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headhunter question

lawyerdad

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Originally Posted by suited
IMO it's rather hard to maintain a relationship with a headhunter unless you get some face time. Even if you don't plan on taking this job, if it doesn't interfere with your schedule, it might be wise to go in for a talk and discuss this position further with them and develop a contact.
I agree with your conclusion, but respectfully disagree with the suggestion that it's hard to maintain a useful relationship. I think it depends on the headhunter. Crappier ones are just trolling for quick hits, and you're probably right that it would be difficult (and not worth the effort) to maintain an ongoing relationship without any immediate prospect of a payoff. But better headhunters with a longer-term career view (and/or who just genuinely enjoy networking/relationships or just happen to have some interests in common with you) are easy to maintain a relationship with.
Originally Posted by Piobaire
GT, meet with the HH. Give that person your resume and keep in yearly contact with them by giving them an updated resume. Also, help the HH. I got a call from an HH a couple of weeks ago. I'm really not looking to leave, just signed a five year contract, but I keep track of market data points for pay, scope of duties, etc. and keep up the networking just because you never know.
I agree with Pio (no, really). Headhunters are all about networking and relationships. They are almost always happy to maintain a relationship, not just because they may be able to place you someday, but because you're a potential source of referrals, general industry intelligence, etc. I keep in very casual contact with 3 or 4 headhunters in my field I've crossed paths with over the years -- casual contact meaning I chat with them maybe once a year unless I'm referring them a friend or something. It's enough to maintain friendly familiarity. Over the years I've referred a couple of candidates to them, at least one of which garnered one of them a very large placement fee (and, of course, every person you refer to them is himself another source of potential referrals), so it's certainly with the minimal investment of effort required from them. One of them served as a helpful sounding board a few years back when I was considering whether to take my current job -- even though she had nothing to do with arranging it (my agency doesn't use headhunters, so she didn't have to worry about interfering with someone else's client relationship) and had no prospect for direct economic benefit.
 

globetrotter

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some good advice, thanks - keep it coming.
 

dtmt

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I think the idea of trying to maintain some sort "relationship" with a HH is somewhat naive, unless it's someone you know personally. Sure, there are a few HHs that work this way, but it's a pretty small minority. If you're going to look for a job 3 years from now it's probably pointless, the vast majority of HHs will simply push whatever resume they've most recently come across rather than try to remember someone they talked to years ago. I mean, it can't hurt but I wouldn't expect much to come out of it.
 

Milpool

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Maybe I just haven't hit the level where HHs are willing to put in the kind of work required to maintain a relationship over the years in order to realize future payoffs. IME, they are focused on the position in front of them, not the possible position a year or five down the road.

That said, at high levels, I would imagine relationship building becomes absolutely crucial.
 

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