While networking your way into the job market should take up 90% of your time, if you are an experienced candidate you may also want to consider working with a recruiter. Remember that recruiters are working with a myriad of candidates at once so you must be communicative and above all – know your strengths. You must also be willing to do the work on your end to be well prepared for opportunities.

Recruiters are not career coaches who will polish your interview skills and help you figure out what you want to be when you grow up. They are masters of professional relationships with golden rolodexes brimming with contacts. But remember, their reputation is on the line with every candidate they put forward so you need to earn your way onto a headhunter’s roster.

Entry level candidates are of no value to a recruiter and need to earn their wings in the field before they are eligible for a lateral or executive hire. The executive search business is driven by the clients (the organization or business) who pay the recruiter fees. Recruiters are hired to find people who match their clients’ requirements, not people who merely come close to the mark. Most importantly, recruiters are hired to find candidates the employers would not otherwise have access to. Often these are passive candidates who are not looking for a new opportunity; candidates who are currently employed, most likely with a competitor.

The resumes candidates submit to headhunters are used to screen people out rather than in. You have 15 to 30 seconds to get their attention before they move on. The things they look for? Do you work for one of the target companies they’ve identified? Are there key words or phrases that “pop” in the summary section of your resume that match their requirements? Is your last/current title consistent with the position they are working on? If a quick scan of your resume doesn’t reveal a match on these key variables, chances are they’ll pass.

The headhunter is the gate keeper – especially on a retained search. Treat your interview with an executive recruiter just like your interview with the hiring company. Understand the position, the company, and the industry. Ask questions. If you wouldn’t say something to the hiring manager, don’t say it to the headhunter!

While we all know that skills are transferable, the executive search community is not going to help you transition into a new industry or a new function. Their clients hire them to find very specific expertise. Since they work for the client who is paying their fee, the focus is to present candidates who meet their requirements. The best way for you to transfer to a new industry or function is through networking and working with a career coach.

A friend and colleague in the legal arena, Frank Kimball of Kimball Professional Management has a firm grasp of the legal market in Chicago http://www.kimballprofessional.com/. Frank advises leading law firms, partners, associates, and law schools on lateral and entry-level hiring. This includes lateral placements, compensation and hiring strategy, training interviewers, and counseling lawyers and students. Frank’s niche market is different than many executive search firms because the hiring protocol of the law firm world is unique. He speaks at law schools across the nation to empower students in the pipeline to take ownership of their job search and polish the necessary skills to be marketable to law firms.

Frank sees this as an investment since these rookie lawyers will be his future lateral and partner level placements. He is grooming the next generation of lawyers and building his candidate pool in advance. Bottom line – Frank says that candidates must be a good fit for what his firms need. They must have a track record of experience and impeccable references because his head is on the chopping block if he delivers a less than stellar candidate to a firm

The statistics are telling – only 10-12% of all job openings are filled by executive recruiters. On average, a headhunter talks to at least 10 people who are qualified for a position in order to find 1 candidate they want to present to their client. The reality is that most people in transition find their next opportunity through networking. So, if you’re spending the majority of your time talking to recruiters, you are significantly reducing your chances for success. Building professional relationships is by far the most successful job search strategy for entry-level candidates and senior level executives. Go forth and network!