Help in Finding Your “Perfect Job” -- by E. Ann Scott (WCAS69, GSESP71)
Navigating turbulent economic times requires job seekers to be more informed and savvy about matching your passion and capabilities to a company to which you will add value. Whether you are a corporate executive or a less experience employee, you need to determine your value, passion, and capabilities in order to stand out from the crowded field of candidates.
Job seekers need first to determine whether to accomplish this alone or with professional help. Having been an Executive Search Consultant (commonly known as “Headhunter”) for 25 years, I believe only a small percentage of executive career changers are adept at accomplishing this on their own.
Some options for professional help are: Executive Search Consultants, Contingent Recruiters, Executive Coaches, Resume Writers, Executive Marketing firms, and Executive Agents.
The retained Executive Search Consultant (Headhunter) gives fabulous coaching if you are on the final slate--usually 3 or 4 of over 100 candidates considered. These search professionals are an extension of the client company which has retained them, and have intimate knowledge of the job description and the “Corporate Culture/Personal Chemistry” needed. Unfortunately for the job-seeker, only approximately 15% of Executive positions are filled through headhunters (who, even from the most prestigious firms, place fewer than 12 candidates/year).
A Recruiter works on a contingent basis, compensated if an executive is hired. If these recruiters have a strong relationship with the client company, they can give invaluable insights. And even a successful contingent recruiter places only 15 – 20 candidates/year.
Executive Coaches are usually hired by corporations to work with some of their executives to provide development so that the executive will be more productive and the company will reach its goals. If offered this service, don’t pass it up--leverage it to help improve your job performance.
The other avenues for help require a capital outlay, but can help a job-seeker avoid many pitfalls in a job search.
Resume Writers can be useful in helping you think through your career and points to be emphasized in your resume. But they do not to assess skills or fit with a target company. Most importantly, just sending a resume is almost never the best way to be selected. If your resume survives the computer screening process (resumes scanned into a data base), the average corporate executive or executive recruiter only spends an average of 10 seconds looking at a resume. This is not a very effective method to land the “perfect job”.
Executive Marketing firms help candidates with their resumes and then send them to hundreds of prospective clients. Some candidates have been pleased, but most have not gotten a single interview. And, the most effective way to “sell” yourself is in person, followed by a telephone call, and the least effective method is sending a resume.
The concept of an Executive Agent (think Sports Agent for Executives) is fairly new. Their services vary, but they should provide a personalized service identifying your current business skills and assets. They will then “position, package, and present” you to optimize your career, attaining the best match of your personal chemistry with a new corporate culture. Even just completing the assessment and targeting phases are invaluable as Executive Agents help you determine your best “career selling points” and focus on targeting realistic corporate companies. They also give advice on resumes, initial contacts with target companies, invaluable tips on interviewing, debrief you after an interview and help determine the next steps to advance your candidacy, and coach you through offers and acceptance stages.
Each option has merit and has worked well for some job seekers. Which is right for you depends on where you are in your career, what your specific needs may be, and also how much time and money you have available to accomplish your goal of obtaining that “Perfect Job”.
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E. Ann Scott (WCAS69, GSESP71) graduated from Northwestern primed for a career as a math teacher, but after a few years in a high school classroom, she realized that the job wasn’t right for her. Drawn to the faster-paced corporate world, she took up headhunting until, by chance, she accepted a few individual consulting clients, thus unintentionally launching her career as an executive agent. Her 25-year career as a headhunter helped her develop a keen sense of what companies seek in their potential employees. “With my help and direction,” she says, “clients learn to present themselves as the best match for the company.” In the end, emphasizes Scott, “I help shorten the job search.”
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Posted May 29, 2009.
