You and the headhunter have the same goal, to help you get a job! The first meeting or phone call you have is extremely important. Whilst it certainly is not an interview, it is important you prepare in a similar way that you would do before an interview so that you give yourself the best possible chance of being introduced to the right jobs now and in future.
- Research the recruitment company 1) What is their global reach? How many Consultants do they have around the world 2) Do they specialise in your profession and industry? 3) How long have they been in your country? 4) When you type on your job title into Google, how high do they rank?
- Research the Consultant background on LinkedIn, how long have they been recruiting in your market? Have they themselves changed jobs and companies frequently? Does their LinkedIn profile look professional with a quality picture, detailed explanation of their company and specialisation?
Do I Need To Send A CV Right Away?
Yes. That is, if you can see that this is a professional company and an experienced recruiter who will provide good quality jobs regularly then you should. If you do not, you will not appear in searches when that recruiter picks up a new job. My team and I will pick up around 60 or more new jobs a week, even through Covid. Similarly in a typical week we will register around 150 new candidates, even in Japan where this is incredibly difficult.
“Just message me through LinkedIn when a suitable new job comes up”
So when someone messages on LinkedIn saying “just message me through LinkedIn when a suitable new job comes up” I hope that you can appreciate, this is unlikely to happen given the high volume of new jobs and new candidates that flow through the business every day.
So what can you do? If you share your CV, you will be updated with jobs as they arise. Do you have a concern that either you are not looking for a job or that the agency will send out your information without your approval? If you do, only use highly regarded, professional agencies. Why? It is important you understand your market value at all times. It is also important to interview at least once or twice a year so that when your dream job comes up, you have the experience of interviewing to ensure you get an offer!
The Call
During the call the Consultant is looking to find out about your background, what your current situation is right now and where you would like your career to go in the next few years in order to introduce the most relevant positions to you.
- Background – your Consultant wants to understand exactly what you have done, to establish which of the open jobs in their portfolio are relevant. The Consultant will also be aware of the jobs their team has right now and will assess whether you are a good fit for those too. They want to know data points to see how successful you have been in your current role e.g. did you increase sales since joining, if so how? What was your strategy for customer acquisition, which metrics did you use and what were the results? It really depends on your job but look for ways to show the impact you have had on the team and business in your time at that company
- USP’s – A key part of this conversation will be for the recruiter to extract your “Unique Selling Points”. These are 3 or 4 factors about your background which set you aside from all other people in your industry. These can be anything from starting up a new country from scratch to launching a new product, from generating new clients to cross selling products to existing clients. These can also include language skills as well as any other unique points about you that will ensure you are chosen for interview ahead of all the other applicants
- Assess and feedback – during the conversation a recruiter will be assessing a few things such as your presentation relevant to the profession you work in, marketers can wear whatever they want, lawyers, not so much. Communication will also be considered because this is what will happen in the formal interview with a company in future. Feedback will be provided in a constructive way in order to help you in preparing for upcoming interviews.
- Reasons for leaving – these will be explored but we are not detectives and don’t need to know grisly details if you are uncomfortable sharing. Just know that in an interview you will for sure be questioned on these though and if you have a jumpy cv, the company will want to know why
- Current situation – how active have you been in your search already? Have you applied to any companies or have any ongoing interviews? How quickly do you want or need to find a job? All of these will help in figuring out which jobs to introduce to you
- Career goals – What are your career goals in the next few years? This is also very important to understand because this will ensure you are introduced to the right jobs. If you are ambitious and want to fast track your career then certain companies like Amazon or Uber might be interesting options. If you want a more stable environment where your job is very clear and unlikely to change much then you may prefer a more traditional company
- Rapport – a good recruiter will build a great relationship with you, often discussing non-work related things like family and hobbies. These can also help recruiters though! We often get niche clients searching for candidates to join their company, where they don’t need industry experience but are interested in hiring someone with, for example, a passion for cycling, classical music, baseball or food!
Make the most out of your meeting with your recruiter by preparing in advance, be willing to explain your background and where you have already applied. For the right person, this relationship can last decades!
