Headhunting has become a popular and well-established tool in recruiting. If you use social networks like LinkedIn or Xing, you may have already received a message from a recruiter. You may even have been contacted by a headhunter over the phone. Both options are commonplace nowadays. We at Batterman Consulting also work with these tools.
In our weekly blog post, we would therefore like to show you what options you have when dealing with recruiters and what advantages the individual variants offer you. There are good reasons why you should not immediately block recruiters from contacting you.
Basically, it is worth being open to an exchange with a headhunter, even if you are currently happy with your professional situation. You don't know what the future will bring and sometimes the professional situation changes faster than you would like. In addition, there can be many reasons why the recruiter might consider you, of all people, for a particular position after much research. Perhaps an acquaintance recommended you through successful networking, or your name is known because of other projects or mutual contacts. Or perhaps it was simply your professional online presence that convinced them.
Below are some tips that can be helpful when dealing with recruiters:
- Remain polite: This advice may sound obvious to many. Nevertheless, we unfortunately experience the opposite time and again. We regularly receive unfriendly responses to our inquiries. It's perfectly fine if you're not currently interested in changing jobs, and of course you can communicate that clearly from the start. Just always keep in mind when responding that the recruiter's contacts could be useful to you at a later date.
- Don't be alarmed when the headhunter calls at work: Stay calm if a call from a recruiter reaches you at work. This is only an initial, non-binding contact. If you can't talk without being disturbed or are pressed for time, communicate this in a friendly manner at the beginning. Recruiters are aware of this fact and are happy to make an appointment for a phone call outside of your working hours.
- Leave all your options open: Even if you are not interested in changing jobs, we recommend that you leave all options open at the beginning. You can be flattered and mention that the offer has made you curious. For example, a good answer is: "I'm actually very happy with my job at the moment, but your offer still made me curious." With this answer, you leave all options open and don't commit yourself yet. It also lets you know which positions you show up for in the recruiter's research. You may realize after the conversation with the recruiter that the offer is pretty close to your dream ideas and that a job change is not out of the question after all. However, if you come to the conclusion after the telephone conversation that a job change is definitely out of the question at the moment, that's completely understandable.
- Don't be surprised if you are asked about your salary expectations in the very first telephone conversation: Headhunters do not want to waste your time or their own. For this reason, it is common for the question of salary expectations to come up very early on. We therefore recommend that you think about where your expectations lie in advance.
- Anticipate personal questions: Although the contact made by the recruiter is an initial, non-binding meeting, it is perfectly normal that one or two personal questions will also be asked. For example, you might be asked if you are willing to relocate for the job or if you are location-bound due to your family situation.
We hope that our tips will make your next headhunter call a little easier and that you will be able to take the calls in a relaxed manner in the future. If you are currently open to exciting job offers, we recommend that you regularly update your social media channels. This will significantly increase your chances of being found by a recruiter. In this context, we would like to refer you to our blog post "How to get found - tips for a perfect LinkedIn profile".
