We have been in business for 28 years – we are a smaller and VERY successful firm, so we have a basis on which to speak to these issues. We live almost exclusively on repeat business. We are still here after all the downturn compared to many who have gone under or have suddenly re-emerged as insurance agents, stock brokers and various marketeers.

The concept of having several search firms looking for you is not in your best interest. Do you want a “job”, or the “best possible offer” you can get with your skills and track record? If all you want is a “job”, don’t use executive search firms at all. There are lots of other places to waste your time – Careerbuilder, Hot Jobs, Ladders, etc. Don’t believe me? Go ahead and jump in. Fill out all the forms and flood the sites like everyone else has before you, applying for jobs that don’t exist and then get back with me after wasting 6 months of your time.

Quite simply, YOU HAVE TO STAND OUT AMONG YOUR PEERS. HAVING YOUR RESUME BEING FLOATED AMONG SEVERAL FIRMS DOES JUST THE OPPOSITE. Think about it – are you a commodity like a barrel of crude oil or a bag of flour, or are you a unique entity like no other? Understand the difference.

If you have a serious and professional search firm representing you, they don’t get paid unless you get the job. If we sense we are just being churned and determined “you” are floating everywhere, we will drop you immediately and move on to another serious candidate. We can’t command fees and maintain executive relationships peddling commodities. If you become one, it makes our job more difficult and immediately moves you into the commodity assembly line – not a good place to be when you are trying to stand out and above.

We spend thousands of our money placing candidates. Why would we waste ours and our clients precious time and money peddling something that is a commodity – a gallon of gas or a bushel of corn? Frankly, we don’t and won’t.

Professional executive search firms command higher fees with clients. We do as well. And we rarely lose a client. We deal directly with decision makers and hiring managers. Rarely, do we deal with HR since they also want to commoditize everyone as an ‘applicant’. You do NOT want to be an applicant. You are an executive “recruit” being represented by a firm who believes in you enough to represent you.

You want to be represented by an agent and talent firm, or are you content to take your chances as a walk on or stand in? Think about it.

Hope this helps.

Once you talk with a few of them, you can get a sense of the quality of their service and of their contacts.

Another way to find them is by using the power of your network. Ask family, friends, and acquaintances if they know of any good headhunters in your area.

Hope this helps!

Scams are a good thing to watch, another is salary inflation. HHs will always tell you a bigger salary than reality to get you to jump. Be realistic!

HHs are also a great source of information to help negotiate your own position/salary better at your existing shop.

this is where your emergency fund will come into play…it’s tough out there right now…take this from someone struggling at the moment (me)

One major good thing is that many times, they have an “in” with the company and know the actual hiring manager as opposed to having to go through the company’s HR or Recruiting departments who may not have as good of an idea as to what the position you’re applying for entails. This will likely increase your chances of getting the job, as they can talk you up to the person actually doing the hiring and give you pointers on what should work well during your interview with them.

If you’re going the headhunter route, don’t be afraid to have multiple working for you. As I mentioned, some will have better connections than others, so working with a few of them will increase your chances. A word of caution when doing this, however. Always ask for the name of the company they’re sending your resume to before they send it. When an employer gets the same resume from multiple headhunters, it makes the applicant look desperate and it’ll decrease the chances of you landing the job.

However if you first are introduced to an employer through a headhunter the company will be required to pay a placement fee (or something similar) to hire you. This may be a negative since with any interview you may meet the employees and they find that you are perfect for another position that is currently not posted. In that case they will still have to pay the headhunter for finding you even if its not for the initial job.

Also, some jobs through headhunters are temporary to permanent meaning that you will be hired as a “contractor” and within a set timeframe (e.g. 6 months) you will either be converted to a full-time employee of the company or your contact can be ended. If you believe that you can get a job and then use your time there to wow them (that was my plan ) this isn’t a bad technique. However it can be very stressful since during that 6 months you do not want to waste time looking for more jobs if you believe you will be converted however it is not a guarantee.

Just a few thoughts from my experiences!

Good luck job hunting!!