Friday, February 18, 2005

Working with Recruiters – Getting the Most Value From The Relationship

There is magic to getting the most from your relationship and interactions with executive and professional search consultants, recruiters and career advisors.

Recruiters are knowledgeable advisors

First and foremost, “search consultants” and/or “recruiters” are your ally when seeking a new position. Think of them as highly knowledgeable and able resources that can shorten your learning curve, enhance your access to opportunities and help ease the pain of searching for a new position. If you leverage your relationships with them well, your job search can be significantly shortened and enhanced.

During the routine course of a recruiter’s average month, they are talking to hundreds of other candidates and hiring authorities about what is happening in healthcare and in the functions and disciplines that support the industry. They are experts at what is effective and what isn’t in presenting candidates. They know the short cuts to get you to the “top” of the heap of contenders – YOU need to be sharp about attracting them to work on your behalf.


What you need to do

Be armed to ask good questions and be prepared to answer questions about yourself and your career. Even if you are in a profession that is considered highly sought after, it might be that your personal preferences are to work in the same “hot” geographic location or for the same “top” health system or “leading” biopharmaceutical competitor as hundreds of others job seekers. A good recruiter can serve as “agent” and resource to guide you through the murky waters of assuring your credentials are presented well and in a manner that makes you “sizzle” as a candidate.

Helping to focus your search

A good recruiter will want to learn about you and your career interests. They will want to learn the “soft side” of what will make you most satisfied from a career perspective. If you take the time in advance of conversing with a recruiter to know what your hot buttons are, what cultural working climate you prefer and what incentives you are seeking (tangible and intangible), your recruiter should be able to advise you about framing your search so that it best meets your preferences.

Not all recruiters are “consultative”. The best will employ a relationship building approach that gives you an opportunity to frame your ideal situation and provides them the ability to discretely advise you of the options which best fit your needs.

Best wishes with your search.

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