How to ... be headhunted by Carol Lewis, The Times 02 June 2005

Make yourself a target

It’s not just corporate high-flyers who get headhunted; those with potential further down the ladder are being targeted too. Carol Lewis outlines ten ways to get yourself in the cross hairs
WE ALL dream of the phone call which will transport us from daily drudgery to a world where we are adored and showered with riches. But, let’s face it, if Harold in the postroom doesn’t know who you are there’s fat chance of a headhunter ringing your bell. So follow our ten-point guide to increase your chances of getting your head hunted.

1. Be the best. Simple, really: if you reach the top of the tree you will register on headhunters’ radars. Although Marcia Roberts, deputy chief executive of the Recruitment and Employment Confederation, says that people lower down the tree with the potential to become future leaders are increasingly being sought by companies who are succession-planning savvy. Alternatively, Jim Kay, director of Trojan Management Search Ltd, recommends specialising in a scarce skill to get yourself noticed.

2. Put it about. Get published, talk to the media, present at conferences, network, just get out there. Headhunters keep databases of who is quoted in the press; writing professional articles; and presenting at conferences. They also take recommendations from industry figures — to stand a chance you’ve got to be visible.

3. Plan your career. Nancy Garrison Jenn says in her book Headhunters and How to Use Them: “Highly respected universities and business schools count for a lot, especially for younger candidates in the early stages of their career.” She also highlights the need to make the right choices early on in your career: join a company noted for its training experience and aim to develop broad sector and functional expertise.

4. What’s your EI? “Many search firms believe that high emotional intelligence is the biggest differentiator of attractiveness in a candidate,” according to Jenn. It doesn’t matter how clever you are, if you’re a cold fish you’ll remain on ice.

5. Be internet smart. Caroline Hayward, managing director of Hayward & Associates, says: “Ensure that your bio is available on your company website. Search companies will scan through bios on appropriate organisations when hunting for a candidate.” Alternatively draw attention to yourself with your own website or blog.

6. Hunt them down. Research which agencies operate in your field and send them your CV. “It’s a candidates’ market,” says Roberts. And no, it doesn’t look desperate.

7. Find a mentor. “Being referred by a leading client or associate of the headhunting firm means you go straight to the top of the pile of CVs they look at,” Jenn says.

8. Rewrite your CV. In their new book How to be Headhunted, John Purkiss and Barbara Edlmair outline the main components of the “headhunter-friendly CV”. Basically, this includes a one-page summary and a two to three-page more detailed description of your career to date.

9. Forget the brand. Of course you need to be a one-man marketing machine to get ahead, but forget all the guff about being “an entrepreneurial, hands-on, team-player”. Headhunters want objective information. Purkiss and Edlmair say: “Most search consultants feel it is their job to form a view on what you have to offer.”

10. Keep in touch. Make sure that the key agencies in your field have an up-to-date CV and contact details. Otherwise your successor may get the call, not you.

FIND OUT MORE

A free directory of headhunting agencies can be found on the Association of Search and Selection Consultancies website at www.rec.uk.com/rec/sector-groups/ assc-directory.aspx. A searchable database of agencies can also be found at: www.agencycentral.co.uk/agencysearch/headhunting/
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· Caroline Hayward’s article How to get Headhunted can be downloaded from the Hayward & Associates website at www.hayward-associates.com