Beware of "Career Marketing" Predators

Recently the topic of career marketing firms came up as I was talking with one of my executive clients, who indicated he had been contacted by several and wasn't sure what to think. He said, "I was contacted by Bernard-Haldane, McKenzie-Scott, and Montgomery-Gray Associates. They all have the exact same tactic. Fear. They build fear about the career situation, tell you the resume is horrible and then they have the answer."

After I e-mailed him my thoughts on the subject, he observed, "I did my research on ExecuNet and the horror stories were in parallel to what you have said. You must publish [this], because it is exactly how I felt." So reprinted below are some things executive candidates will want to consider before engaging a career marketing firm:

"It's important to realize that these firms are NOT recruiters. They are retail outtplacement or direct mail firms. I receive inquiries from many clients about this type of firm and have always advised them to be very cautious and make sure exactly what you are getting for your money before signing any contracts. I've accumulated a number of horror stories over the years. I have yet to work with a client who felt the $5,000, $10,000, or more spent for one of these types of marketing services was well spent.

60 minutes and other news outlets have done multiple exposés over the years. I have had clients come to me defeated and depressed after having spent as much as $25,000 (yes, that's 3 zeroes) on "marketing campaigns" with not a single response. The quality of the delivery of the services is highly variable from firm to firm and market to market.

You may want to consider the following fact: A recruiter will get from 20 to 33% of a candidate's first year salary as a commission for placement. This is industry standard. If a candidate is worth say $100K a year, then he's worth a potential $20,000 to $33,000 in commission. If he or she is worth $200K, that’s a $40K to $66K commission. So why don't these firms just go after the real cash for placement? I mean, if they know where the jobs are, then they should know where the money is.

Some very savvy clients have asked me about these services, flattered at being contacted and mistakenly thinking these were high caliber recruiting firms eager to represent and place them. I have also had clients for whom I've prepared excellent resumes meet with them, only to have their professionally prepared resume ripped to shreds. Fortunately, they have enough confidence in what I've done for them to see through this tactic. I've also re-written many resumes for clients who had inferior, boilerplate 1-page resumes or "marketing letters" prepared by such firms and then spent well into 4 or even 5 figures having themselves "marketed" (mass mailing), for little or no response.

Career marketing scams are not new, but the number of complaints against these companies has increased dramatically in recent years. A quick search on Google will verify this fact. If anyone promises you that they have access to "the hidden job market" and to "hiring decision-makers" that will allow you to bypass normal job interviewing processes, run, do not walk away. It is well known that any legitimate recruiter will be paid by the company, not the candidate.

The Web has info and resources for people who have been burned by career marketing firms and executive marketing firms, also called retail outplacement or advance-fee placement firms. There are discussion groups for well-known firms such as Bernard Haldane, McKenzie Scott, and ProSavvy. Complicating the issue is that the most aggressive of the career marketing firm scammers continually morph into new companies and change their names to escape the bad press and law enforcement interest they have generated.

The appeal of a firm that tells you they will do all the marketing for you and find you a fantastic new job is obvious. However, the reality of job search is that it is work, takes time, and that there are no guarantees even for the most qualified person with the best resume in the world. For higher level positions, the standard formula for many years has been that it takes approximately one month per $10K of expected salary for the search, and although that has thankfully decreased somewhat in the current market, it is still not far off the mark.

Candidates who actively build and heavily leverage a professional network in their search are generally the ones who land a new position most quickly, as well as those who pursue a variety of approaches to the search (traditional and e-networking, cultivating recruiter contacts, efficient use of job boards, researching and individually contacting a selected group companies of interest to them, etc.), rather than depending on one avenue.

You'd think I don't have a very good opinion of career marketing firms, wouldn't you ;-)? All of this is certainly not to say that there are no reputable firms out there. I would just be very circumspect before agreeing to work with one. If you decide to go with one of these services, I strongly urge you to get in writing exactly what they will provide for the money, and especially the terms for a refund. You should have a contact assigned to you and should deal with that person exclusively. That person should be reasonably accessible. You should inquire about their contacts and track record in your career field. And ask if they will prorate the fee if you find a job quickly on your own."

Following are just a few articles and resources that provide further information on career marketing scammers. (Beware that there are some pretty unhappy consumers commenting on some of these sites, and their language may be offensive.) If you do a quick Google search, you will find much more information.

http://www.rileyguide.com/scams.html http://www.asktheheadhunter.com/teeth20031013.htm http://www.asktheheadhunter.com/gv010822.htm http://www.pissedconsumer.com/consumer-reviews/employment-agencies/mckenzie-scott-complaint--employment-services-2007040196582.html

There is also quite a bit of commentary and discussion in the blogosphere, such as the following: http://randomconvergence.blogspot.com/2006/03/rest-of-mckenzie-scott-saga.html

Please understand that I do not personally endorse what is said on any of these sites and that I have not personally had a bad experience with any of these firms. However, I feel that the consistent negative experiences related to me by clients and prospective clients over many years, input from numerous career transition professionals in my network, along with articles written by career experts whom I consider reputable and reliable make it incumbent on me to make sure my executive clients are aware of the potential dangers out there.

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How Recruiters Treat the Resume You Send

Wondering what happens to your resume when you e-mail it to an executive recruiter as part of a job search campaign?

Contrary to long-standing conventional wisdom, many recruiters are actually more receptive to receiving unsolicited resumes than used to be the case, and they do generate some good responses. Most will at least give your message a quick look and decide whether it holds potential immediate interest for them or at least may be something they'll want to keep in their files for possible future reference. Of course, there are still many who will ignore any resume received in this manner, preferring to source their candidates through networking or their own research.

ExecuNet's 15th Annual Job Market Intelligence Report offers the following statistics showing the shift in recruiter attitudes in the past 15 years:

Then/Now:

Selectively Respond: 45%/75%
Answer All: 24%/8%
Do Not Respond: 21%/3%
Other (such as postcard) 10%/15%

You can see that a large proportion do selectively respond, which tells me that (1) You want to make sure your e-mail message and resume are attention-getters, (2) Since most do at least briefly review the resume, lack of an immediate response does not mean all is lost--yours may be in the reserve-for-future-consideration pile, (3) It is to your advantage to actively network with recruiters when you DON'T need them for your own job search, so your name will be familiar and your resume welcome when you send it.

Don't Expect an Executive Recruiter to "Market" You

One of the most misunderstood aspects of executive job search among executive candidates seems to be the nature of recruiting firms and how they operate. I have addressed this topic on several occasions, but the fact that I continue to encounter clients who have major misconceptions regarding the recruiter community tells me that this is a message worth repeating:

"Do not expect an executive recruiter to 'market' you!"

A recent thread on the Career Masters Institute e-mail forum examined the fact that most companies and recruiters do not even acknowledge resumes they receive, let alone have any interest in actively working to place any individual candidate. They are very task oriented toward fulfilling current job orders, and if a candidate's qualifications are not a very close match for the requirements, they have no interest.

One member mentioned that a speaker at the recent Kennedy Conference in Las Vegas pointed out that 90% of job seekers will not receive a response of any kind when they submit their resume--whether they send it to a recruiting firm or directly to a company. Even among companies that rank high on "best places to work" rankings, 30% do not acknowledge resumes or applications submitted online through their websites.

Another colleague had a recent client who had done a large e-mail campaign to more than 800 recruiters who specialized in his area of expertise and received a measly 40 auto-responses. A former recruiter pointed out that in his experience there will be no response unless an unsolicited resume is an exact match for a current assignment. He also said that recruiters do not try to "place" candidates because there is simply no money in it.

So definitely do contact recruiters who recruit at your level and in your specialty areas. But do not expect them to "market" you or in most cases to even acknowledge your contact. An additional caveat: It is best NOT to follow up by phone. This is an annoyance and pet peeve of recruiters.

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Recruiters Finding Candidates in Unlikely Place

I received some interesting intelligence through the Career Masters Institute in an e-newsletter on Friday. Recruiters are finding good talent in a place that most executives would probably not even think about: Craigs List.

Many of you are likely familiar with Craigs List as an online community site where classified ads for furniture and housing, personal ads, and discussion forums are to be found. There are also jobs listings, but the surprise is that recruiters are using it as a primary resource for candidates. According to a presenter at a Northwest Recruiting Association meeting where the best tools and sourcing strategies were under discussion, the following was revealed at a recent ERE recruiting conference:

"Craigs List - not Monster - is now the best place and most often used place to find good talent."

ERE should be "in the know" about this. Initially conceived as an email discussion list for recruiting professionals over 9 years ago, ERE.net is a popular source of information and networking opportunities for recruiters and HR professionals on the Web.

A fellow CMI member who is seeking a recruiting position validates this, as she has found her listing on Craigs List to draw far more interest than on any other venue, including Monster and Career Builder. Coincidentally, while interviewing one of my clients today who is a general management/operations executive, he mentioned that his company has used Craigs List extensively in its recruiting efforts.

So if you are leveraging the Internet in your employment search, you may want to consider perusing the listings and/or posting your resume on your local Craigs List, as well as those for other geographic locations of particular interest to you.

Craigs List's forums that span 450 cities worldwide draw more than 7 billion page views and 20 million users per month, placing it at #7 ranking, behind only Yahoo, AOL, Microsoft, Google, eBay, and Newscorp. More than one million new job listings are posted per month. If any doubt remains, I encourage you to view this page with statistics comparing Craigs List with Monster and Career Builder:

http://charlotte.craigslist.org/about/job.boards.html

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Insider Tips on Working with Executive Recruiters

I recently attended a seminar sponsored by Career Masters Institute and presented by Shelly Goldman (a published recruiter and career coach) providing insights into how to work with recruiters in your executive job search.

I came away with confirmation of much of the knowledge I have about recruiters, and some things that were startling revelations. Here are some points that executives in career transition will want to keep in mind:

• A retained recruiter typically will NOT recommend a candidate for interview for several positions at a time, whereas a contingency recruiter will.
  
  
• Retained recruiters normally work at executive level exclusively, while in general contingency recruiters also work extensively with more junior level candidates.
  
  
• Contract-based firms and staffing services may be a good solution for a candidate with a great deal of movement in the career background, but they do not work extensively with senior level positions.
  
  
• Internal recruiters have a thankless job and are overwhelmed with candidates to interview and screen for referral to the next level in the process. It is important when talking with an internal company recruiter not to give away your salary requirements and defer this discussion until an offer has been extended. There is only one reason these internal recruiters ask for salary requirements--to screen candidates OUT.
  
  
• Conversely, you MUST reveal the salary range you are looking for to a contingency or retained recruiter. They do not want to waste their time with a candidate who is going to turn down the best offer a company is willing to make and will drop you from consideration if you are stubborn on this point.
  
  
• The best ways to find a recruiter to work with are through referral or by contacting one with whom you have worked before, perhaps for filling positions on your staff or in a previous career move.
  
  
• Before speaking with a recruiter, prepare a list of questions for them to see if they really understand your market, industry, and function, as well as to see if there is rapport and you feel you can trust them.
  
  
• Determine if the recruiter is networked well. If they have strong relationships with their hiring companies, they may actually "market" your resume even when there is no specific position available at the moment.
  
  
• You must have prepared a 30-90 second response to the "Tell me about yourself" question, and you must NAIL it when the recruiter asks it.
  
  
• Do not expect loyalty or follow-up from recruiters. It is not unusual to hear from an enthusiastic recruiter and then never hear from him or her again (especially true with contingency firms).
  
  
• Sometimes recruiters will throw your resume into a mix of ones referring to the hiring company, not because you are the strongest candidate but just to have enough candidates to refer. Both retained and contingency firms will do this.
  
  
• It is an absolute MUST to build ongoing relationships with recruiters, even when you are not actively engaged in executive job search. If you are not right for a position proposed, think about passing along referrals.
  
  
• It is ABSOLUTELY OK and even necessary to work with more than one firm.
  
  
• If contacted by a recruiter scanning job boards, before answering any questions about salary, find out if they are retainer, contract, contingency, or internal. Your answer is dependent on what type of recruiter you are talking with.
  
  
• There is no such thing as guaranteed confidentiality. Reputable recruiters and firms will attempt to keep your search confidential, BUT, see the first sentence in this bullet.

Turnoffs and Show Stoppers:

• The candidate refuses to share his or her compensation requirements with a retained or contingency recruiter.
  
  
• LYING to the recruiter. Just don't do it.
  
  
• Circumventing the recruiter and going directly to the hiring company to handle things that should be handled by the recruiter. For example, do not talk compensation requirements with the hiring company or increase the requirements you had told the recruiter. Also, scheduling of the next interview should be handled by the recruiter.
  
  
• Sending your resume to a recruiter and following up with a phone call (unless you obtained that recruiter's name through a referral). Imagine how many calls a recruiter would get when they receive dozens to hundreds of resumes A DAY!
  Exception: It is okay to follow up with recruiters who are internal to a company, but not too frequently. One follow up after sending a resume is fine.
  
  
• Accepting jobs and then deciding not to start... leveraging one offer against another.
  
  
• Poorly written executive resume or other documentation.
  
  
• Failure to send a strong and targeted cover letter.
  
  
• Inability to verbalize precisely what want.
  
  
• Negativity.
  
  
• Contact information that is not up-to-date and accurate. Must include e-mail address and phone numbers, and check e-mail and voice mail frequently throughout the day.

Forbes Cites Top Executive Job and Recruiter Sites

My senior executive resume clients and blog visitors will want to review Forbes' annual review of the top executive job and recruiter sites. In a competitive job market, knowledge of the most effective online resources and recruiter contacts is essential to speed your search. Some of the better job sites not only include a plethora of listings but also feature salary trackers, networking bulletin boards, and other valuable tools.

Highlighted sites include Netshare, which they describe as a "great place to search national listings for the $100,000-plus executive, and Spencer Stuart, extolled for using "its uncommonly thorough Web site to recruit execs making $100,000-plus a year. At last glance, nearly 90 top-dog jobs were listed. But that's not all: intelligent content abounds."

While leveraging your personal network remains the top essential tool in executive-level job search, you are surely missing out on potential opportunities if you do not get your executive resume in the hands of top recruiting firms via the better online job and recruiter sites.

More on Headhunters... Are Retained Firms the Way to Go?

Many of my clients initially indicate that they would prefer to have their resume put in front of retained recruiting firms only, as they are under the impression that it is only these firms that handle senior executive and C-level recruiting assignments.

While it is true that many companies do retain these firms for their important high-level candidate searches, contingency firms, properly used, can be of great value as well. Nick Corcodilos in a recent Ask the Headhunter e-newsletter addresses just this question. He points out that it is a fact that more $100K+ level searches are done by contingency firms than by retained firms. He cites some of the reasons for this, which include the flexibility that a contingency firm enjoys, their lower internal costs, and the resulting reduced cost to the employer. The savings derived by using a contingency instead of a retained firm for the average $100K position range from $15-20K, or between 29%-60%!

The upshot of all of this is that, as in most things, the quality and reputation of the recruiter - whether retained or contingent - is your primary concern. It is also wise to determine whether there is more than one firm working on the assignment and whether the position has been advertised, as your odds decrease rapidly as the number of competitors and headhunters involved increases.

Straight Scoop on Headhunters

Many of my executive clients have a very limited understanding of how executive recruiters (aka headhunters) work, and how they wind up on the radar screens of recruiters that they do not personally know.

The truth is that a high-caliber executive recruiter will learn about you through your reputation in your industry, previous and current peers, supervisors and subordinates, and from publications that quote or talk about you. They actively and conscientiously research and source potential candidates, while maintaining an in-depth knowledge of the industries in which they specialize and the key players in those industries.

Those are the high-caliber executive recruiters. Unfortunately the majority are not nearly so professional. They will get your name from databases they purchase such as magazine subscriber lists, or through job boards. While there is nothing wrong with a candidate found on a public job board, you could hardly describe this method of finding candidates as providing added value for the employer whose job order they are attempting to fill. You or I or even the employer could have done just what they did.

A key point that I reiterate nearly every day to my clients is this: It is very important to realize that an executive recruiter is NOT working for you. He is NOT going to go out and pound the pavement and find that next wonderful job for you. He works for the company that is looking to fill a position, and he is paid by that client.

This makes it all the more important that, if you should garner the attention of a quality recruiter, you need to be sure that you do everything you can to start and maintain a good relationship with him or her, even if the position discussed turns out not to be right for you. Do your best to provide suggestions for alternative candidates, and demonstrate your knowledge of who's who in your industry. You want to position yourself as an industry insider and valuable contact, helping to also ensure you will come quickly to mind when the right opportunity should present itself.

Evaluating Executive Recruiters

It's another in a long line of busy days at your desk when the phone rings. An executive recruiter is on the line, and he wants to talk to you about an opportunity. You are flattered and thrilled at the prospect, and eagerly go into "interview mode," striving to impress that recruiter with your exceptional qualifications.

But wait. A relationship with a recruiter is a two-way street, and you have every right and need to know some things about that recruiter before you proceed beyond a very preliminary conversation.

Firstly, the recruiter should be willing to clearly identify who he or she is, what firm if any they are affiliated with, and give you full and verifiable contact information — address, telephone, fax, website. Obtaining this information is only prudent in today's employment market full of scam artists and identity thieves. If you can get the recruiter to mail or fax you his or her card and materials about the recruiting firm, this is also a good idea.

After you have hung up from that initial call and before you send them any personal documents, look up the recruiting firm online. See what you can learn regarding their longevity, clientele, specialty areas, and reputation.

If they are a member of the AESC (Association of Executive Search Consultants), this is a plus, as this organization's membership is comprised exclusively of retained executive search firms, and membership requires meeting certain criteria, rather than simply writing a check. The process requires an application, 2 AESC references who are willing to be sponsors, client references, a site visit, and review by the AESC Council. I routinely advise the senior level clientele of my executive resume service (Creative Keystrokes) that retained recruiters are the preferred resource for their executive search (versus contingency recruiters), and that AESC members are the cream of the crop.

You'll want to confirm that the recruiter is to be paid by the company, and that you will not be asked to pay a fee of any kind. If there is a fee for you to pay, this is NOT a bona fide executive recruiter. Run, do not walk away.

The next step is to learn about the process this firm uses in conducting a search and working with you. The recruiter should not be vague about the client and the opportunity, but should display in-depth knowledge of both. They should exude professionalism to the core and not high-pressure you in any way. You should get a strong sense of their sensitivity to your privacy and the value of your time. It must be unequivocally established that your name or your executive resume or other credentials will not be provided to any company without your express permission.

Once all of the above information has been obtained and the ground rules established, you can work with confidence with that recruiter.

Do Recruiters Really Read Resumes?

Conventional wisdom has it that most resumes get an initial read of about 10-20 seconds as the reviewer is sorting through the stack, separating them into "circular file" and "investigate further" categories. Once past that initial sorting, though, what happens next? A professional forum I participate in has an ongoing thread on this topic, and the input from recruiters is worth noting.

One former internal recruiter indicated that she accumulated resumes for review once or twice a week. She then went at them with highlighter in hand and her job order book on the desk, reading objectives or titles and separating the resumes into piles. One pile was those that matched her current job orders, the other was for return to the recruiter pool.

She then skimmed each resume, starting with screen-out factors such as education and special certifications, and looked for specific experience directly related to the position. The ones that survived that screening went into a pile for more thorough review - sooner if there was a matching job order in hand/later if she knew a matching job order was coming up at some point in the future.

She did NOT read every word until and if she was ready to call someone for an interview.

A second former recruiter said that if the resume didn't pass the 10-second test (catch his interest in 10 seconds or less), it went in the circular file. This former recruiter, now in the resume distribution profession, also noted that when sending out your resume, results are very dependent on the market for a particular set of skills on a particular day. In other words, assuming your resume passes that 10-second test, a lot depends on the luck of the draw.