Why are search consultants so rude?

I obviously seem to have touched a raw nerve with my previous post - Why are recruiters so rude? I got a few comments from both sides of the divide. I would use them in a future post to list out the points and counter-points put up by some of the readers.

I had promised to cover the search consultants in this post.

I am listing out some of the most common peeves people have against search consultants and my suggestions on how you could address them :

1. They are so inaccessible in the first place! They just refuse to acknowledge our attempts to reach out to them.
Executive search consultants work on exclusive, and usually confidential, assignments for their clients. They are retained by corporates to help identify some very key, senior leaders for their business. These consultants then usually map and head-hunt people with very specific skill sets, pedigree and experience.

Given the exclusive nature of their work, search consultants work on a select set of assignments in a year. But they have hundreds and thousands of people reaching out to them in the hope of finding a dream job. Now these consultants are not in the business of finding jobs for people who reach out to them. They are in the business of searching for the ideal candidates for specific positions that their clients want to fill.

Most of the assignments these consultants are working on require people with more than 15-18 years of experience with very specific leadership skills and competencies.

So its no surprise that these consultants not only seem inaccessible, but also come across as not being responsive, sensitive or caring.

2. Is it necessary to woo a consultant? Why should I approach them? Let them approach me. They need me more than I need them.
In today's corporate environment it is increasingly important for you to be connected with a few good search consultants. Many companies use search firms for some of their key leadership hires. These roles will not come your way through job portals or through your personal networks.

It is also important for you to understand the role the search consultant plays for the hiring company and for you as a candidate. The search consultant is not just a resume-pusher (though many of them do just that). The companies trust their advice and opinions when it comes to their senior hires. You too should build a relationship with some good consultants where they become your 'trusted career advisors'.

And this relationship is a mutually beneficial one and cannot be only one-sided. There is a chance that they will reach out to you because of your achievements and your reputation, but the chances of them reaching out to you with your dream job are greatly improved if you have maintained a relationship with them.

3. How do I get the search consultant's attention? How do I reach out to them?
Don't reach out to a search consultant!

Especially when you are desperately looking for a job.

The best thing you could do is position yourself as a strong, potential candidate that they would reach out to whenever they are looking for strong candidates for their clients.

Search consultants always have a set of professionals they track through every career move and stay in regular touch with.

Now the question is - how do you get into a search consultant's list?

Here are a few tips to keep in mind :
- Make a list of the key consultants across some of the key search firms that cater to your specific industry.
- Now try establish contact with these consultants where you simply introduce yourself without sharing your resume. You could do this by finding their e-mail ids from the search firm websites or by connecting with them on LinkedIn.
- Request your friends/ colleagues to introduce you to the top consultants in your industry they have a good rapport with.
- Keep in touch with them and update them about your career moves and introduce them to good candidates whenever they are looking for people.
- Share details of your articles/ blogs/ tweets/ events which position you as a subject matter expert or as a key person in the industry.
- Do not give them the impression that you are hounding them.
- And the most effective way is to let your work speak for you and to let others do the talking on your behalf!

4. They don't seem to understand my profile and skill sets. They are not willing to look beyond my obvious skill sets. They cannot seem to think beyond some specific profiles.
The onus of positioning yourself with the relevant consultants in the search industry industry is upon you!

Please remember that these consultants are not in the business of understanding your uniqueness and finding you a job!

You have to build these relationships over time which then ensures that a few key consultants understand your achievements, your skill sets and competencies and your career aspirations. Only then will they reach out to you with opportunities which are in line with your dreams and expectations.

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Please write in to me at ckguruprasad@gmail.com or post your comment if you have any other questions on this topic of working with search consultants.

Why are the recruiters so rude?

Why are these recruiters so rude??? They never respond to mails or return my calls! And it was they who reached out to me in the first place!!!

This is a complaint I hear very often from a lot of friends and acquaintances. Especially when they learn that I am a search consultant! And they don't mean just the hiring/ HR manager in organisations, but also search consultants in various firms.

Now here's something I would like to mention upfront, almost like a disclaimer :
Please remember, there are good and bad professionals in every business, and it is no different with the recruitment business. Like in most industries, for every good recruiter, there are scores of incompetent, ineffective, indifferent and sometimes indiscreet recruiters.

Here's a few tips/ facts to keep in mind when you are dealing with recruiters/ HR managers/ search consultants :

I. The recruitment manager in the company :

- The recruitment/ staffing manager in a company typically has to deal with hundreds of resumes for every position they are trying to fill across all levels. They are not interested in finding you a job or enhancing your career. They are only interested in filling the position and achieving their recruitment numbers. And some of them have pretty large number of vacancies to fill. (Many companies do work at making this process as smooth and professional as possible for the applicants, but you will hear more complaints than praises since rejected applicants, who are the majority, normally tend to feel humiliated or offended by the end of the process.)

- This might not be as bad for some of the senior level hiring since the number of candidates are far lesser in number. But the candidates at that level too feel as upset, if not more so, because they are far more sensitive to being rejected. (You have to admit, we also have larger egos at this level! :) )

- The best way to deal with this is not to have any major expectations from the hiring managers beyond the basic professional courtesies and niceties. And don't be surprised if you don't get that too. Don't be upset or lose all hope if they don't respond to your mails or return your calls. They will write to you or call you only if they have a reason to. And your reaching out to them is not reason enough for them to respond!
Don't take it personally, because they are not singling you out. They don't know you from Adam, or Eve for that matter!

- But you can still stand out and get through all the clutter by making your resume do the talking for you. (Click here for tips on how you can make your resume count.)

- And there's absolutely no point in losing your cool or being rude in turn, because it only makes things worse for you. If there was any chance of your being shortlisted, you would just blew it away!


II. The recruitment/ placement consultant :
- You would typically go through a similar experience when you are dealing with recruiters from contingent hiring firms. They get paid only after the company selects a candidate presented by them. So don't be surprised if they are not paying much attention to you as you wax eloquent about your career aspirations! They are only interested in your resume which they can push along with a dozen or more others to the next company who has asked them to send resumes.

- But for certain positions this is the best way or the only way to go! So it helps if you are able to find out the relevant recruitment agencies who handle most of the hiring for the positions you are interested in within your industry. Maintain a list of these companies and their contact details. And write in to them and send in your updated resume whenever you are on the lookout for a job or a change.

- Again, don't expect them to respond back to you when you reach out to them. They would be interested in you in the beginning for as long as you are a potential candidate for them. After that you are just another resume in their database which might be pulled out for the next assignment in another company.

- Being networked and finding some connection to these consultants always helps. Connect with them on LinkedIn or try find any friend/ colleagues/ acquaintances who will be willing to put in a personal word for you with these individuals.

- In such cases, where the company is using multiple recruitment agencies to hire people, they would also usually be looking for people directly. If you are looking for a change or a new job, you should make a list of all the companies that you would like to join, send your resume to the email id they typically provide on their website and also keep checking the jobs section for specific openings and apply again to the email ids provided.

- Here again, networking and staying connected with the relevant HR and business people in these companies through LinkedIn and through friends/ ex-colleagues is very important.

III. The search consultant in a retained executive search firm :

(This is a completely different animal and it requires a separate post which will follow shortly.)

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So what has been your worst experience when dealing with hiring managers/ recruiters?
And maybe you have some memorable experiences to share as well!

(Do comment on this post or write in to me at ckguruprasad@gmail.com. If I use your experience or respond to your queries in my post, I will not mention any names of individuals or companies, so you can be rest assured.)