27: Don't Reach Out to That Executive Recruiter Before You Listen to This

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I'd be doing you a big disservice in this series of episodes on recruiters and executive search firms if I didn't spend just a little time explaining why you shouldn't reach out to recruiters you don't know when you're looking for a job.

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In fact, it's one of the more potentially damaging things you can do, a sort of self-inflicted career wound.

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Curious?

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Stick around, and I'll explain.

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In over a decade of coaching MBAs, I can't tell you how many times I've heard a client in need of a new job say, I need to start reaching out to executive recruiters," or"I've been reaching out to executive recruiters." I did the same thing when I needed to move from LA to Boston in the early 2000s.

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And at the time I thought, why not?

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I was a good find for a recruiter.

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I went to Yale, had an MBA from Wharton, a master's degree in international studies from the Lauder Institute at Penn, and I had worked my way up the ladder at leading companies like Estée Lauder, Coty, Avon, and Johnson Johnson.

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Why wouldn't a recruiter want to take my call or respond to an email or a message?

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Of course recruiters would want to present me to their clients.

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They just needed to know I was out there and open to the opportunities.

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So, I let them know, and the response was, well, at best, lukewarm.

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But it's not crazy, right?

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I mean, have you ever thought the same thing or something like it?

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So many of the people I work with do.

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Now, they're not wrong.

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They generally are good catches for the right job, in the right company, and at the right time.

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And that's the important thing when it comes to executive recruiters.

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At any given time, they're only working with a limited set of clients on a limited set of opportunities.

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The chances of you reaching out to them at exactly the right moment, when their open searches align well with your experience and ambitions, well, the odds aren't great.

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Now don't get me wrong, the stars can sometimes align, and you could potentially catch a recruiter you don't know at just the right moment.

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And they might be receptive to your outreach.

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But chances are you're probably going to get a polite but curt response, because you're not a compelling candidate for any of their current open searches.

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And spending any significant amount of time engaging with you is going to cost them money.

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Plain and simple.

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They get paid a fixed fee by their clients, so speed and efficiency are paramount when it comes to making a profit.

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In episode 25, I discuss some of the basics about executive search firms, so I won't repeat it all here.

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But it does cover the fixed fee and the relationship between a firm its clients and the people in its network.

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Give it a listen if you haven't already.

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So you reach out to a few recruiters and you get a lukewarm response.

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You're probably thinking it's better than nothing, right?

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At least they know you're out there and they might reach out to you when they do have something that's a good match.

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Well, maybe.

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By being bold and reaching out to recruiters directly, you've actually put yourself at a significant disadvantage.

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Let's pause for a minute and imagine you're the executive recruiter.

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As you probably know, I was in that role for about four years.

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So I'll help you out a little.

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As an executive recruiter, you spend a huge amount of your time over what could be many years connecting with high potential leaders in an industry.

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You've gotten to know literally thousands of people who have served as your sources, candidates, clients, and references.

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And then this person shows up.

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Someone new, and for whatever reason, you don't seem to know this person.

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And maybe you check your firm's database, and no one else does either, or at least they don't know much about you beyond your name and contact information.

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So, as a recruiter, what's the first question you might ask yourself?

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Let me help again.

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The question is, why?

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Why don't I or my colleagues already know this person?

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Why isn't this person already on our radar screens?

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Why hasn't one of my thousands of contacts in the industry I know so well ever told me about this person or encouraged me to reach out to this person?

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And finally, why is this person apparently looking for a job?

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If they're really good, shouldn't they already have something lined up?

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Shouldn't recruiters like me already know about them and be calling all the time with great opportunities?

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But apparently they're not calling or reaching out with those opportunities, because this person is reaching out directly to me now.

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And if they're in a position that they have to reach out to me directly, meaning they don't have any opportunities coming their way through their own network, or at least not enough, then there must be a reason.

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So the recruiter comes to a preliminary conclusion.

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This person, who has just reached out to me directly, may be in some sort of distress.

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And it might be because they're not very good at what they do.

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And the recruiter's concern will be, this person could be a risk if I decide to include them in one of my candidate pools and present them to one of my clients.

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Recruiters, they don't like risk.

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As I explained in episode 14, they typically guarantee their searches.

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They need to feel secure that the candidates they present to their clients are going to work out and not result in a search that they have to redo for free.

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Listen to episode 14 if you haven't already, and I explain why the idea of a"do-over" is so distressing to recruiters.

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So, even if you're a hidden gem, the fact that you've reached out to a recruiter directly has set off alarm bells.

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When I was working as a recruiter at an executive search firm, my colleagues and I had a particular habit when people we didn't know reached out to us because they wanted or seemed to need a new job.

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We put a very brief note in their record in our database, and that note read,"Job Seeker.".

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And having that note in your, and I should point out, permanent record, was not a good thing.

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It was a red flag to anyone in the firm who might be checking you out that something could have potentially gone wrong for you.

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And if they do ever decide to engage with you for a search they're conducting, they're going to have to do some investigation first.

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Maybe that investigation won't uncover anything damaging to you as a potential candidate, but it's an extra step the recruiters will have to go through at the very beginning.

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And I've talked in previous episodes about speed and efficiency being critical to a recruiter's ability to make a profit.

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Well, doing that investigation, that preliminary investigation, isn't especially speedy or efficient.

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And it's a less attractive option than pursuing people the recruiter already has positive experience with or has positive intelligence on, So if you don't want the label of job seeker and all the baggage that comes with it, try to avoid reaching out to executive recruiters directly if you don't already know them and have an established relationship.

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Instead, here's what you should do.

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Get the people they're likely going to reach out to as sources or for referrals to mention your name and say something positive about you.

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When people in a recruiter's network tell them about someone they don't already know, about this hidden gem, let's say that's you, they're going to be thrilled.

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Closing a search with a compelling, successful candidate is a numbers game in recruiting.

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Recruiters often reach out to hundreds of people when they're assembling candidate pools for their clients.

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The more high-quality people they're able to reach out to, the better.

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It's a huge part of their value proposition.

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But they'll only feel comfortable presenting candidates when they're fairly certain they'd work out if hired.

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They don't want any do-overs.

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And how do they develop that certainty?

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Through referrals and references gathered from people in their network that they already know and trust.

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They don't develop that kind of certainty and comfort when someone they've never heard of reaches out and says directly or indirectly,"I need a job." Just the opposite.

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They think something's probably wrong and they're going to have to look into it.

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Now don't get me wrong.

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There could be times when you reach out to a recruiter, and you're the answer to their prayers.

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But those times are going to be quite rare and not worth the risk of being labeled a job seeker, at least in my opinion.

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So, do the work.

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Consider who the people are in your extended network that the recruiters are likely going to reach out to when they're finding candidates for jobs you'd want.

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Reconnect with those people in your network.

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In the course of reconnecting, be sure to share the key elements of your personal narrative: what you do, the context you do it in, and the impact of your work.

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That way, when the recruiters call and describe a search that aligns well with your personal narrative, your friends and colleagues will make the connection and hopefully mention your name.

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The recruiter will then add you to their database or pull up your record if you're already in there, and they'll add a note.

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And instead of that note reading"job seeker," it might just read,"hidden gem, let's reach out to this person." Instead of you chasing down opportunities, the opportunities will begin to seek you out.

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And who could complain about that?

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If you haven't already listened to Episodes 14, 25, and 26 of the podcast, which cover some of the basics about executive recruiters and executive search firms, then check them out.

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And if you've learned anything about executive recruiters that's been helpful, you probably have friends and colleagues who could also use to hear the same message.

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Referrals from listeners are the number one way the podcast grows, so share this or another episode, And if you need to figure out the best way for you to get on Recruiter's radar screens, or if you're already in a search being run by an executive search firm and need a thought partner to help you read the tea leaves, consider signing up for a Career Strategy Session with me at careernarratives.com/strategy.

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See you soon!