THE EFFECTIVENESS OF HEADHUNTERS WHEN TRYING TO FIND A JOB In What Color Is Your Parachute - 2003 Edition by Richard Nelson Bolles, he states that sending your resume to a headhunter will yield between a 5 and a 28 percent probability of getting a new job. Why the wide range?
- The more you partner with your third party recruiter over the course of your career, the better the odds of him or her finding you a new position when you need it. The week after you start a new job send him or her your updated resume and request she keeps her eyes open. Long term relationships are the most effective.
- Picking the right recruiter will drastically improve the odds of him or her finding you a new job. Using an recruiter that specializes in Information Systems when you are looking for a Nursing position is not going to yield the same results as contacting a recruiter who specializes in nursing.
- Picking a recruiter based on geographical area instead of specialty might improve your odds of landing a job where you want to live but it will usually reduce the overall chances of you finding a new position.
- Many candidates want to send their resume to a recruiter then go on a 6 month vacation (this actually happened to me). Candidates must stay active in the search and contacting the recruiter every couple of weeks will also improve your odds. The squeaky wheel does get greased as long as it is not on fire from too much friction.
- Some candidates forget that third party recruiters do not create jobs, they find them so don't waste time trying to make the recruiter feel guilty because you don't have a job yet. It is much easier to attract flies with sugar than vinegar. I do know a third party recruiter who had to have a restraining order placed on a job seeker when he refused to leave the recruiter's office.
- Your resume is already posted on so many job boards that the third party recruiter only makes a half hearted attempt to place you (a recruiter seeing his or her candidate posted on Monster can really be negatively motivated).
Obviously, picking the right recruiter or recruiters is the most important first step if you plan to have a recruiter help you with your job search and I believe headhunters should definitely be included in you job search strategy, if for no other reason than they can dramatically improve your odds of finding a job. In the next installment, I will discuss how to select the "right" recruiter or recruiters.
8:00:30 PM 
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