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Be helpful to headhunters - they could be looking for you
By Carol Kleiman of the Chicago Tribune
When AT&T Corp. President and Chief Operating Officer Alex Mandel was wooed from his job by executive recruiter David Beirne to head Associated Communications L.L.C. for a reported $20 million signing bonus and an awesome pay package, many people had this reaction""Gee, I wish I had been a little nicer when a headhunter called me."There's a moral to the story: Be polite when the headhunter calls..Headhunters find job candidates for their clients, the employers. Clients pay retainer based companies upfront and contingency firms after the right candidate is found. In 1994, 6,000 U.S. search consultants were on a retainer basis and 12,000 contingency recruiters handling assignments with salaries more than $75,000 annually, the Executive Recruiter Newsletter reports."The phone call to you is one of many steps in the search to find the right candidate," said Barbara L. Provus, a top headhunter and principle at Shepherd Bueschel & Provus, Inc. "It's called 'the well-placed telephone call' and is too important to ignore."Respond graciously to initial calls, which may last from 5 to 20 minutes, Provus said, and fall into two catagories:
  • The reference call. " If a recruiter calls you to recommend other candidates, be cooperative," Provus said. "You may be assisting your own career."

    The recruiter will give you a thumbnail sketch of the search being conducted and ask you to recommend people as possible leads.

    "Give the names even if you think the potential candidate might not be interested, " Provus said.

    Tell the recruiter what you can about the person you're suggesting.

    "In the future, the recruiter may have opportunities of interest to you if you're remembered in a positive context," Provus said. "The headhunter also may ascertain if you should be a candidate, even though ostensibly that's not what the call is about."

    You also can get insider feedback on salaries, growth companies and job opportunities in your field.
  • The recruitment call. The phone call to find out if you're interested in becoming a candidate is rarely a cold call; Provus first sends out information about herself and the company she represents.

    Respond by asking that information be sent to you and time to think about it.

    "Be professional and courteous," Provus said. "Remember, there's no such thing as lifetime employment."