Which recruiter should you approach? As always, personal recommendations from someone you respect is the best way to go. Do you know anyone who has used a local recruiter? Call them and ask their opinion.

Or you could use a rather unusual tactic and call a local employer’s personnel department and ask them who they deal with. If they're willing to recommend one, you can be sure the headhunter they name is dependable.
 

Corporate Culture Matching

Every office has a dominant corporate culture. Matching you to a culture in which you will be content is yet another function of a good recruiter. He should take the time to learn what sort of person you are or at the very least ask you if you’ll be comfortable in a particular culture.

Nothing could be sadder than hiring into a firm only to find that you’re working with a group of people you find objectionable. (I once worked in an office full of extremely conservative types who openly criticized my lifestyle on a daily basis.)

Identifying Your REAL Shortcomings

If you’re an emotional person with a “thin skin” you’ll want to ignore this next tactic. But if you can handle the blow to your ego, it may provide you with exactly the information you need to land your dream job. 

If your job search is going nowhere, it’s time to reassess what you’re doing. Ask your headhunter for the lowdown on your marketability and any problems that might exist. “Go ahead I can take it” is the usual line.  

This may be an uncomfortable exercise but what you learn may be invaluable. It’s no good floundering around out there and not finding a good job month after month, when no one will tell you what your problem REALLY is. 

Earning $3,000 In Only One Minute!

So he offers you $50,000. You freeze for fifteen seconds or so. Then you mention a salary range with the $50,000 figure at or very near the bottom. Then he counters with “Well, I guess we could go to $54,000”. Then you can come back with a clincher “I’d be glad to accept the position if you could stretch it to $56,000”.  

I love this next fact. You’ve just raised your annual salary six thousand dollars in less than two minutes. That’s a whopping three thousand dollars per minute! Now those are some great wages! And the money will just keep on coming year after year for as long as you work for them. 

It’s very sad when you realize that far too many Americans are too shy and retiring to stand up and negotiate their salary effectively. Look at what they’re losing! You can always at least test them to see if they’re willing to offer more.
 

Money Ain't Everything!

It’s important to keep the big picture in mind throughout the negotiations. Salary is key but there can be other compensating factors, which only you can determine. The benefits package is important but the corporate culture fit with your personality may be even more important to your future happiness.  

Job location, your new manager, how the job fits into your long-range career plans may be every bit as important as the money.
 

Negotiating Special Deals

If the new job looks particularly tempting but the people won’t budge on their weak salary offer, you may want to negotiate a special deal. Ask that they review your performance and give you your annual pay increase after six months instead of the usual full year. Most employers will go for the deal as they have nothing to lose.
 

Never "Go Around" a Headhunter!

Headhunters will, understandably, avoid disclosing the name of a prospective employer to you because there have been those applicants who have attempted to “go around” the headhunter and cheat them out of their hard-earned fee. This is a real no-no and will almost certainly cost you. You have little to gain and a lot to lose by using such an aggressive and unprincipled tactic. 

Your chances of landing a job in this way are remote as the headhunter will be in a position to bad mouth you and crush your credibility even if the hiring firm is interested in you initially.
 

Being a Sucker - Playing the Job Interview "Pace Horse"

A headhunter calls and offers you a quick interview for a very juicy high-income job. The headhunter paints a very tempting picture of an ideal job with a sky-high salary. But when arrive at the interview you discover to your dismay that you're not qualified for the position. Your education and background are clearly not what the employer is searching for. Your interview goes sour in a hurry.  

What happened? Unscrupulous recruiters have been known to intentionally send out two interviewees, one fully qualified and the other less well experienced. The lesser applicant is included only to make the better-qualified applicant look good in comparison. I hope you are never “used” in this insensitive way but if you are, shrug it off and find another headhunter who is more focused on your needs. Just be aware that this offensive tactic is still in use.
 

Scratching Their Back

Once you do locate what seems to be a good recruiter, keep an eye out for any opportunity you can use to do your headhunter a favor. Do you know that your current employer has an upcoming opening (that you’re not interested in), if so pass the information along to him. 

Or if you have a well-qualified friend who might be interested in exploring a new position, your new headhunter would probably be interested in knowing about him.

Few job-seekers use their contacts in this way despite the fact that these unusual tactics are extremely effective. In short, scratch their back and if they can, they’ll scratch yours.