How to Work With a Headhunter

A headhunter (also known as a recruiter) can help your job search in ways you may not realize. Here are some things to ask your recruiter to help you with during your job search.

Steps

1. Give your headhunter specifics related to the type of job you are looking for with specific information regarding job type, salary requirements, location, etc so they don't waste your time with opportunities you aren't interested in.
2. Give your headhunter a list of companies you'd like to work for that you haven't applied to and ask them to contact the company to inquire about jobs on your behalf.
3. Ask your headhunter for help with areas you need help with such as interview preparation, answering interview questions, salary negotiation, etc.
4. Get your headhunter to give you as much information as possible before an interview regarding the company and the people you're interviewing with.
5. Ask your headhunter to confirm how other candidates who have interviewed for the same job you are interviewing for have failed so that you avoid making the same mistakes.

Tips

• Have an updated and professional looking resume ready before contacting a headhunter. Recruiters don't write resumes so you'll need to have one ready.

Warnings

• Don't expect a headhunter to get you a job. Their job is to fill the job with someone, not necessarily you. Use headhunters to supplement your job search.
• People may contact you claiming to be a headhunter with a great job for you. But they won't give you details of the job, and ask a lot of questions about your work history, and/or other personal questions. These are scam artists. Some may indeed be headhunters, but they are only asking about your job history and the names of contacts in companies you have worked for to get their foot in the door as a head hunter for those companies. Others may be identity thieves. To avoid being scammed, insist on details of the job they are trying to fill. Ask where the company is located. Tell them that you already have a headhunter sending your resume to companies in that town, and in order to avoid duplicates insist they tell you the first letter of the name of the company. If you are familiar with the names of companies in that location, begin a guessing game with the person based on the letter they give you. If they refuse, stop all communications with them.
• Never give personal information like social security numbers, banking info, mother's maiden name, names of family members, or even the names of employees or bosses from past jobs to anyone claiming to be a headhunter or offering a job. That information should only need to be given in person at the company *after* they have hired you.