Headhunters work towards providing you with a new career options and management positions – so shouldn’t they gladly take time out whenever you call them? Well, it’s not that easy… Of course, it is a headhunter’s job to talk to candidates about their futures. Talented headhunters moreover have the impressive skill to read between the lines. Headhunters have to understand the person who’s behind the CV, that is a part of their jobs.
They have set themselves the task of providing their clients with top managers. Although headhunters are happy to help, they also have limitations to time and are often mistakenly seen as life counselors that they are not. So, if you are looking for a new position or have been contacted regarding a job, you shouldn’t miss considering certain aspects about a headhunter’s job. Christian Pape from Pape Consulting Group AG explains the important details on how to behave on the first contact with a headhunter!
1. Which questions should a candidate ask a headhunter?
It is crucial to know who made the first move: Did the headhunter contact you about a position or did you reach out to him/her yourself?
The headhunter called you about a job? Great. That gives you a much better negotiation position. Yet the job market is vast, so you better find out how competent the headhunter at the other end of the telephone line is. Ask targeted questions. The term ‘headhunter’ is not protected by trademark law.
That is why you find experts as well as anyone with a computer at home hunting for the big money. In the current job environment, you will also find a lot of headhunters who “collect” candidates and consider CVs as mere merchandise. I would definitely not consult with headhunters like that.
The times, when headhunters could be discrete, are over. If a headhunter cannot tell you who he is working for, you should stay away from him. There are exceptions, when they are looking for a candidate to take over a position which is still occupied. A good headhunter though will always know how to deal with delicate situations like these. A headhunter’s call is certainly a reason to be pleased, yet you shouldn’t react exuberantly or be naive.
If you reach out to a headhunter for a new career option, you should inform yourself about the consultant and the company in advance. Usually, the consultant will be stuck in work rather than sitting in front of the phone waiting for your call. You have to offer a good deal. Find out in which industry the headhunter works and whether he/she is trustworthy.
Plenty of recruiters publish current vacancies on their company homepages. Only if you can offer something really good, if you are a good fit and are interested in a particular job will the headhunter be interested. Remember that headhunters are not complimentary career advisors. We have enough to do looking for the right positions and candidates for our clients. So if you are interested in a particular company, why don’t you call their HR department and ask for the responsible recruitment consultant?
Most of the times, you will get the neccessary information right away as this saves them time as well. After that you can contact the right person and refer to the human resources department. I guarantee: This headhunter will not try to get rid of you easily.
2. Which behavior is the most inappropriate when it comes to the first contact with the headhunter?
It is inappropriate to be too full of yourself. Another blunder would be the lack of awareness that a headhunter is there only to provide you with a position. This should not be taken as arrogance but our clients supply us with plenty of search mandates, and our clients come first.
Try to put yourself into a headhunter’s shoes and ask yourself: do you have time right now? A lot of candidates call just to tell me about their personal life stories and how they happen to be in this situation. I’m really happy to listen if I can help. Yet if they don’t show a certain consciousness for my time and situation in return, I won’t grant them a second chance.
3. How can candidates keep in touch with headhunters?
Well, normally it works the other way round. Meanwhile, all headhunters have electronic databases. The times when we pinned candidate CVs to the wall, are over. If a headhunter needs to fill a position, he/she will search a database for a suitable candidate first. So you can be sure that a good headhunter will come back to you. And if he/she doesn’t, there will be good reasons for that.
Maybe you don’t fit into the profile or you do not suit the vacancies currently. So don’t contact a headhunter every few weeks, you will just annoy the consultant. Better set a bookmark to their website and track the vacancies. As soon as you spot an interesting AND suitable position, you can contact them again.
4. How can candidates keep in touch with headhunters over a longer period of time?
As mentioned before: If a headhunter realizes that a candidate fits for a position, the candidate will be contacted in time. But don’t expect the headhunter to keep in touch for years – every headhunter knows that at some point, candidates prefer to stay in a certain company or job. It doesn’t make sense to stay in touch with a candidate who was looking for a new career opportunity two years ago. He/she will most certainly have a new position by now.
5. How can candidates reach out to headhunters proactively?
Whenever you are ready to pay for a career counseling. In this case, the headhunter is the right person to talk to. If you are looking for a new job, you need to know how the job market is working and what is important about a good CV. Headhunters can provide you with this service. You may have to invest a 100 Dollars, but it will pay off.
By now, there are even programs for job coaching where you can apply. So, if you apply to a new position, you can get feedback in advance and you can check if your application is convincing and suitable for the job. Eventually, it is about your career. You should feel comfortable with your job – anyway, you spend a lot of time doing it!
Apart from that, I would recommend to contact headhunters via e-mail. Calling can be delicate, as headhunters are under constant time pressure. Also by giving him new potential search mandates, you make yourself exceptionally interesting for a headhunter. If you are in charge of filling vacancies at your company, the headhunter will certainly have an open ear for you.
6.How can candidates recognize the best headhunters – by means of expertise in a certain industry or based on the size of the headhunter company?
In my opinion it is very important to have a look at the headhunter’s website. Here you can see, if the headhunter is rather conservative or smart. How old is the company? – this is another essential fact, as a lot of headhunter companies have been shooting up like mushrooms during the last couple of years. However, many of them won’t last for long and are eventually be bought up by bigger companies. A life cycle of at least 10 years is a good benchmark. Here, you can be sure that this headhunter has proved himself and knows what he is doing.
Another crucial criterion in terms of quality is the customers. They are usually used as references which are published on the website. However, make sure these are not only hot air. During your first call you can ask the headhunter about the structures in the mentioned companies and see if he/she knows who makes the decision makers there. If the headhunter cannot give you any names here, he probably doesn’t know too much about them. Find out if the headhunter feels at home in this industry and if he is familiar with the different companies.
We want to thank Christian Pape for this interesting interview! Hopefully, these exclusive insights will help you manage the next headhunter contact brilliantly. Remember, it is about your career and a headhunter can play an important role here – but only, if you know how to handle a headhunter.
About Christian Pape and Pape Consulting Group AG:
Christian Pape, an engineering by education, is the chairman of Pape Consulting Group AG. He leads the company, works as a top management headhunter, and counsels people who want to change their position. He also coaches new consultants. Pape Consulting Group AG is one of the leading companies in Germany and a reliable partner for complex search for personnel, highly qualified specialists and executive managers in selected industries.
