Right now I am in a temp/indef type position that has to be re-evaluated every fiscal year. As things sit right now things are not looking very good for the position being renewed for the 2015 fiscal year coming up in October, so instead of being reactive and waiting until I get my notice I am going to start looking now.
Has anyone here ever used a headhunter or have any recommendations for one? Anything I need to be aware of, look at, questions to ask them?
Make sure they specialize in placing folks in your industry. Ask them for a reference that you could talk to. I have only been involved with recruiters once and it was positive. Employers pay their fees now so do not worry about that
Not sure what sector you are in, but as a Web Developer, recruiters have made my life easier. Sure I have to screen my calls when I am not looking, but when I am they really help the process.
I still did my own footwork too.
I’ve been a headhunter for 29 years and can provide a few thoughts and ideas. First thing to realize is that headhunters don’t represent candidates and try to market them to companies. It’s the opposite, we try to market our services to companies that have specialized openings, or hard to fill jobs, then they pay us to go find specialized talent. I’ve attempted to market a couple people over the years and it’s usually an exercise in futility and when you’re 100% commission, well…you’d go broke in the process.
That doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t have some interaction with headhunters that have openings. You want to send them a résumé so they have it in their database, so they can “discover” you if they develop a search and you fit the parameters of what they are looking for. So it does make sense to forward your résumé to a number of headhunters but don’t expect a call back necessarily.
I don’t know what line of work you are in or where you would consider going geographically, but try to google search firms that specialize in your industry or job type, or cover your state, region, or nationally – whatever your parameters are.
A couple other things to do to get discovered: make sure you have a “LinkedIn” record. Be sure it’s up to date with all of your work history and job skills and accomplishments. Headhunters routinely go to LinkedIn and do specific word searches by industry or geography to find specific candidates. You might be one but having a good LinkedIn profile helps someone find you. Build a network of contacts over time on LinkedIn as you meet people, interview at companies, etc. You’d be amazed how many contacts you can build over time and how many people (those that hire) that they are linked to and you can get connected to as well.
Lastly, go to “indeed.com.” Plug in the parameters you are looking for: job titles, geography, specific companies, etc. Indeed goes out and searches the web every night to find those openings on all the job sites out there. It dumps an email in your inbox every morning with what it finds for you. Some jobs may be a fit, others may not, but at a minimum it gives you an education of what is available in the market today, which companies are hiring, at what level and even compensation info sometimes.
There may be times that you will find an opening on indeed that looks good. You probably need to submit a résumé to the companies web site and it can be a “black hole” many times. That’s where you want to go back to LinkedIn and see who you might be connected to at that company. Or, maybe you have contacts that are connected to someone at that company. If someone can contact the hiring manager or similar at a company and endorse you it can make a huge difference.
Keep at it, keep networking and get the word out you are looking. It can take time but in the long run help you get discovered. Best of luck!
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Not sure what sector you are in, but as a Web Developer, recruiters have made my life easier. Sure I have to screen my calls when I am not looking, but when I am they really help the process.
I still did my own footwork too.
I don’t really have a sector to be honest. I have a degree in economics and spent 5 years in a bank with absolutely zero desire to go back. Now I work as an avionics tech for the air guard, I love the work but the future doesn’t look real great to continue full time right now. Like a lot of people I don’t have anything that screams out at me that “this is absolutely without a doubt what I want to do” so I am trying to keep an open mind to any and all options
I started my career with a headhunter. Worked out great. I sent my resume to as many as I could find. I still get calls from time to time, even though I have moved several times going where the work/money was. Good luck.
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I don’t really have a sector to be honest. I have a degree in economics and spent 5 years in a bank with absolutely zero desire to go back. Now I work as an avionics tech for the air guard, I love the work but the future doesn’t look real great to continue full time right now. Like a lot of people I don’t have anything that screams out at me that “this is absolutely without a doubt what I want to do” so I am trying to keep an open mind to any and all options
Given where you are today, I would not worry about recruiters. As poster mentioned above, they try to fill spots for companies, they don’t rep job seekers.
I’d focus your efforts on LinkedIn. List your job career (like you do in a resume)your education, but take the very first section under your name and put in what motivates you, what you are interested in, why companies should hire you, what you’ve done for the current/past employers. Try to use industry buzzwords (those that you think recruiters might search by) but don’t overdo them, ie don’t make it cheesy.
For instance – Economics Major
“Passionate day trader who loves reading the market indicators and determining where the next financial opportunities will develop”, or
“Enjoy financial planning to help my clients achieve their financial goals”
Keep this section conversational and interesting, don’t mimic a resume which is dry and boring. You can send that later once someone is interested in speaking to you.
ET 
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I don’t really have a sector to be honest. I have a degree in economics and spent 5 years in a bank with absolutely zero desire to go back. Now I work as an avionics tech for the air guard, I love the work but the future doesn’t look real great to continue full time right now. Like a lot of people I don’t have anything that screams out at me that “this is absolutely without a doubt what I want to do” so I am trying to keep an open mind to any and all options
Given where you are today, I would not worry about recruiters. As poster mentioned above, they try to fill spots for companies, they don’t rep job seekers.
I’d focus your efforts on LinkedIn. List your job career (like you do in a resume)your education, but take the very first section under your name and put in what motivates you, what you are interested in, why companies should hire you, what you’ve done for the current/past employers. Try to use industry buzzwords (those that you think recruiters might search by) but don’t overdo them, ie don’t make it cheesy.
For instance – Economics Major
“Passionate day trader who loves reading the market indicators and determining where the next financial opportunities will develop”, or“Enjoy financial planning to help my clients achieve their financial goals”
Keep this section conversational and interesting, don’t mimic a resume which is dry and boring. You can send that later once someone is interested in speaking to you.
ET
Thanks for the advice. I do have a somewhat silly question regarding linked in. What is the appropriate etiquette for adding contacts? I have the few college friends that are on there but other than that I don’t know many people who are active. It seems kinds silly but I honestly don’t get the opportunity to meet that many people with the schedule I keep right now (leave the house at 530 am home at 7pm eat and go to bed, there isn’t much time for much else). Is it appropriate to send connection request to people I don’t know because I am interested in their company or industry?
Regarding your question, here are two suggestions,
1) Yes as long as you tell them why you are trying to connect with them. Sending a generic connect request will get fewer people accepting. Send a specific note with the request and give them the option of accepting. Most will accept with that type of message.
2) Use LinkedIn as your networking tool. By that I mean ask your friends to connect you to their friends that are at interesting companies. Try to expand your linkedin network by 10 people per week.
I’ll send you my name via pm (cause it’s such a big secret 
and you can connect with me. Then if you find a company you’re interested in and I have a connection to it, I can introduce you.
And not that my profile is the cat’s a$$, but you can see an example of one that goes beyond the typical resume looking profile.
ET 
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