William Frenick ⋅ South River, NJ iCIMS ⋅ 20 years experience

Hello Roger,
I would like to echo an earlier suggestion about LinkedIn. It's one of the most powerful tools for connecting with employers and headhunters.

In my experience, LinkedIn is now just as, if not more powerful than a resume in getting noticed. Having just been in the job market myself, seeing first hand what was involved, and now working for a company which specialized in Talent Acquisition, I would strongly suggest you tweak your profile in LinkedIn,

All the best,

Bill

David Limato ⋅ Fremont, CA Hewlett Packard ⋅ 15 years experience

I would look through your connections on LinkedIn, and see if any of your connections can recommend a headhunter or recruiter.

Bill Craig ⋅ Madison, VA NDA Partners LLC ⋅ 40 years experience

Roger,

Typically, headhunters (or search firms) contract with clients (companies) to fill a specific position and they are compensated by the client when they successfully place a candidate. They have a number of sources for candidates, including their firm's databases, referrals from their personal networks, professional organizations, and prior candidates they may have placed. You can probably find someone who is willing to talk with you about the search process and give you some tips on your resume, but you are unlikely to get someone to actively search out companies and market you unless you are willing to pay them for their services (like professional athletes do with an agent). As for compensation, companies have a salary range for each job that is unrelated to your "skillset, experience, and education." The salary range will be based on availability of qualified candidates (i.e. how hard is it to find people with the right skills) and contribution of the position to the financial success of the business. They will expect you to have the appropriate education for the position (more education does not necessarily equate to higher pay). You will have to convince them (usually through your resume and during the interview) that your experience will enable you to successfully do the job.

In my experience, personal research and networking have been most helpful in job searches. Keeping in touch with former colleagues from the Army, school (all of them), family friends, etc. will help you. And don't just contact someone when you need a favor. Share interesting articles, comment to them on current events, share your interests and ask them about theirs, and congratulate them on successes. LinkedIn, email, and other social media are all important ways to reach out and stay in touch. I encourage you to use them all.

You don't say what you are doing now and what you want to do in the future. Are you looking for a career change or are you looking to take the next step up in your current career? That will influence the way you approach your search. I'd be happy to take a look at your resume and offer some recommendations. Feel free to send it to whgcraig@gmail.com.

Best regards,
Bill Craig

Gerald Danko ⋅ Fort Mill, SC ⋅ 25 years experience

Roger, in Charlotte NC our Business Journal last week published a list of headhunter and temp agencies, describing their specialty areas. Just guessing your area has a comparable paper you may find to be helpful. Web search and call one for guidance. Or, if you have a connection with a local company, consider calling them and ask their Human Resource person what firm they might use.