Writing your resume ranks alongside root canals as fun-things-to-do. So why would I suggest Kevin Watson write a special one for contract consulting firms and another one for headhunters? Sadistic tendencies aside... 1st, the terrible truth about headhunters.
Contrary to popular belief headhunters are not paid to find you a job!!!
Furthermore you are not doing them a favor by sending them your resume. Headhunters or as they're often called by the uninformed: executive search professionals, 3rd party recruiters [and a host of other names], work for client companies NOT YOU!
Anyone who's tried to get a headhunter's attention lately is probably perplexed at the difficultly getting through to talk to the guy/gal who only a month ago was clamoring for your resume. Kevin Watson is no different. The very people who were fighting for his attention only a month ago won't return his call today. Worse, many of the recruiters he has actually gotten in to meet with seem to be clueless. Which is not that unusual actually no matter where you live. Why?
Many headhunters are young twenty-somethings with little or no experience in the real world or the industry they're working. In tech most who are too junior even to appreciate that knowing C++ means he also knows "C". Unfortunately the same can be said for corporate recruiters inside major companies as well I'm afraid. {I digress}
Essentially there are two challenges with recruiters. Finding one with a brain and getting in to see them.
1st we'll deal with how you find one with a brain. Step one, open your desk draw and find all recruiter's business cards you've kept over the years. Sort them into two piles.
- Pile#1: all those who specialize in your industry put all the rest in a brown envelope and toss back in your drawer.
- Pile#2: all those you've kept which bear a professional designation. For example that would include BA, MBA, LLB or if you're an engineer - P.Eng.. Why? Because people who don't specialize in your area of expertise won't have any clients to present you to OR have a clue about where to begin to look should they decide to market you. If they don't have a degree they're very likely too junior to have chosen recruiting as a profession and you'll be putting your life and career in the hands of an amateur. They're are exceptions to this rule -- but not many.
2nd: Getting into see them. If you know what you're good at and what you want to do and possibly who you'd like to work for [you've done 98% of the easy work - congratulations] then a headhunter may just be your best ticket. The last 2% [getting access to their clients is the hard part]. So how do you get their attention? personal connections, 3rd party introductions, referal from a client? Yes! But if yoiiu don't have any of that - then what?
You need sex appeal!
So what's sexy to a recruiter? Results. Accomplishments. Contacts. These all symbolize to a headhunter that you have a dollar sign stamped in the middle of your forehead. Recruiters believe [and rightly so] that if you accomplished terrific things at your last employer you'll do it wherever they place you. Pretty logical conclusion. That's why the resume he's done for headhunters points out the accomplishments quickly - to save a busy headhunter time.
It highlights his accomplishments and gives them an easy to read career summary down the left hand column. The intro will grab any recruiter's attention.Download Kevin Watson resume for recruiters
His consulting resume is completely different. It is 17+ pages and details every project he's done for he last 10 or so years and includes all the technologies he's used and how many people he has managed or lead and under what conditions. This type of resume is needed when are a contract consultant in IT.
So if a recruiter gets your one pager and calls and asks for a full contract IT resume - your 1 pager has done it's job --- it got the recruiter to call - now you need to prepare one like this: Download Kevin watson consulting resume
Tomorrow - Keeping your job search on track OR How not to get distracted doing things around the house WHEN you should be job hunting.
-David
Perry,
managing partner – Perry-Martel International Inc. www.perrymartel.com He is also known as America's Guerrilla Job Search and Recruiting Grand Master. David is the author of Guerrilla Marketing
for Job Hunters 2.0, Guerrilla marketing for Job Hunters, and Career
guide for the High Tech Professional
Resources:
Guerrilla
Job Search Boot Camp
