Recruiters & Connections
Why We Blanket the Recruiter
Market for All Our Clients
The chance of an executive recruiter filling a job that is right for you, at the moment you contact them, is remarkably small. Blanketing this segment of the market is the only way to go.
We market the electronic resume we prepare to up to 3,000 recruiters who want to receive the resumes of our clients. We also send 200 copies out via first class mail to local recruiters of interest.
Through our information center, you also are able to review and respond to openings that thousands of recruiters now post online. With our system, getting the most out of recruiters is not a one-shot effort... it's a continuing effort.
Whether they are called search firms or headhunters, all recruiters work for employers. They screen candidates, filling jobs at $80,000 to $1,000,000 and up.
Typically, they are retained for exclusive searches at fees averaging 33% of compensation. To distinguish themselves, they are also referred to as "retained recruiters." Contingency recruiters are also active up to $150,000, receiving a commission only when a placement is made. Another growing category is the temporary executive recruiter. They earn fees when employers hire professionals on an interim basis.
To develop any level of good activity with recruiters, you'll need absolutely superior materials. You'll also need to go after every legitimate recruiting target. That's why we cover this part of the market so thoroughly for every client.
We believe you should give yourself exposure to a maximum number of recruiters. While your percentage response will be low, you can often create instant activity.
The number of executive jobs with recruiters is sizeable, but comprises only 7 to 9% of the market. While 8,000 firms claim to be active, fewer than a dozen dominate the upper-end business. However, many fine smaller firms specialize by industry or discipline, and play an important role. Importantly, the best recruiters play a role in helping management set up position specifications.
Recruiters have a preference for achievers, people who make strong first impressions and who are employed. Being visible in your industry can be a major key with recruiters. Being in a hot field or industry can really help. If you are in your 30s or 40s, you should always develop and maintain relationships with recruiters.
The manner in which recruiters find candidates has shifted rather dramatically due to the Internet's impact. Half of all assignments are now filled by candidates who are identified through massive databases of scanned resumes.
The other 50% of recruiter assignments are filled through traditional methods. A small percentage are filled through ads placed online or in print media, while a larger percentage is filled through networking referrals. Some assignments are filled by firms targeting individuals working for competitors.
Remember, recruiters are "assignment-oriented." They will focus on filling their active contracts. And you will simply be placed in their files.
You should also know that parallel processing is a recruiting practice where a candidate is introduced to more than one client of a recruiting firm. However, many recruiters say they consider this practice unethical, thus restricting your opportunities as a candidate. This is just one more reason why you need to be in touch with a lot of recruiters.
When you communicate with recruiters, never be negative about your current employer and never appear desperate. Many large firms are contacted by as many as 200 job seekers each day. They may not get in touch with you until months after they get your resume.
What to Expect From Resume Distributions to Recruiters
We have a capability that can quickly launch a search. Once clients approve their e'resume, we distribute it via email. It is then up to them to continue to build interest. Here are some guidelines. People with recognizable "tickets" do best (for example, well-known schools, degrees, blue chip company affiliations, good titles, etc.).
This distribution can be effective for those in popular occupational fields (e.g., sales, accounting, finance, IT or IS, manufacturing or service operations and other fields where there is a sizeable demand).
It is far less effective for those in narrow or low demand specialties (e.g., a patent attorney, city manager, technical writer, blood chemist, etc.) or for those making a career change (e.g., an educator moving into business).
Also, as a person goes up the pyramid, there are fewer jobs available, so the response for the less senior professional is generally the best.
Stated another way, those who position themselves with lofty titles and high income, as well as those without recognizable "tickets" or who are in narrow demand areas, should not expect too much here. It's a low percentage game. That is why compensating with greater numbers is required.
We also place resumes with recruiters in hard copy form. For executives interested in the best regional or national positions, we can also do a distribution by first class mail to our blue chip list of 1,000 recruiters. This is directed at firms that initially select resumes for scanning into their database. As they receive search assignments, they then retrieve resumes by key words.
Our clients receive responses from this type of mailing over many weeks and months. Note: A second electronic or hard copy distribution to the same list three to four months later produces about 80% of the initial response.
Obviously, there can be no assurances of success, since the effectiveness of distribution depends on the demand for an individual's field and background. There is no way to accurately predict response, since everyone has his or her own unique identity.
Accessing Recruiter Openings
Several thousand recruiters post their openings online. From our Job Search Web Portal you can search recruiters by metro area and industry to find those who have posted jobs on their websites.
You will be most popular with recruiters if you will explore attractive situations but are not openly unhappy with your current employer. Because timing is critical, "luck" can play a significant role.
Recruiters are important for most executives. To recap, however, keep in mind that the chance of a recruiter filling a job that is right for you, at the moment you contact them, is remarkably small. Their quantity of assignments can also fluctuate widely with the state of the U.S. economy.
If you are not well known in your field, it is important to blanket this segment of the market. This includes electronic and first class resume distributions, but also personal registrations on the websites of leading recruiters, and responses to current openings which they post online.
How Some ITS Clients View Recruiters
"I worked every angle of your system, but my activity with recruiters was for high quality jobs. Employers who spend money for large recruiting fees value their positions more. When they pay $60,000 to get a job filled, you can also be sure that the job you accept will have some room for negotiation."
"I got a lot from your recruiter distributions. I had 11 interviews with search firms in New York."
"Recruiters won't produce much for you if you want to change fields. At first, I wanted to make a dramatic shift. Then, we adjusted my materials to keep me in my specialty, and the results were entirely different."
"Recruiters response was slow, but over time what we did resulted in several good opportunities becoming available to me. It's pretty much like you said, the way to use your system is to get a few good things going through each action channel, and not to expect too much from any of them."
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