The thrill of the chase

A call from a headhunter can be an ego boost, but what happens next? Keep your head, advises Hester Lacey

For those in a moderately successful career, it's a day to dream of and aspire to. It's the day when they can stop chasing the jobs, because the jobs start chasing them - the day the headhunter calls. A headhunter, or executive search consultant, as they prefer to be known, is a broker who identifies suitable candidates for posts that need filling. For a fee, usually a percentage of the salary involved, the headhunter gets in touch with these happy few on behalf of a client company. So how is it possible to encourage one of these elusive profferers of salary and status to make a discreet approach? And what exactly happens when they do? Yvonne Sarch, a leading headhunter, reveals some of the secrets in her book, How To Be Headhunted Again And Again, published this month.

Ms Sarch, founder and director of Sarch Search International, was headhunted herself in her previous career as an economist 16 years ago. She specialises in public and voluntary sector recruitment. Headhunting is an expanding field, but don't think the several hundred companies out there are interested in just anyone. You won't be welcomed if you simply fire off a hopeful CV. "It will just go in the bin," says Ms Sarch bluntly. "It's the headhunter's job to find you, not vice versa." Above a certain status and salary, posts will be advertised, but most clients will also make sure a search is done. "A headhunter has to have a massive list of searches," says Ms Sarch. "It's a very skilled job, using the Internet and databases."

Even more important, she explains, a good headhunter gets on the phone, and uses personal contacts. You have to have made an impression - not only on your boss, but also on his or her rivals in other companies and on anyone who is a possible source of information about your field. "If your boss is asked who'd make a good potential financial director, even if your name comes to mind, of course your boss won't suggest you if you are good and he or she wants to keep you," says Ms Sarch. "So we would go to your competitors and ask."

This may sound daunting, but, says Ms Sarch, How To Be Headhunted is not just for a small minority of high-flyers. It also offers plenty of advice on how to be the kind of person who gets noticed. "If you're working in a daze and haven't got a clue, you won't get anywhere," she says bracingly. "You have to be aware of your competitors, of other good candidates, trends, and keep your skills up to date." The basic principles, whatever the profession are the same: sparkle and stand out from the crowd - or as Ms Sarch calls it, "egonomics".

When suitable candidates have been identified, then comes that excitingly low-key alert. "We are aware you don't want to put your current job in jeopardy," says Ms Sarch. "So it will be a discreet phone call at your desk - or at home, or an e-mail, or a letter asking you to get in contact. Nine times out of 10, you will be asked if you know someone who might be suitable for such-and-such a post. The idea is that you can explore what the job is all about, then, if you have the wit and wisdom, say you would be interested in it."

Be wary, she counsels, of any jobs that appear too nebulous. "I would be suspicious of any headhunters who aren't prepared to be upfront about who their client is. It means that they probably haven't got rid of the person currently in the job, or there is some kind of sensitive area. Or they may be on a fishing expedition, looking for information - which is totally unethical but happens a lot."

And don't go too wild over the first approach. Receiving a call from a headhunter can be both exciting and unnerving. "The first time I was called I found it difficult to talk," recalls investment banker Lisa Williams. "It gave me an ego boost once I put the phone down but I wished I'd handled it better. After a while I got to know the form and would either decline outright or ask to call them back." But Williams' experiences with headhunters has not been all good. "There are those who haven't done their homework properly. Once I was asked to recommend someone else when I declined an interview. Five minutes later they called a colleague who sits opposite me and had the same conversation."

It's also worth remembering that an initial "longlist" may have 200 names on it, before being whittled down to perhaps 20, and a final proper shortlist of four or five. "It's the people who can visualise themselves doing the job who get the job," says Ms Sarch. "You have to sell yourself, but you also have to listen, absorb, react. I've seen more people talk themselves out of a job than talk themselves in. The meeting is felt to be successful by the person who speaks the most - let the client do it."

Don't, she warns, give up your current job until you're in the new post. "Ask for a reference after a job offer is made - not when you reach even the last five." And beware of those whose opinion might be counted. "I ask for three references: from someone above, someone on the same level and someone below. The reference from someone below might only be a phone call, but sometimes the prospect of that scares candidates out of their wits."

Going through this process once, assuming all goes well, makes you more likely to go through it again. Headhunters thrive on repeat business. As a bigger fish in the pond, the only thing to do is wait for the next call... and the next.

`How To Be Headhunted Again And Again', by Yvonne Sarch, Random House Business Books, pounds 12.99.

ON THE HUNT

5 DO look in Executive Grapevine magazine. Or look at the job ads in newspapers and note which agencies come up most often.

5 DO keep a high profile within your company and industry.

5 When the call comes, DO ask if you can phone back. This gives you time to collect your thoughts and move to a private place.

5 DON'T talk to anyone who won't say which company they're from and why they're phoning.

5 DO be prepared to find out as much as possible about the job and adjust your CV to fit it.