PERSONALITY FIT/FINDING A CAREER PARTNER I really believe personality fit between the Headhunter and Job Seeker is the most important single factor in selecting a Third Party Recruiter. If you do not like the recruiter, the job search process will be very painful and probably not very successful. In the book HEADHUNTERS REVEALED! the author, Darrell Gurney makes an excellent point on page 49 when he says, "Do you sense that you can trust a particular recruiter? Is he trusted by his client companies? The more you can answer these questions regarding a potential career partner, the better. On a personal level, gut speaks volumes that the mind can't always absorb, so you may just need to go with it." If you do not feel comfortable with a particular recruiter it is probably in both of your best interest that you do not work with him or her. Obviously, in order to make this determination you must talk to the recruiter. I recommend sending your resume to the recruiter and then calling to see if he or she has it and then do a low level interview with the recruiter. If the recruiter just sends a form for you to fill out and does not contact you personally, I do not recommend working with that recruiter.
Another important factor that falls in the personality area is how well does the headhunter listen to you in order to determine your needs and job requirements. If you you tell the recruiter you will only consider living east of the Mississippi River and he spends a half hour selling you on a position in Oregon, he really is not listening to you. What you really want is a "career partner" not just a headhunter who wants to push someone in the job slot whether he or she fits or not. When I say career partner, I mean someone who will continue to work with you over the course of your career. At Discovery Personnel, Inc., we have many job seekers who have been with us for over ten years because we try to listen to the candidate and build rapport. If after you have started working with the recruiter, you don't feel comfortable calling or emailing the headhunter every couple of weeks, you probably don't have a "career partner".
Would you select a Lawyer, Doctor, Accountant you don't feel comfortable working with? Why would you select a third party recruiter you do not feel comfortable working with? After all, your job is where you will be spending most of your awake life. I assign personality fit a point rating of between 5 and 10 due to its importance.
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