Working with Recruiters (Tips from a Recruiter)
Soon after I (Kathy Ullrich - Kathryn Ullrich Associates) joined one of the prestigious executive search firms, I came across someone in the database I had gone to engineering school with years earlier. This person held a VP title at a recognizable company; I was impressed. When our team of recruiters had brainstorming sessions on talent for other VP searches, her name would often come up. I wondered, “How did she get to that role and have such a strong reputation?” In looking at her record in our database, she had a good background, much like many other executives. What set her apart is that on every search she was called on, if she was not interested, she always had recommendations of other people to call. Because of this help and the relationships she had built with recruiters in our firm, she was always in the communications loop to hear about plum VP opportunities. Her career continued to flourish.
My career started in engineering, then post-MBA strategy consulting and product marketing. I did not know as much about leveraging executive recruiters to further my career. While in consulting I received one call from a top executive recruiting firm regarding a VP Strategy role at a Fortune 100 company. I did not pay much attention to that call. When I made the transition from consulting to software product marketing, I started reaching out to executive recruiters and received calls while in product marketing, again not taking as much advantage of the calls. In hindsight and with nine years of executive recruiting experience, I offer to you my advice in working with executive recruiters to further your career.
Know Yourself
Recruiters are filling a specific position for a client, such as CEO of a $5 million content management software firm, VP Product Marketing in Service-Oriented Architecture, or Principal with supply chain expertise for a consulting firm. For each position, the job qualifications/experiences, personal characteristics, domain experience, and cultural fit are different. We are looking for square pegs for square holes and round pegs for round holes, as the early childhood toys taught us. The searches just happen to be shapes with very tight dimensions.
You will be better able to work with a recruiter if you are clear about your qualifications and fit with an organization. For instance, “I have a background in outbound and inbound product marketing/management, with more experience on the outbound side. I am especially strong at X and my domain experience includes Y and Z.” An executive recruiter is not going to spend a lot of time getting to know the person who says, “I could do product management or business development or be a CEO” or says, “I don’t know anything about the digital media space but I could learn.”
There are many analytical tools to help you assess your strengths and determine a career direction. Use the resources available. Hire a business coach to help if you need further advice. If you are improving your golf or tennis game, you would hire a coach; why not hire someone to help with your career? When you understand who you are and what you offer, then you can effectively work with recruiters.
Become Known to Recruiters in Your Space
So how do you get to know recruiters? First, there are recruiters at the large executive search firms (Heidrick and Struggles, Korn Ferry, Russell Reynolds, and Spencer Stuart) who specialize in your industry or functional area; you can find their names online. There are also boutique firms that specialize in your area. The 80/20 rule is backward in the search business. It is a fragmented industry with firms such as Kathryn Ullrich Associates, Inc., being experts in specific niche areas. One way to get to know the boutiques in your specialty is to ask hiring executives in your function/industry who they use or receive calls from.
In becoming known to recruiters, use “warm” introductions, such as a colleague providing the introduction or using the colleague’s name in an email. During the early 2000s, recruiting firms were receiving a thousand resumes a week. Make sure you are not lost in the incoming emails; target your introduction to a specific person. In your email to the recruiter, provide a succinct background. If you are aware of active searches, be sure to mention them and the research you did. Share your function/industry/domain. Are you a square, round, or octagonal peg? I prefer bulleted responses that are quick to read.
Understand Retained VS. Contingent Recruiters
Recruiters fall into two general buckets: retained vs. contingent. The large executive recruiters are all retained recruiters. Clients pay the firm retainers to work on searches. The retained recruiters tend to be client focused, finding the right candidate for the role. Contingent recruiters are hired by firms and paid upon completion of the search. In a contingent staffing firm with multiple job orders, your resume may be submitted to multiple companies. You may want to better understand the reputation of the firm and how you are being introduced to clients.
Develop Your Network Before You Need It
In my career transition after five years in strategy consulting, I realized that I did not have a network. The long hours of consulting did not provide time to maintain a decent lifestyle, let alone a network. Developing and maintaining a network is critical to your job search as well as many careers. I encourage you to start developing your network now, whether or not you are looking for a job. Attend industry functions, speak at conferences, socialize with classmates, and build relationships with recruiters.
Own Responsibility for Your Job Search
When igniting your network for a job search, executive recruiters are only a part of your job search. The common adage is that 80 percent of jobs are found through your network. Lay out a strategy that includes recruiters, alums, former colleagues, friends, online networking tools, etc. Recruiters can help expand your network but should not be the only source in your network. Let recruiters know you are in job search mode.
Be Helpful, Not a Bother
Going back to the VP whose career flourished, you can build relationships with recruiters in your space by helping them with searches. If we call you, return our calls with suggestions. If sharp colleagues are on the market, introduce them to us. Call us to work on searches for your company. Become a useful resource that will be top of mind during our future searches. You might be surprised by this fact: The higher level the search, the higher the response rate to our calls. That’s right; your boss is probably calling us back more quickly on searches. I also caution to not become overzealous or the relationship building could backfire. During the dark days of the recession, a VP Marketing would send me periodic market updates of what he was seeing in the market versus other job seekers frequently asking for information about my next search.
Be Honest and Open
When you are sharing your background and experiences with recruiters, answer with integrity. If there are gaps in your resume, explain them and what you learned; don’t try to hide the gap. Be honest and open about background, interests, salary, and relocation. Recruiters need know you to understand your fit with a role and client. Quality recruiters will want clients and candidates to be successful for the long term.
Sources and references: Sandbox Advisors, Stanford Knowledge
