If you’re thinking of approaching an executive recruiting firm in order to be considered for new opportunities, here are some tips to help you.

Remember, the headhunter is not there to find you a job. The recruiter works for the client company and has been engaged to find the right person for a certain position. This doesn’t mean the recruiter can’t act as a sounding board and give you general advice, but if you realize from the get-go that the recruiter does not work for you, your relationship will be all the smoother and more successful.

Be sure you “sell yourself.” That is, be sure you let the recruiter know exactly about your skills, abilities, educational background and education. The more specific you are, the better. The more you tell the recruiter, the easier it will be for the recruiter to then promote your candidacy to a company.

Don’t sit back and wait for the recruiter to do his or her magic, especially if there’s a specific opening to which the recruiter is presenting you. You should research the company’s performance, history, future plans, etc. You’ll need to be well-prepared for your interview.

Be sincere. Be yourself. If you’re trying to fold your personality and experience into something you think the recruiter and the employer want in the person they choose to fill the position, they will sense it.

Tell your recruiter about other opportunities you’re considering. There’s little worse than accepting an offer and then reneging on it because another employer — about whom you kept mum — offers you a better opportunity. You can be sure you’ll never hear from that recruiter again, meaning you could truly lose out on some great opportunity in the future.
Be forthright with the recruiter about any and all issues you feel may impact how you’re perceived by a prospective employer. Better to “‘fess up” to negative information yourself rather than having the recruiter or the company find out on their own.

Learn and accept constructive criticism. This can be especially applicable if you’re a little out of date on either your skills, your certification, etc. If you don’t get the job — or even an interview — because you’re lacking in some area and the recruiter tells you what that lack is, thank the recruiter for his or her candor. And then go out and “fix” whatever it is you lack.

The Wellspring Group partners with some of the country’s most recognized and desired organizations—offering you access to highly sought after IT opportunities. Contact us today so that we may hear more about your background and your career goals.

Social networking sites can be an extremely valuable tool in building your professional career, establishing yourself as a leader in your field and attracting top talent to your organization.

To help get you started, here are a few tips to keep in mind when using sites like Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn:

1. Position yourself (and your company) as an expert. Whatever your area of technical specialization, you can use online networking to showcase your talent and expertise.  Join groups, participate in discussions and offer your expertise and insight. Be a leader, not a follower. Develop thought leadership in your specific practice area by posting articles that are ahead of the curve in your area of technical expertise. Or, establish your own intellectual community within a networking site by creating a group. Your group can offer a discussion forum for hot IT topics relative to your business, publicize upcoming events and share information with customers and job candidates.
2. Share links to helpful content. Keeping current with developments in technology can be a full time job. As a result, timely, relevant information is extremely valuable to your clients, prospects and other contacts, and your social networks allow you to easily share the most relevant technical news.
3. Attract top talent. The best IT professionals stay on top of their game by constantly seeking out new information. Become a trusted source they turn to. Write and post articles about the aspects of technology most important to these professionals, and you’ll attract more top performers to your organization.
4. Answer a question in your field to attain expert status within your network. If you’re selected as having the best answer to a particular problem, it will show up on your LinkedIn profile. Providing answers is also a great way to strike up online conversations with new contacts and expand your network.
5. Put your best foot forward. When it comes to social networking for business, more is not always better. While you may be tempted to get every programmer on staff blogging about your latest upgrade, their chatter may only be perceived as noise (not to mention a huge waste of productive resources). Be selective. Make sure you pick the right people in your organization–talking about the right things–to have the strongest possible presence on LinkedIn, Twitter and other social media.

We hope you find this information helpful.  And on a related note we would love to become your trusted advisor.  Please leave a comment below and let us know what topics you would like us to cover in future blog posts.  Whether you’re looking for job search advice, recruiting and workforce management tips, project management best practices or something more specific we would love to hear from you.