Years ago, conventional wisdom held that you should never seek out executive recruiters, also known as headhunters. Instead, you should wait for them to contact you. M🗹ake the first move, and you’d risk coming off as꧂ too eager if not totally desperate.

There might have been some logic to that advice in the earlier job markets. These days, however, when there are millions of open jobs, recruiters will likely be delighted to hear from you. In today's job market, they're probably looking harder for you than you are for them.

Still, some ways of connecting with executive 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:recruiters are more effective 🧸than others. The goal is to get on their radar without wasting your time or theirs. Here's how to do just that.

1. Be Visible

Not only will greater professional visibility i♔ncrease the odds of recruiters coming your way, it will also make it more likely they’ll recognize your name and return your calls or emails when you reach out to them.

So, if you haven’t done so alr๊eady, join the professional associations in your field and try to become active in them. Contribﷺute to professional publications and websites.

Make sure your LinkedIn profile is up to date, and include your job hunting status. LinkedIn also has a feature called Open Candidates through which you can signal that you are on the market. It's only visible to Linke🎐dIn's premium recruiters. Your photo should be current, too.

2. Attend Conferences

Attend industry conferences if you can. Look for ways to participate as a presenter or a panelist. Recruiters often attend those conferences, too. It’s a good opportunity to network in what is usually a colleg🍃ial, low-pressure setting. Bring plenty of busi꧃ness cards and, just as important, get theirs.

3. Target the Right Recruiters

Executive search firms tend to specialize. Some large ones may cover multiple industries. Others focus more narrowly, such as on a single industry or a particular job skill. There’s no point wasting your efforts on a firm that doesn’t recruit in your🌱 field and may, in fact, have fewer connections there than you do. Boutique firms specializing in specific industries have become common and may even work with the largest firms for positions in those special industries.

For starters, plug the term “executive recruiters” plus your industry or profession into the search engine of your choice. For example, “executive recruiters information technology,” or “executive recruiters graphic design.” You can also localize your search with a combination like “executive recruiters hospitality Los Angeles.” Or you could do a search for "executive recruiters compliance remote."

Many ex🌠ecutive recruiters also post positions on job board sites like Indeed and Monstღer.

Also, check online directories for other recruiters specializing in your niche. Among them are The International Executive Search Directory of the Association ൩of Executive Search C𒈔onsultants (AESC) and SearchFirm.com.

4. Ask Around

It’s worth checking with trusted cℱo🦂lleagues and others in your network to see which recruiters they know and recommend.

Ask about their experiences. Some recruiters are incredibly generous and helpful, while others far less soe. If your contacts know you well enough and are comfortable recommending you, ask them for a referral or see whether you can use their names in introducing yourself to the recruiter. Even if they won't give you a personal recommendation, they will probably give you the name of any firms they have used in the past.

5. Do Your Research

Just as you’d investigate any company you wanted to interview with, research potential recruiters, too. Look up their bios on their firms’ websites and read their profiles on LinkedIn. If any of your LinkedIn connections happen to be connected to them, too, consider asking🐼 for an introduction.

6. Be Patient

At any given time, a recruiter might or might not be working on searches for which you’d be a good candidate. So don’t expect results immediately. Instead, try to build a relationship that will ensure your name will be at the top of the recruiter's list when a great opportunity comes along. Be willing to wait.

7. Be Helpful

If you're known in the industry, you might also meet recruiters when one of them checks with you as a reference for someone else they're researching as a candidate for a job. If recruiters come to rely on you as a productive, friendly, and thoughtful information source, you may eventually be top of mind when they're searching for a job that fits your credentials.

As you talk to them, find a way to indicate that you're always open to considering new opportunities yourself.

The Bottom Line

Getting known by executive recruiters is a goal that should be part of everyone's career planning. Start trying to meet them as early as possible in 澳洲幸运5官方开奖结果体彩网:your career. And try to be helpful, too.