Once you have made the grade with an executive recruiter, there is a lot he or she can--and will--do to help you secure the job.
They will coach you for the interview. They'll do this by telling you about the company and the person or persons whom you will be seeing when you go for an interview with the client. One recruiter described how the information divulged at this stage involves both professional and personal facts about the prospective employer: "When the time comes to reveal who the client is, we spend a lot of time coaching the job candidate about who the client is, what they do, and why we think they are the person most qualified for the job. We talk about personalities, whether the client plays tennis or some other sport, where they went to school, what their pet charities are, even the clubs they belong to—essentially anything that will help establish rapport and make the interview go well."
Another recruiter said: "You always want a candidate to go into an interview as well-versed as possible. They should know as much as they possibly can, and very often, the better candidates will call and say, 'I don't understand this section of the annual report.' We'll try to amplify it for them. Sometimes, though, I'll have to say that I don't have the answer and that this would make a very good question to ask during the interview. We counsel people to ask as many questions as possible during the interview."
The recruiter will provide background information. This can save you hours of research and time otherwise spent tracking down information on a company you're about to interview with. A recruiter will give you an annual report, stockholder's reports, 10-Ks, and other background data that you would otherwise have trouble finding. One tip: Ask for more material than you are given. One recruiter recalled being especially impressed with a job candidate who asked her for short biographies of the top executives of a firm where he would be interviewing.
The recruiter will play the role of a neutral third party during the job negotiations. Duarte described the recruiter's role in this respect: "We try to act as the middle party. We can try to get the parties together without having a confrontation, without either an offer or a request going on the table that is going to embarrass the other party. I can tell the candidate that I think his salary expectations are unreasonable, but I'll feel the client out. On the other hand, I can also tell the client who is going to offer X dollars that the candidate will walk away from that offer. I can get both parties to be a little more realistic."
Never forget, though, that recruiters are, out of necessity, more on the client's side than on yours in salary negotiations. Depending upon how close the recruiter is to the client, he or she will sometimes tell a client when a job candidate can be gotten for a ridiculously low amount, and they will also tell a client when he's about to pay too much. Generally, the recruiter can be more helpful to the job candidate with other forms of compensation and perks, mostly because they’ve got little to lose there and can even help themselves. A client will be justifiably angry if they spend $20,000 more than necessary to hire someone, but he'll consider the recruiter helpful who can suggest the perks that will win over a desirable candidate.
Recruiters provide confidentiality. By using a recruiter, a company can conduct a search anonymously and confidentially. But more important, and often overlooked, is the fact that you may need to look for a job in secrecy. A good recruiter won't reveal who you are to the client until they are sure you are interested in the job and are a viable candidate for it.
A recruiter knows whereof he speaks when they counsel you. The executive recruiter is often taken into the client's confidence and knows the parameters of the job they are handling. He or she knows, for example, whether the client will consider someone who has a firing on their record or whether the client will hire someone who's controversial. Even better, most recruiters will be frank with you about the fact that you aren't right for the job, thus saving you time and energy.
An executive recruiter can provide a debriefing. Although few candidates ask for one, a recruiter often can tell you exactly why you didn't get a job. Sometimes, they may not know the real reason, but if they know why you weren't hired, they are often willing to share that information with you on request. Skilled interviewer that they are, they are even likely to describe the reasons in a way that will be constructive to you in future job hunts.
But don't let your guard down too much. However much the recruiter may appear to be on your side (and he will seem to be) as they prepare you for the big interview, you must understand that he or she is constantly evaluating you. They ask themselves such questions as: Have I missed something important about this person? Can he or she bear up under the scrutiny of the CEO or whoever will be involved in the hiring process? Does this person make as good an impression as I think he or she does?
If you do bare your innermost thoughts to a recruiter, you run the risk that they will develop second thoughts about you, depending upon how you handle the situation. They will, for example, give you advice on how to explain a touchy resignation, but they don’t want to hear that you were traumatized when your resignation was asked for and have never quite regained your self-confidence. They also may act on those thoughts and rule you out at the last minute as a viable candidate. If they do this, they will have no qualms about picking up the telephone, even after they have recommended you to the client, and inform the client that he doesn't think you're quite right for the job, after all. Whether it's genuine or not, you have to present the same facade of self-confidence and enthusiasm to the recruiter that you will present during.
Basically, an executive recruiter expects a job candidate to walk into his or her office a fully blown executive. They want you to know how to talk, eat, dress, project, and otherwise present yourself. If you need help with any of this, see a career or an image consultant. You won't get to first base with an executive recruiter if you're not already cast in the right mold when you cross their threshold.
See the following articles for more information:
- How to Start on the Right Foot in Your New Job
- What Are the Sources to Find the Information You Need
- The Background of Application Process
- How to Network and Take an Information Interview
