Feed - Quora

From the perspective of being a

headhunter aka agency recruiter since I
was 23, here are a few things recruiters
and hiring managers know that job
seekers donʼt:

#1. All basic qualifications having been

met, likability trumps all.

What this means is that the B and C-GPA

students have just as good a chance at
making it in life than A+ students. In real
life, this metaphor translates as, not the
most talented and technically savvy
engineer becomes the CTO. Itʼs usually
the most politically admired and
personally connected candidate that wins
and progresses into the C-suite.

Of course, basic qualifications are

important to even be considered a
feasible candidate (i.e. has an xyz degree
required for the job), but success is
dictated more by oneʼs ability to
influence, actively listen and respond
appropriately, level of social etiquette,
and general acceptedness by their peers
and superiors than oneʼs technical
scores.

In other words, the “smartest” people

donʼt actually end up succeeding the
most in real life. On the same token,
the “dumbest” people also have just
as good as a chance to survive, if not
thrive.

#2. HR people actually are not that

important in the hiring hierarchy.

Certainly when I graduated college as a

bright-eyed naive young professional (if
you could even call me that), I knew
nothing about how the real world worked.
I thought that HR people deserved the
utmost respect as they were the gateway
to my future and career prospects.

In the real world, as a headhunter (my

first job out of college), my job was
literally to ignore HR and go straight to
the REAL decision maker - the HIRING
MANAGER. Now, thatʼs the real boss! The
departmental heads have the most power
because HR kowtows to their demands
and requirements. HR is no more than a
service and administrative function.

The hiring manager dictates everything.

Who to interview, what price to pay them,
who to hire, and which headhunters to
utilize. When dealing with HR, all I had to
do was just be polite and nice, but
ultimately, if they didnʼt like me, it
wouldnʼt matter. As long as the real boss,
the hiring manager, liked me, I would have
food to eat and deals to make.

Especially as you become a serious

professional, you can utilize LinkedIn
to directly approach hiring managers.
Most candidates donʼt do this so youʼll
actually be ahead of your competition!
Furthermore, if youʼre in a field that
headhunters serve, make sure to
make friends with all of them to utilize
their services down the line too.

#3. You can negotiate and leverage

other offers to great effect.

Many candidates are scared of upsetting

prospective employers that they feel bad
for disclosing where else theyʼre
interviewing at or how much money they
actually want. For many people in high-
demand labor markets where the supply
of jobs outstrip candidates available, the
candidate actually holds a LOT more
power than employers do.

Candidates should definitely negotiate

and be transparent about exactly which
other offers theyʼre juggling and when
deadlines approach. If handled
appropriately, this will increase
employersʼ desire for you, not penalize
you for “looking greedy” or “not
interested”. Itʼs simply reflective of the
competitive labor landscape in which
firms must fight for top talent.

In todayʼs world, itʼs all about the

etiquette and manner in which you
communicate. If you present an
articulate, fact-of-the-matter case as
to why your demands are as such,
people respect you rather than dislike
you. After all, itʼs a given right for a
worker to demand their just wages.

#4. You should interview your

interviewers harder.

Commonly, candidates are so scared of

losing the offer or being looked at as
needy or demanding that they donʼt
actually say whatʼs on their mind. This
hurts their success on the job even if they
manage to obtain a great salary and offer.
Reason being that they probably agreed
to something that they did not fully
understand or align with.

Thatʼs why itʼs your prerogative to be a

strong communicator. Get the answers
you truly need during interviews by
asking the tough questions that are
detailed and specific. This is where youʼll
be spending your next few years; you
better be aggressive in how you vet it out!

Donʼt be scared to say whatʼs on your

mind. If something important to you
doesnʼt align with your future
employer, things wonʼt work out
anyways, so itʼs better to know before
you take the job to begin with!

#5. Interview even if you donʼt need to.

Due to loyalty, fear, laziness, and/or

arrogance, most candidates refuse to
proactively learn about what
opportunities are available. Even if
headhunters call them with unbelievable
and legitimate roles that could seriously
impact their earning potential or career
trajectory, people say no to themselves all
the time, allowing others less qualified to
leapfrog them.

As a headhunter, I see this happen daily.

Iʼll call a bunch of similarly-talented
people, but some are just more open-
minded to listen to othersʼ advice. Theyʼre
clever about their future. Others who
think they know everything, miss out! No
matter if you need to look or not, once
you hit a certain amount of experience in
your role, itʼs time to take your head out
of the sand and start interviewing, even if
just for your own education.

This phenomenon disproportionately

hurts women due to the majority of
women being extra bought-in/loyal
and super paranoid of being “found
out”. Please, especially if youʼre a
woman, go out there and interview
EVEN IF YOU DONʼT NEED TO.

In Conclusion

I could go on and on about misguided

resume designs and why people should
stop wasting their time freaking out over
cover letters, but the above points are the
most important in terms of mindsets
about the job-getting process and
ecosystem that will really misdirect job-
seekersʼ actions and strategies.

Keep a positive attitude, an open heart,

and be smart about who you let into
your life (and which company to work
for) to stay in control of your life and
career.