Job Doc

No response from headhunter

Pattie Hunt Sinacole offers advice

Ask the Job Doc. Boston.com

By Pattie Hunt Sinacole

Q: Recently, because my job has been overwhelming, I began working with a headhunter to represent me.  Just last week, I learned that this person left the firm.  I am not sure of the reasons why.  No one ever reached out to me.  Instead, I received a “could not be delivered email” and then I called the company.  He is no longer there.  I asked who else I could speak to and the person who answered the phone seemed confused.  Is this typical? 

A:  This sounds like a frustrating experience.  When a contact at a placement firm leaves, a phone call or email, would have been helpful to let you know your contact at the firm may have changed.  People start and leave positions every day, but the firm, or your contact, should have given you an update on his status.  We may not know why your contact left the company.  He may have been terminated, and that is the primary reason he did not update you.  However, someone else at the company should have contacted you.  Or maybe his “out of office” reply email could have said that the was no longer at the company, but here is who to contact instead. If he left voluntarily, he should have called or emailed you to share this information, or asked a colleague to do so.  It also might be the timing.  Maybe your contact just left, and you happened to reach out minutes after he was walking out the door.  Or maybe clients had not been contacted yet.  We don’t know the reason. 

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You can certainly consider working with another agency, assuming you did not sign any exclusive agreement with the prior agency.  Placement agencies are often helpful especially if you have a specialized skill.  Many employers will use placement agencies if they don’t have the resources to devote to a search for talent or the skill set is hard to find.  Right now, employers are struggling to find talent.  With our unemployment rate around 3% nationally, some employers are using creative ways to source candidates.

Relying solely on an employment agency is risky though.  An employment agency will try to place you if they can earn a fee.  Some agencies will not work with you if your skill set is not in demand.  It is also important to note, that the majority of placement firms are not representing you, the candidate.  Instead, they are representing their client, the company.  Typically, the company pays any fees associated with placing a candidate at a company. 

As you probably know, networking is critical to any job search.  Establish a networking goal.  As an example, connect or re-connect with five colleagues in a single week.  Remember it is not just the individual with whom you are meeting, but instead their entire network of contacts.  Offer to pay for coffee or an iced tea.  Some meetings will end without immediate success.  Some meetings may be fruitful and connect you to opportunities.  When I talk about the importance of networking, I sometimes use the analogy of gardening.  When you are growing a daisy from scratch, you plant a seed.  You may plant many seeds.  Some might grow and be your most colorful daisies.  While others may not grow at all, and wilt or turn brown.  Networking, to me, is like planting seeds.  Some take to the soil, and some bloom and but some don’t.  However, you may never know which ones will be your winners, and you likely do not know that in advance.  Like networking, you should reach out to a range of contacts, but you never know who might be helpful in your search, and who might not.

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Check job boards too but don’t spend more than 25% of your time checking job boards.  Some jobseekers, especially introverts, will spend their entire work week online without meeting a new contact in person.

Join LinkedIn if you haven’t.  Begin connecting with others on LinkedIn.  Join groups on LinkedIn and watch what others are sharing.  Check out the Jobs tab on LinkedIn and search for roles that might be appropriate for your skill set.  Finally, don’t get discouraged.  Navigating a job search can be difficult.  Realize that a search may take longer than yo