Career Resources: Articles and Advice from the Recruiter

HOW RECRUITERS WORK

"When I tell people I’m a headhunter, some check my belt for shrunken heads," says Calvin Allen with Kimmel & Associates. But headhunters, AKA recruiters or search executives, don’t run through the jungle. They help companies solve business problems quickly and efficiently. The best recruiters know their industry and turf inside and out. They know which companies are tops at building high rise hotels, and which superintendents can break records building bridges that meet DOT specs. Recruiters help savvy employers solve business problems by finding motivated candidates who have a proven track record solving similar problems. A good recruiter is a nosy sucker. He wants the company history, the CEO’s life story, and so on, down to the pet peeves of the candidate’s future supervisor. The best recruiters work hard to pair managers and companies that will click together. Recruiters prize long-term relationships with clients. Recruiters help top employees plan strategic career moves. It’s no secret that many talented managers are trapped under glass ceilings such as family members in the company or outdated company policies. Recruiters know which companies have winning talent working for them, which are hiring, and who to talk to in those companies. Don’t put your career on hold hoping the boss’s son leaves to become an interior decorator. Find a recruiter—and some blue sky.