How to be headhunted?

Headhunters aren't recognizable through the uniform they wear. By profession, they are a bunch of secret agent in the job search world. So, who are these people? How do you get headhunted?

Previously headhunters work like ghosts. You don't know who they are or where they come from. And out of a sudden, you will receive a call from them asking you to submit your resume. But these days, they are very active on social media and proactive in looking for new potential candidates for their clients.





#1 - Use social media
Your social media account is a mirror of yourself. Use social media wisely to promote your work quality. Share positive events of your career life and/or industry news. Highlight your achievement and self-promote your knowledge, skills and expertise. Someone out there might be following your career progress closely and will recommend you to headhunters.

Take extra precaution of this method. Be reminded of your duty to protect company's intellectual property, private & confidential info and sensitive info that might put you in conflict with the management.

Also, never share negative posts. It is very tempted to whine about work or nah about your colleagues. This will hurt your own reputation even though it is not your fault. You need to look enthusiastic and ever ready to carry out your tasks. Not a whiny person because others might take you as unprofessional and will be reluctant to recommend you for a vacancy.


#2 - Use LinkedIn
If you haven't heard of it, LinkedIn is the career social media. Create an account and make sure your profile looks presentable to any potential headhunter or employer. Have a professional photo taken, update your profile regularly to include the latest project you are working for, recent achievement or progression of your career leader. It is safe to self-promote here because everyone is doing the same.

When your account is updated, start adding the account of headhunters or follow headhunter agency. Refer to the agencies above.

To increase your credentials, use the "post" platform to publish your writings. This is a great facility to showcase your work, knowledge, skills and capability. Most of all, it shows that you are engaged in your area of responsibility and always up to date with the changes in your work area.


#3 - Submit your resume to headhunters directly
Stalk some headhunters online via LinkedIn or Facebook and submit to them your resume directly. Be upfront of your expectation on the new job and what are the positions you are looking for. One of the active headhunter agency on LinkedIn is Monroe Consulting Group. Also, check out the Asia Recruit site. The job openings are published on thier Jobstreet page. Go into each of the published vacancy and you can see the headhunters email at the bottom of the page.


#4 - Use your network

Have you heard of the 8 degrees separation? The theory states that every individual is separated with other stranger in between 7 strangers. That means, we are not that far apart from knowing another stranger. The more people you know, the wider your network is. Chances are, someone you know is working as a headhunter or have connection to headhunters.

If you are actively looking for job, let people around you know about it. And ask if they can recommend you any position related to the job you are looking for. Most of the time, people are willing to help.


#5 - Shine through the quality of your work

You are what you deliver. If you deliver a quality work in a short time, helped company to save cost, helped your team to save time, always cooperative with others and capable to carry out difficult tasks, the others will notice your capability. Let your work be a referrence of your expertise and sooner you will be noticed by headhunters.

Good luck in your job search!