Executive recruiters won't tell you that it’s long been known that some of the “best” candidates for a job are usually not actively marketing themselves.
Their resumes are not posted for the world to see and it is only through a personal connection that a company finds them. While they have the right quota of experience, drive, contacts, knowledge, credentials and qualifying background, they are passive candidates not looking for a job. At the same time, most plum positions are not advertised either, but are sourced through inside company contacts who let the word out to their network connections.
So how does a company find such a prospective new hire? How can a candidate discreetly approach select employers?
The short answer is by being introduced on a confidential basis by an expert professional acting as their representative.
This professional liaison manages the contact process, deals with corporate gatekeepers’ interference and establishes a mutually convenient time and location to share ideas and get to know each other in order to build trust and confidence, essential to closing a job offer. For the employer, the notion of a highly qualified candidate approaching them directly is not only appealing but a good business proposition, financially speaking, since it is not encumbered by the usual high recruiting expenses.
Debra Feldman, www.JobWhiz.com, assists senior level executives to Network Purposefully™ by connecting them with specifically targeted individuals who possess attractive affiliations and whose personal contacts can open doors and pave the way for meaningful conversations that may produce new career opportunities now or in the future. By connecting with target employers before specifications for a position are carved in stone and given to HR or an outside headhunter to fill, assertive candidates can create a new career challenge for themselves where they want to work that is tailored to their strengths and skills so that they are the perfect solution, the first choice candidate.
A personal talent agent can help not only to guide and facilitate the introduction and networking process, but also to actually establish strategic connections and promote high value mutual interests between the candidate and decision makers. In fact, the candidate’s agent can vet prospective employers, provide insights and research about employer circumstances, conduct an anonymous job search campaign and maintain networking momentum while a candidate is busy working and traveling for their current job.
Personal connections drive the executive job market (Grenovetter, Harvard Business School and CareerXroads, Sources of Hire 2006). In fact, research shows that over 80% of hires are made outside the advertised job market by word-of-mouth through networking leads.