CareerJournal has a great article: How to Get a Recruiter's Attention.
Many unemployed executives feel stonewalled by recruiters who don't acknowledge resumes or return phone calls. While there's no doubt executive search is hot... there's a fact of life every job seeker needs to know. Recruiters don't work for you. Instead, they work for -- and are paid by -- client companies... They also typically focus on finding exact fits for specific jobs -- the proverbial "round peg for the round hole" -- rather than on chasing down a broad population of candidates.
"Job seekers get very hurt when recruiters don't return their phone calls, but why would they return your phone calls when you're not paying them?" asks Ginny Rehberg, a career consultant in Watertown, Mass.
Personally, though I try desperately to keep in contact with top-candidates and talented people, when all I have to go by is your resume and a brief cover-letter (if any), then it's hard to know which of the 200 resumes I shuffle daily is most-worth a callback.
A large portion of this is what I've referred to before as the Dual Coincidence of Wants Problem in recruiting (warning: economic business logic ahead). Basically, it goes like this:
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I can't create jobs out of thin-air anymore than a job-seeker can.
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I can only hire when my clients are hiring.
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I can only hire you when your skills and background, etc, match what my client is currently looking for.
That makes it look tough for job-seekers, but--I promise--all is far from lost. Keep reading for the hints:
But all isn't lost if you're currently job hunting and want to get recruiters' attention. Here are steps you can take to reach out to search executives.
(Here's only the headings... read the whole article for some excellent tips on working with recruiters.)
- Learn how recruiters work...
- Find the right targets...
- Get and give referrals...
- Don't be a wallflower...
- Prepare a "30-second commercial"...
- Don't take silence personally...
- Screen recruiters who call...
- Be candid about your experience and compensation...
Above all, remember that recruiters are human, too. Forgive us some of our natural mistakes and we'll work hard to overlook some of yours ;)
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