Executive Job Seekers Beware

Occasionally, a job-seeking high roller will need résumé help. This week, two contacted me, both with executive-level positions in mind. While their occupations were different, each individual is employed with billion-dollar global corporations.

Job seekers at this level need to exercise a level of due diligence. Those employed at these upper levels cannot jump into shark-infested waters and start splashing about screaming for help. When they do, they will surely attract attention, but not necessarily the type they want or need.

For most job seekers—especially if unemployed, announcing to the world your availably is no big deal. You can list your most recent employer and flaunt yourself. If, however, you actively hold a sensitive position with a major corporation, that would not be prudent.

The employment waters at the deep end of the pool hold many dangers. One of those dangers involves the distribution of the résumé. Should that item fall into the wrong hands, and you shamelessly expose yourself in public, do not be too surprised to discover the next advertised job announcement you apply for might be your own.

Not all headhunters are ruthless, but a sufficient number are to warrant extra caution. Tell the wrong body snatcher you are available, and you have just informed that individual where his next meal ticket is located. Worse yet, the recruiter may be on a first-name basis with your Director or VP of HR!

There are two additional dangers that need to be addressed. One of them is your résumé. If you identify your employer by name in your résumé, you run the risk of shooting yourself. Knowing how to camouflage pieces of information discretely can pose a challenge. (Note: For those with mid-level and lower positions, this is a less important issue. You still need to take a few minimal precautions.)

The second item to adjust and modify are your social networking accounts such as Facebook and LinkedIn. As long as you are not actively seeking new employment, there is nothing to worry about. That all changes the instant you start transmitting résumés. You may want to suspend your Facebook account while actively seeking employment.

My clients are cautioned not to post anything on their social media accounts that conflicts with their résumé. Once your résumé is prepared—professionally or otherwise, immediately and discretely go back and adjust those accounts. You need to address who the employer is indirectly, as well as the specific city location. Usually, mentioning the region of the country will suffice.

Concealing the employer’s name and location is not a major turn-off as many may suspect. Most employers are perceptive enough to know that senior-level management needs to be both discrete and cautious. When you fail to take these cautionary measures, that too sends an unintended message.

If you would like additional job-related issues addressed, feel free to send them to rjames279@gmail.com.

Headhunters & Sharks

Headhunters

Myths surrounding employment abound. One of the biggest myths circulating is that if you “sign up” with a nationally known or well-established recruiter, headhunter, or employment service, you enhance your job-seeking odds. For those who are unemployed, that is simply not true.

If you are not the one shelling out the cash, headhunters—no matter what they bill themselves as—are not working for you. They work solely for the company paying the freight. Here is how that industry traditionally works.

Suppose you are in charge of hiring for Ajax. Jones, who works for your competitor, is a top-notch performer. You would like to hire this individual away from your competitor, but cannot do it legally. That constitutes piracy. The fines, penalties and court costs, not to mention the attorney fees, might impact your bottom line.

One way to solve this dilemma is to do an end-run around the piracy laws. To do that, Ajax retains the services of a headhunter—also known in the trade as body snatchers and sharks. Now you (Ajax) have created a legal buffer. The headhunter merely has to call Jones some evening at home, and invite Jones to lunch to discuss a fabulous career opportunity.

When Jones takes the bait, voilà, problem solved.

Having personally worked for a headhunter service, I know enough to be somewhat savvy about this industry. The first thing we learned was that animal sharks prefer eating dead things. Human sharks eat their prey alive. The next thing told was that any unemployed individual who walked through our front-office door was to be given the fast shuffle, and not to wast our valuable time on them. They labeled all unemployed as losers, a lazy retards, and other demeaning nomenclatures. 

The sole exception to this was when we called you. When that occurred, we had a specific position in mind. Once we received a job order to fill, it came down to finding an individual with a specific profile, or start zeroing in on the client’s closest competitors. That is how the headhunting game is played in Corporate America.

Successful headhunters are by their nature—ruthless. Those that are not sufficiently ruthless do not survive. My tenure lasted five weeks. The management called me in to inform me that I was out of my league. I was told that, “You lack the killer instinct. You will never make it in this industry, so either quit now, or be fired. You have 10 minutes to make up your mind.”

Here is my sage advice: Unless you know how to swim with sharks, stay out of shark-infested waters. There is nothing headhunters do that you cannot do yourself. It all boils down to how much time and mental energy you are willing to exert. Oh, and if by chance you are employed, please keep in mind that headhunters know how to play their game better than you.