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Q: The first thing headhunters say is, "Please send me a copy of your resume," even when they already have a copy that they downloaded from an online resume site. When you tell them they already have all your information, they still want a "clean copy." What's going on?
Nick's reply: Let's make a list of the possibilities. You'll have to pick the ones that make sense in the situations you encounter. Besides, the purpose of the request varies, depending on the headhunter you're talking with.
-- Legal. If an employer contests the original source of a candidate (because of fight between headhunters for the placement fee), it helps the headhunter if she has a record of receiving your resume directly from you. This establishes that she actually has a relationship with you. In this case, the request indicates the headhunter is seasoned and knows her business.
-- Lazy or credible? Many "headhunters" (in quotes because I use the term loosely) merely copy resumes from the Internet -- often without contacting the job hunter -- and send them to companies who might pay a fee for a hire. I call this "dialing for dollars." However, you should consider that the request for a clean copy of your resume might be a sign that you're dealing with a credible headhunter who wants a real business relationship with you.
-- Responsive and careful. A headhunter may want to revise your resume in order to suit the specific needs of her client. She might need to emphasize some of your qualifications and downplay other information. The headhunter will likely take what you send her and put it on her own letterhead. It's easier for her to manage this when your resume is in Word format than when it's on a Web page. As part of the process of putting their stamp on your resume, headhunters will remove your name and contact information and use a code number to identify you. This protects the headhunter from poachers who may get their hands on the resume and try to contact you directly. It also protects your identity to some extent, until an employer decides it wants to talk with you.
A good way to determine what kind of headhunter you're dealing with is to ask questions. Judge the headhunter based on her responses, just as you would anyone else.
Be cautious about any headhunter who plans to submit your resume just as you've written it to her clients. She has added no value to the referral. I don't recall ever sending a resume to a client as-is. I take time to interview a candidate in detail. This gives me an edge because I can recommend her without using a resume at all. (This is where trust and experience between a headhunter and the client company separate real headhunters from quick-buck artists.)
If a resume is required, I'll write it from scratch, mapping the employer's requirements to the candidate's skills and abilities. After all, what a client wants is an answer to this question: How is this person going to solve my problem? That's what the company is paying the headhunter for -- useful information and a sound recommendation. So, judge a headhunter on this point. What is she doing to earn her fee?
A good headhunter won't ask you for a resume right off the bat. She will talk with you at length. You will be able to judge from her questions how much she knows about the job, and how effectively she will be able to match you to a job opening and present you to her client.
The best headhunters don't need a resume -- they can handle a placement without one. They rely on an interview, on high-quality referrals and references, and on their judgment. (These headhunters are very rare.) When a good headhunter asks for a resume, it's "to fill in the blanks."
If you've judged a headhunter to be a good one, don't worry whether she pulls your resume off the Internet or asks you for a "clean copy." What really matters is whether she has earned your trust and whether you have earned hers.
Copyright 2009. Distributed by Universal Press Syndicate
Nick Corcodilos is author of "Ask The Headhunter: Reinventing the Interview to Win the Job" and the host of www.asktheheadhunter.com. He can be reached by e-mail at seattle@asktheheadhunter.com or at North Bridge Group, P.O. Box 600, Lebanon, NJ 08833. Sorry, no personal replies.
Read more: Ask the Headhunter , Challenge
By Dwight Cribb on May 15, 2009 2:30 PM
While I acknowledge that there are different styles to any profession I do take issue with some of the points raised here.
I run a retained executive search (headhunting) business which I founded eleven years ago in Hamburg, Germany, we fill roughly 80 search assignments per year.
In my experience an executive search consultant (headhunter) would be ill advised to "handle a placement without a resume". A document compiled and written by the prospective candidate will reveal a lot of additional information about a candidate. This can be gleaned from the style and format or presentation, the information which is included or omitted, the emphasis given to different issues etc.
It is for this reason that I would not dream of rewriting a candidate's resume for the client. The original provides so much valuable information that it would be a crime to scrub it clean of the candidates character and handwriting.
A resume can never replace an in-depth personal interview. A personal face to face interview is for us a pre-requisite for any candidate who will be put forward to the client. A summary of the consultant's interview notes together with their evaluation and recommendation regarding the candidate will accompany the resume. This will allow the client to gain a broader understanding of the person he is about to meet.
With regard to the original question: We will usually ask for a current copy of the resume even if we already have one, because a curriculum vitae is a living object and will usually be added to and polished on a regular basis, especially if a candidate is actively looking for new role. This ensures that we have the most up to date version.