If you have lost your job or you need a change, or you are just looking for a candidate, you will find very useful to have the following list: The 32 Most Important Headhunters. Also, we have included Four Fearless Job Hunting Tips (from asktheheadhunter.com) that you will find very useful:
1. Don’t settle
(An excerpt from “Fearless Job Hunting, Book 1: Jump-Start Your Job Search,” p. 4, “The myth of the last-minute job search”):
When you’re worried about paying the rent, it seems that almost any job will do. Taking the first offer that comes along could be your biggest mistake. It’s also one of the most common reasons people go job hunting again soon — they settle for a wrong job, rather than select the right one.
Start early: Research the industry you want to work in. Learn what problems and challenges it faces. Then, identify the best company in that industry. (Why settle for less? Why join a company just because it wants you? Join the one you want.)
Study the company, establish contacts, learn the business and build expertise. Rather than being just a hunter for any job, learn to be the solution to one company’s problems. That’s what gets you hired, because such dedication and focus make you stand out.
2. Scope the community
(An excerpt from “Fearless Job Hunting, Book 3: Get In The Door (way ahead of your competition),” p. 6, “It’s the people, Stupid”):
You could skip the resume submission step completely, but if it makes you feel good, send it in. Then forget about it.
More important is that you start to understand the place where you want to work. This means you must start participating in the community and with people who work in the industry you want to be a part of.
Every community has a structure and rules of navigation. Figure this out by circulating. Go to a party. Go to a professional conference or training program. Attend cultural and social events that require milling around with other people (think museums, concerts, churches). It’s natural to ask people you meet for advice and insight about the best companies in your industry. But don’t limit yourself to people in your own line of work.
The glue that holds industries together includes lawyers, accountants, bankers, real estate brokers, printers, caterers and janitors. Use these contacts to identify members of the community you want to join, and start hanging out with them.
3. Avoid a salary cut
(An excerpt from “Fearless Job Hunting, Book 7: Win The Salary Games (long before you negotiate an offer),” p. 9: “How can I avoid a salary cut?”)
Negotiating doesn’t have to be done across an adversarial table — and it should not be done over the phone. You can sit down and hash through a deal like partners. Sometimes, candor means getting almost personal.
How to Say It: “If I take this job, we’re entering into a sort of marriage. Our finances will be intertwined. So, let’s work out a budget — my salary and your profitability — that we’re both going to be happy with for years down the road. If I can’t show you how I will boost the company’s profitability with my work, then you should not hire me. But I also need to know that I can meet my own budget and my living expenses, so that I can focus entirely on my job.”
It might seem overly candid, but there’s not enough candor in the world of business. A salary negotiation should be an honest discussion about what you and the employer can both afford.
4. Know what you’re getting into
(An excerpt from “Fearless Job Hunting, Book 8: Play Hardball With Employers,” p. 23: “Due Diligence: Don’t take a job without it”):
I think the failure to research and understand one another is one of the key reasons why companies lay off employees and why workers quit jobs. They have no idea what they’re getting into until it’s too late. Proper due diligence is extensive and detailed. How far you go with it is up to you.
Research is a funny thing. When it’s part of our job, and we get paid to do it, we do it thoroughly because we don’t want our judgments to appear unsupported by facts and data. When we need to do research for our own protection, we often skip it or we get sloppy. We “trust our instincts” and make career decisions by the seat of our pants.
When a company uses a headhunter to fill a position, it expects a [high level] of due diligence to be performed on candidates the headhunter delivers. If this seems to be a bit much, consider that the fee the company pays a headhunter for all this due diligence can run upwards of $30,000 for a $100,000 position. Can you afford to do less when you’re judging your next employer?
Remember that next to our friends and families, our employers represent the most important relationships we have. Remember that other people who have important relationships with your prospective employer practice due diligence: bankers, [real estate agents], customers, vendors, venture capitalists and stock analysts. Can you afford to ignore it?