney's book,
Headhunters Revealed! Career Secrets for Choosing and
Using Professional Recruiters (reviewed in this issue). Go to:
Critical Recruiter Tips: Key Headhunter Advice.
Quintessential Reading: Headhunter Related Books
In this issue, we review two books by
authors with backgrounds as headhunters/recruiters.
Gurney's book was a real eye-opener for me.
I had always advised job-seekers not to be overly
dependent on working with headhunters because
headhunters work for employers, not job-seekers,
and may not have the job-seeker's best interests
at heart. What I forgot about was the law of supply
and demand. Without a supply of job-seekers, headhunters
would have no success in working for employers.
While the headhunter's first loyalty is to the
employer who hired him or her, a headhunter can
be a valuable ally to the job-seeker, as Gurney
comprehensively explains in a volume that should
be must-reading for any job-seeker who wants to
add a powerful dimension to the search for a new job.
Based on the title of Melancon's book, you might
think its theme is similar to that of Gurney's volume.
That's what we thought when we decided to review the
two books together. But Melancon's book should more
properly be called "Not-So-Secret Things I've Learned
about Job-Hunting as a Result of Being in the Executive
Search Business." Unlike Gurney, who focuses on how to
take advantage of working with a headhunter, Melancon
barely touches on cultivating relationships with
headhunters, recruiters, and executive-search professionals.
Read all of our Quintessential Reading book reviews.
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With more than 8,000 registered recruiters
RON is the world's largest association of recruiters,
executive search firms, employment agencies, and headhunters.
Recruiters Online Network offers job-seekers
a gateway to the hidden job market.
Job-seekers can search thousands of current, open
job listings posted by the world's top headhunters,
recruiters, and search professionals, post resumes
for free, and locate recruiters and headhunters
in specific industries and locations.
Registration is required.
America's Career InfoNet
-- where job-seekers can find wage and employment trends, occupational requirements (for skills, abilities, education),
state-by-state labor market conditions, research careers (including career videos for more than 300 occupations),
and an extensive collection of career resources. A great resource. Free to job-seekers.
e-ITwizards.com
-- a job site for IT, telecom, and accounting/finance jobs. Job-seekers must register for a free account to
search jobs, post your resume, create search agents, and apply for jobs. Free to job-seekers.
jobtosuityou.co.uk
-- a UK-based job site offering job vacancies across 19 job categories supplied by recruitment agencies.
Job-seekers can browse job openings (by occupation), find CV writing and interviewing
tips, sign-up for email job alerts, and more. Free to job-seekers.
PharmaceuticalJobs-usa.com --
serving the pharmaceuticals, biotechnology, and pharmaceuticals-related fields. Job-seekers can
search jobs, post your resume and personal profile (with anonymous option), use a job search agent,
and take advantage of various career tools. Must register to use the site. Free to job-seekers.
Find even more career and job site additions to Quintessential Careers by visiting our
Latest
Additions section.
Anonymous writes: "Do you know of a local headhunter
agency reliable and with moderate fees? I have a Ph.D.,
three master's, and live in Washington, DC, metro area,
in Virginia.
Dr. Galen R. Hays writes: "I have been searching for
a job for about 2 and 1/2 months. Everyone I show
my resume to says that they really like my resume,
or 'WOW, or this is a really strong resume.'
Problem is no interviews, no follow-up calls
from headhunters on-line or otherwise for jobs
which I submitted my resume. Many of these jobs
I am definitely qualified for, some overqualified,
some under. Most -- 80 percent -- fall into the
definitely qualified for category.
1. What am I doing wrong?
2. How do I get the headhunters to respond?
3. etc."
Robin Monk writes: "I'd like to know if there are
any books that give descriptions of which careers do
what? I thought it was a simple
question, but I am
having a hard time trying to find a resource like this.
I am in the midst of making a career decision and don't
want to miss out on understanding the basics of each career."
Vonni writes: "I'm currently a second-year teacher
at a New York City public school. I'm 22 years old
and a Swarthmore College graduate. I am absolutely
depressed at my job. I chose my current position
because it was the only thing available that offered
good benefits and a decent salary. I, however, hate it.
I majored in French, because of my passion for languages
(I speak three), and minored in psychology, because
I love working with people (on a one-on-one basis not
one-on-37!) I find that I am unqualified for most of
the professions and careers out there. Sometimes, I
feel like quitting and working at a retail store, but
that would put my $30,000 a year degree to waste.
I don't know what to do. Would you have some advice
to offer me?
Join the students who have already enrolled in our
Quintessential Career Kickstart Course!
Check out this quick and comprehensive course that will teach you
everything you need to know launch a career and find a job.
The Quintessential Career Kickstart Course is
an inexpensive online course that teaches
beginners and career-changers the basics of
job-hunting. You can complete the course at
your own pace, and you will receive plenty of
one-on-one guidance and encouragement from your
instructor, as well as the opportunity to dialog
and network with fellow course-takers.
Q TIPS: Quick and Quintessential Career & Job Tips
Administrative Professionals Week is the
week of April 21-27, with Administrative Professionals
Day (formerly Secretaries Day) falling right
in the middle, on April 24. It's a good
time to check out a relatively new Web site,
AdminProf.com, which offers resources,
references, and information for the administrative community.
AdminProf.com is the brainchild of administrative
assistant Susan Silva who formed a group of
administrative professionals at her workplace to
share their experiences. Out of the discussions
came AdminProf.com, which includes resources and
articles on careers, links to useful sites,
tutorials on software, information on how
to start your own virtual business, and more.
AdminProf.com offers monthly articles from
experts on virtual assisting, time management,
and how to be a better administrative
professional. Feel free to
contact Susan Silva.
Despite today's uncertain job market, many
managers do not maintain an updated resume,
a recent survey shows. Executives polled said
they believe only half (50 percent) of managers
would be ready to send out application materials
if they were to unexpectedly lose their jobs.
The survey was developed by Accountemps, the world's
largest temporary staffing service for accounting,
finance and bookkeeping professionals. It was
conducted by an independent research firm and
includes responses from 150 executives with the
nation's 1,000 largest companies.
"Those who keep an ongoing record of professional
achievements are better positioned for the job search
because they can more readily recall details of past
responsibilities and accomplishments," said Max Messmer,
chairman of Accountemps and author of Managing Your Career
For Dummies (Hungry Minds, Inc.). "This is particularly
important for professionals who have been with the same
employer for many years and, as a result, have not actively
looked for a new position in some time."
Messmer added, "A periodic resume update is also an
ideal time to reassess career goals and identify
marketable skills -- such as leadership or mentoring
-- gained on the job."
With taxes on the minds of Americans at this
time of year, it's worthwhile to note for next year's
taxes that resume preparation is tax-deductible for many
job-seekers. You must be looking for a job within the same
field as previously employed. It can be a different job,
but it must be within the same field. College grads seeking
their first job cannot deduct resume preparation, nor can
employees moving into self-employment. Additional information
on job-search deductions is available in
IRS Publication 529.
Take Our Survey! Please Help Us Help You...
If you haven't already done so, we have a big favor to ask: please
take a few minutes to complete a totally anonymous survey.
As we vow in our privacy statement, we absolutely will not
use the information gained in any other way than to make
our Quintessential Careers site even BETTER for our readers.
Our feature article, above, is a preview of a chapter
from the book, Words to Get Hired By: The Jobseeker's
Quintessential Lexicon of Powerful Words and Phrases
for Resumes and Cover Letters, the first e-book
published by Quintessential Careers Press.
WATCH FOR feature articles on these topics in upcoming
issues of QuintZine:
* Cover letters to recruiters
* How to write a counteroffer letter
* Home-based careers
* How to start a job club
* Interviewing strategies for teens
* Powerful resumes and cover letters for new grads
* Using informational interviews to research companies
* How to create and publish a Web-ready resume
* Letters of recommendation and references
* How to create and use a networking card
* How to resign from your job gracefully
* Step-by-step guide to career planning
* Quintessential Career Profiles of YOU, our readers
* Q&As with well-known career experts
* Book reviews
. . . and much, much more!
Don't ever want to miss another issue of QuintZine? Get a free subscription to
the email version of QuintZine by completing our
subscription form.
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RESUMES * JOB SEARCH CORRESPONDENCE FROM TRUSTED EXPERTS * COVER LETTERS
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We also can provide critiques and makeovers of
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Quintessential Careers also offers writing services
for those who have been asked to give a speech and
need assistance in researching and writing their
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Need a speaker for your career-oriented conference or
event at your college or organization? The Quintessential
Careers Speakers Bureau can help! Our quintessential experts
can provide presentations/workshops on a variety of
career-related topics.
