Working with Executive Recruiters

Executive search firms, recruiters, and employment agencies are not in business to help you land a job. 

The recruiter is not your advocate, your coach, your friend or your agent. They don’t work for you; they work for the company that has engaged them to fill open positions. Recruiters, employment agencies, and search firms are, however, important channels through which you may secure an opportunity for an interview!

Most search professionals do not “hold onto” your resume, actively seek out opportunities that will suit you, and contact you when they find a “perfect match.”

The process is much more immediate and transactional than that. If you happen to send your resume to a recruiter just when they’re conducting a search for someone like you, then you’re in luck and they might schedule an interview for you with their client! But if the recruiter does not have an “open order” appropriate to your background at the time when she receives your resume, you’ll usually be treated almost like you were “invisible.”

When recruiters ignore or reject you, don’t take it personally!

This is just the way the business works, and it’s no reflection on you or your qualifications. I have worked with too many clients who get upset when they don’t hear back from executive recruiters. It’s vitally important that you do not get “emotionally attached” to any recruiter, job opening or prospective employer.

If you have a basic understanding of how the search industry works, you’ll find that executive recruiters may serve a vital role in your successful job search or career transition!

For more information and career support, visit our website.