Workplace

Headhunters are gatekeepers for most industries’ elite jobs, said Tara Weiss in Forbes. But “blindly” sending your cover letter and résumé to a recruiter is a “total waste of time.” Getting a headhunter’s attention requires a bit more art. Find out which recruiters specialize in your industry, and see what job positions they have posted on their sites. You may not land one of those, but applying will at least get you on the recruiter’s radar. Other ways to get noticed include writing for trade publications, being active in associations, and speaking at industry conferences. Recruiters often “troll” such events when filling positions.

Having a reputable online identity can also help, said Liz Wolgemuth in U.S. News & World Report. Savvy recruiters leverage the Internet to find both active and passive job seekers. Online résumés, “well-crafted” blogs, and professionally appropriate social network profiles can raise your online profile. What many people don’t understand is that a job search is really “a selling process,” says tech-industry recruiter Jim Stroud. “The candidate has to sell the recruiter on the idea that they are someone who can do the job. In turn, the recruiter has to sell that idea to a hiring manager.”

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