Hunting for a job can be a tiring and elusive task—from trawling recruitment websites, crafting one’s resume and undergoing the gruelling interview itself, it is often a long drawn out process that can present many difficulties. Therein lies the appeal of headhunters—to have someone who keeps you updated with potential job positions can cut short your search time, while leading you to more exciting and challenging opportunities. Here are some of the steps you can take to get headhunted by headhunters.
Be good at what you do. Headhunters don’t look for run-of-the-mill individuals; they want someone who excels at their job, so that they can provide potential employers with excellent hires. It’s important to build credibility within your industry, and ensure that you are recognised as a leader in your field, so that when headhunters ask for recommendations for outstanding individuals, your name will be right at the top of their list.
Be visible and connected. While it’s important to be good at what you do, it’s just as important to be noticed by other professionals in your industry. Attending networking seminars or conferences with important keynote speakers, keeping your LinkedIn profile updated, and actively joining professional LinkedIn groups are just some of the ways you can stay searchable to headhunters and get on their employee lists.
Keep your LinkedIn account updated. In today’s digital age, headhunters will often be looking at LinkedIn accounts as a quick and easy way to contact potential employees. Keeping your LinkedIn profile as updated as possible is a great way to attract relevant attention from headhunters. Simple steps like uploading a professional profile photo, providing contact details, and listing skills relevant to your profession will bump up your profile in headhunter searches. Be sure to get friends and colleagues to endorse your skills as well!
Reach out to headhunters. Apart from being visible, sometimes you just have to put yourself out there and let headhunters know that you are a great potential candidate for job positions. Do your research—look up the top headhunting firms in your field and make efforts to reach out to them. Call them up for coffee, swap contact details, and ensure that you’re at their top-of-mind recall when future opportunities arise. Best of all, you’ll also gather useful details about your industry and gain tips on what employers look out for in potential employees, which will definitely help during later stages of the job hunting process like the interview.
Position yourself as an expert in your field. Letting headhunters know that you “know your stuff” can go a long way—remember, headhunters want to find the best employees too! Start a discussion on a professional LinkedIn group within your field, write a blog with important tips on excelling in your industry, and attend industry forums. Not only will this help you become more visible to headhunters, they’ll see that the knowledge you have is valuable to your industry, which makes you a more ideal candidate for them to contact.
Keep your online presence squeaky clean. LinkedIn isn’t the only place that headhunters go to when searching for the best candidates—other social media sites like Instagram is fair game too! Because of this, it’s also incredibly important that you keep your personal social media accounts professional, yet interesting. This doesn’t mean that things like Facebook or Twitter have to be strictly work-related, however, drunk photos from the last weekend out might make you seem less professional to a headhunter’s eyes.
Like any other business relationship, staying visible, connected, and relevant to headhunters’ interest will give them a reason to remember you, and increase your chances of getting a call from them when a job opportunity arises.
Now, instead of finding the job, let the job find you!