Executive recruiters can help you find a job, but that’s not their main task.
        “Our role is very simple,” says Ron Stockman, president of National Restaurant Search in Batavia, Ill. “We are a conduit to opportunities that match a person’s background and experience.”

        Executive-search firms try to fill positions that have opened in their clients’ companies. The recruiter does this by searching its database of candidates. To populate this database, recruiters sometimes cold call executives who are working. Other times, the executives call the recruiter.

        “The majority of people contact us after something has happened within the organization,” Stockman says. “Either there has been a reorganization that has changed their responsibility, or in the majority of cases, they contact us when they are unemployed.”

        Jeff Hathaway, president of Hathaway Executive Search in Knoxville, Tenn., says the best time to contact a recruiter is when you are still employed.

        “A candidate who is employed is generally more attractive,” he says. “They are viewed as someone who is more proactive and has the vision to see things before they happen.”

        He adds that employed executives can often negotiate a better job offer.

        Hathaway says when you choose a recruiter, pick one that listens to you and understands your background and what you hope to do in your next job. Some recruiters tell candidates about every “great opportunity” available, right away.

        “How do we know what a ‘great opportunity’ means to that person until we speak to them and ask the right questions?” he says. “At that point you make a plan together that makes sense and is realistic.”

        After the initial conversation, the search firm might say they do have a client who has an immediate need, and your experience and skills might be a good fit. If there is not an immediate opportunity, that first conversation can help you decide whether you want to keep in touch with the search firm.

        Stockman’s advice is to find a firm that does not “shotgun” your résumé. Some firms send résumés to several client companies at once, hoping something will match. The danger is that the firm blast e-mails your résumé to many employers at the same time, and it ends up in your own boss’s inbox.

        “If you are unhappy at a job and you are looking, you don’t want your résumé to end up in your own human resources department,” he says.

        Of course all recruiters say they never do this. So instead of choosing a recruiter from an online search, talk to colleagues who found a recruiter they trust.

        Also, don’t expect the recruiter to send you on job interviews for which you are not qualified.

               “Reputation is what a search firm puts on the line every single time they present a candidate to a valued client company,” Hathaway says. “With that in mind, we must be selective and discerning in the people that we recommend for a particular position. The recruiter wants to make the placement as much as you want it to happen, but it is imperative that the fit is as ideal as possible.”

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