Reaching Out to Recruiters As You Work Your Way Up
“Developing strong ties with recruiters can pay off,” says Kimberly Bishop, senior client partner in the New York office of Korn/Ferry International, for advice on how to initiate and nurture lasting relationships with search professionals. Prior to joining the Los Angles-based search firm, Ms. Bishop was an executive vice president in the financial-services industry, responsible for recruiting talent and generating new business.
• At what point in one's career should a person contact an executive recruiter and how?
It's beneficial to build relationships with recruiters throughout your entire career. A good place to start is online. Locate one or more recruiters specific to your industry or profession. Hold on to the email addresses of the ones you’d like to work with.
You also can ask people in your network if they know any recruiters who could be helpful to you and make an introduction. If you don't know anyone who has relationships with recruiters, research various search firms to determine which ones would be most beneficial to you and introduce yourself. You can reach out to their recruiters via phone or email. You may not always get an immediate response, but you have at least introduced yourself to the firm.
• How often should you contact recruiters?
Get in touch with recruiters whenever something significant has occurred in your career. If you made a job change, joined a board or won a big award, those are always good reasons to get back in touch with recruiters, versus just calling to say hello. They will appreciate a quick email. Remember that most recruiters get hundreds of calls and emails a day – don’t be concerned if you do not get a response each time.
• When talking with lower-level candidates with an eye on the corner office, what impresses you most?
I'm always impressed by someone who is really clear about what they want to do.
Candidates who have a high level of confidence and energy generally stand out. They know who they are and what they bring to the table and they show that they're really interested in the next opportunity and what the next step might be.
• What kind of background does a person need to be considered for a CEO job?
Generally, you need to have held roles in which you were responsible for growing and managing revenues within a company, as well as exposure to the actual operation of a business. Leadership is also important. You want to have broad exposure to leading all facets of a business -- finance, sales, product development and so forth. In today's business environment, CEO candidates need to understand corporate-governance issues, business trends and key issues facing their industry. They also need to be creative and have critical-thinking skills when it comes to complex decision-making.
• When talking with job candidates about pay, what's a common turn-off?
When candidates are unwilling to share their current compensation with me or the hiring company. That isn't helpful because compensation is a key component of getting an offer. You want to have an open and honest dialogue with your recruiter, because that's how he or she can best support you and their client.
• What's the best way to talk about your pay expectations without seeming greedy?
As you talk about what you're looking for in your next role, it's OK to share your expectations. That's important for executive recruiters to know, because the last thing we want to do is take up your time or our client's time if we're not on the same page. Share what your expectations are and add to that why you think they're warranted based on the skills and added value you'd bring into the role.
• If you're not happy with a pay offer, what's the best way to indicate this?
This is why it's important to build relationships with recruiters, so you can be comfortable with being candid and straightforward about pay. Recruiters are there to help you be successful in the negotiation process.
• When talking to candidates, what's a common turn-off?
When you say you're going to send additional information and don't follow through. Not following through can be a deal-breaker, because it can give the impression that you're not interested in the opportunity and that's how you conduct yourself in business. Sometimes executives are extremely busy, and we understand that. What you need to do in that case is drop a quick note to say you're not able to get to it today, but will next week. Recently it took someone several weeks to follow up on any opportunity, and by that time it had already passed. Meanwhile, someone who was very interested in a [different] opportunity called and said he wouldn't be able to follow up on a client's request for three weeks because he was busy working on a transaction. The client was so interested in learning more about the candidate that he offered to wait until the candidate could resurface.
Another turn-off is when you contact someone about a search you're working on, and they don't return the call. Maybe it wasn't the right opportunity for them, but it's important to call or email back, because you show that you're responsive and interested in building a relationship with the recruiter. If you're not interested in the opportunity, the conversation will probably turn into one about you and your career. It's just another opportunity to strengthen the relationship between you and the recruiter.
