As you grow in your
career, it’s important to grow your network with you. By the time they’re 45 or
50, most executives will benefit if they have positive relationships with two
or three quality search consultants. While I encourage these relationships, I’m
certainly not saying you should always be looking for a new job. That’s the
path to failure. Most executives, however, will benefit if they occasionally
are in touch with the market for people like them. At senior levels, search
consultants are the closest thing to that kind of market. The right search
consultant can be more than a source of job opportunities. He or she also can
react to what you’re doing and provide detached but well-informed advice that
may be hard to find anywhere else.
Mutually beneficial
relationships are possible: Just like you need search firms, the search firms
need you. While you’re not their client, you may be a candidate for one of
their client’s jobs. Someday, you also may be in a position to recommend their
services, to become their client on the hiring side.
Before you invest
much time or effort in search relationships, build the record of professional
success required to be on their radar. Nothing matters more than success in
your work. That comes first. Otherwise, few consultants will be very
interested.
Once you’ve
established that record or are well down that path, take these four steps:
1. Develop search
relationships before you need them. The time to return phone calls or
to take the initiative to meet search consultants is when you’re not in play.
It’s much harder when you’ve just been laid off, you’re about to be, or you’ve
just resigned. If the consultant already knows and respects you, then it may
not feel risky to try to match you with new opportunities once you’re out of
work.
2. Be selective. Look
for a search consultant in your field. Boutiques serve particular
industries, functions, or regions. Large firms serve a broad clientele, but
within the large firms, individuals often focus on an industry, function, or
region. Look for the right, relationship-oriented consultant. A first test is
whether they’re willing to talk to you in any depth. If all they’re doing is
trying to populate a candidate database or fill an immediate job, you may
respond to their call, but be cautious about investing in them.
Then interview the
consultant — much like if you were hiring him or her to advise you on your
career. Ask questions like “What’s your role in the firm and your practice
focus?” or “What are examples of your past clients and positions filled?” Ask
about their past experience placing someone similar to you. Their role is to
interview you, so it might seem surprising to question them. Do this so you can
decide whether investing in the relationship is worth your time. Moreover, questions
like these show the right consultant that you’re a serious and thoughtful
person.
3. If you’re
interested in a job, help the consultant help you. Help the
consultant imagine where you might fit with a strong resume that supports a
compelling personal value proposition. Be straightforward about your strengths,
and don’t try to hide your gaps relative to a particular opportunity. Don’t ask
to be proposed for a position if you’re not qualified. One consultant told me
this: “If you shift to wanting the job, be authentic, transparent, and honest.
You’ll never fool the recruiters.”
Finally, let the
consultant manage your pursuit of an offer. “The number one mistake,” the
consultant continued, “is to try to go around the recruiter, pinging the CEO
you met with emails. If you’re not comfortable trusting the recruiter, don’t
work with that person.”
4. If you’re not
interested in a job, add value. Be helpful, in much the same way
as being helpful builds the rest of your professional network. Make the
consultant’s call worthwhile even if you’re not interested in the job. Provide
feedback on the job they’re filling — perhaps reasons why you’re not interested
or how it might be more appealing. Provide feedback on the client’s reputation.
Help the consultant keep up with non-confidential developments in the industry
or function.
Suggest others to
call, but not just anyone. Choose those you think are high quality and match
the job spec. Another search consultant put it this way: “Anyone referred is a
reflection on you. If not an ‘A’ player, it demeans your value.”
Search consultant
relationships can be part of your long-term career strategy once you’re far
enough along to get their attention. What have you done to find and build these
relationships?
About the Author:
Bill Barnett led the Strategy Practice at McKinsey & Company and has taught
career strategy to graduate students at Yale and Rice. He now applies business
strategy concepts to careers. He is also a contributor to the HBR Guide to
Getting the Right Job.
Article
Source:
https://hbr.org/2012/02/how-to-network-with-executive