How to Tame the Fiercest Headhunter BY ANNE FAIRCLOTH They're out there in record numbers and on the prowl. Today's job market is so hot that they'll follow your rules-if you know how to make them. In the days when the average executive recruiter was about as savage as a CPA, the lurid term "head-hunter" carried a lightly comical spin. But many of today's headhunters, who have nearly doubled in number in the past five years (to 10,200), really are predatory, prowling corporate corridors not only for richly marbled CEOs but also for people like ... well, yourself. In today's roaring job market, they're bombarding managers with unsolicited phone calls, desperate to make a sale, however dubious the fit. Meanwhile, most managers don't need a high-powered job brokerso much as a wise counselor-a career shrink. Being hotly pursued can be flattering, but it can also drive you down blind alleys. Happily, you can use your power as a qualified job seeker in a talent-scarce pool to make recruiters work for you, even though they are retained and paid by your prospective employers. Below are five key techniques for transforming an ambusher into an astute matchmaker. INTERVIEW THE RECRUITER. If you have been cold-called, try turning the tables. Says Bob Kerson, chairman of New York-based search firm Levy-Kerson: "I would be absolutely certain I knew who the firm and the individual recruiter were. Do they have a demonstrated track record, and are they able to deliver on the promises they're singing?" Ask how long he or she has been a recruiter, if he or she has been certified by the National Association of Personal Services, and if the firm is a member of the Association of Executive Search Consultants, which has a code of conduct for its members. Also, be sure to ask how the headhunter got your name - a reputable one should not hesitate to tell you. Establish whether a company has hired the recruiter on an exclusive basis to fill a particular slot, for which it is paid a retainer, or the recruiter is vying with other search firms and will be paid only if it is the first to deliver a winning candidate. Retained firms tend to place high-level executives, whereas many so-called contingency firms frantically pursue candidates without adequately understanding their qualifications or the position's requirements. Says Sherrie Morgan, who was hired as head of client services at a boutique investment bank nine months ago: "My attitude about recruiters is that it's like a pimp relationship. Most of them are only looking to make money off of you. It's rare to find someone who wants to make a long-term marriage." Plenty of contingency firms do take the necessary care, but you'll have to ask a few questions before you know if you're dealing with such a firm. MAKE YOUR NEEDS CLEAR. Morgan advises job seekers to make a list of what they are looking for in a job. Then, when headhunters call, "refer them to the document," she says. "Ask them if the job meets specification one, specification two, etc." Include the cities or regions and industries where you want to work and the hours you want to keep. Morgan, for example, will work only with Microsoft products and makes sure recruiters know that up front. David Cowen, president of the New York contingency firm Fanning Technical Search, who placed Morgan in her current job, says this sort of demand is not excessive. On the contrary, a good recruiter should "listen to the candidate's needs." CONTACT HEADHUNTERS, BUT SELECTIVELY. Ray Roe, COO of Lee Hecht Harrison, a Career-services firm in Woodcliff Lake, N.J., advises: "Go to people in your industry, and find out which recruiters they know. Use them as a referral." Consider starting with firms that specialize in your area of experience. The Directory of Executive Recruiters (Kennedy Information, $44.95) will tell you who they are. Go with a recruiter who maintains a computerized database rather than one who must shuffle through a stack of 100 resume's on his or her desk. Aleksandr Zhuk, a network desktop administrator at Sanofi Beaute', remembers with disdain a call he received from a headhunter a few years back. "She left a message, and I called her back five seconds later. She said, 'Who are you?' "Cowen, who placed Zhuk at Sanofi, "knows who I am and what my goals are the minute I call," Zhuk says. BE CAREFUL WITH YOUR RESUME. Will it be flung onto the Internet or sent out to unidentified clients? Kerson suggests a candidate immediately say: "Please understand, I'm not in the job market. I want to make sure this conversation stays between you and me." SCRATCH EACH OTHER'S BACK. "A recruiter's reputation is made and broken two ways," says Kerson-" the way you handle clients and the way you handle candidates." A smart headhunter will try to build lasting good will by offering career advice and helping you achieve your long-term goals. Later, you will refer friends to him and even hire him to fill slots at your company. But candidates need to hold up their end of the bargain. "Be responsive," counsels Bill Frank, president of the Curtiss Group, a Boca Raton, Fla., search firm. "People don't realize we hold the key to the kingdom." One way to get the key to turn is by acting as a source. It "usually comes back to help the candidate" says Frank. Above all, avoid giving off a scent of desperation. If the message you're sending between the lines is "Get me out of here now!" a recruiter is likely to assume there's something wrong with you. For those as daunted by the challenge of finding a headhunter as they are of finding a job, the National Recruiters Association, a placement agency in Tennessee, offers Recruiter in a Box. For $150, you get a list of 100 companies in your geographical areas and industries of interest, a cover letter and resume template, and fancy linen paper - all the materials you need to get at least a rudimentary job search off the ground, without having to rely on headhunters worthy of the name. PHOTOGRAPH BY PAUL COSTELLOJuly 2O, 1998 FORTUNE | 151 Reprinted with permission from Fortune Magazine Main Office Fanning International 142 West 36th Street, New York, NY 10018 Tel.:212.868.2200  Fax:212.868.8190 E-Mail: info@fanning.com Need Directions?

 
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