Create digital profiles
Probably the most important trick to attract the attention of a headhunter is to create profiles on digital network sites such as Xing or LinkedIn. Headhunters use these platforms in particular to try to find ideal candidates for their vacant positions – so anyone who is not represented on such sites has little chance of being discovered by a personnel consultant.
For an appealing profile, it is particularly important to pay attention to a “professional photo” and meaningful keywords, explains Sales & Recruiting expert Christopher Funk. Because the relevance and the number of keywords play a decisive role in the headhunter’s search. As Experteer Magazine writes, HR consultants try to find suitable applicants primarily by entering keywords. “The more keywords appear in your profile, the higher up your search profile will appear in a headhunter’s search results,” says the Experteer magazine article.
Position clearly
Career expert Ute Blindert from Karriereletter has another tip for anyone planning to move up to a higher position. In their opinion, one should “position oneself clearly” and provide as specific information as possible on education, professional experience, skills and awards received. Above all, the goal should become clear from the consideration of an employee profile, says the expert: “Which company do I like? What should my job be like?”, according to Blindert, could be possible questions for a precise and adequate formulation of one’s own goals. You should concentrate on the strongest skills instead of listing countless, insignificant competencies: “You can honestly only be really good at one thing. And that’s what you should be found,” emphasizes Blindert. Because headhunters are not usually looking for all-rounders. Rather, the HR experts hope for employees who perfectly match the specific job requirements of the position to be filled.
networks
Private life and work – what many employees strictly separate can be very decisive in relation to a managerial job. Because in order to draw attention to yourself, it often takes some effort outside of the office, for example through events or business lunches. Because maintaining contacts is not only important to stay in touch, but also to establish contacts with high management positions or headhunters. Headhunters usually ask contacts from their network for suitable and competent specialists and executives – with relationships to the right people, they may end up on the radar of personnel consultants.
Above all, you have to spend time maintaining your network, explains Barbara Liebermeister, an expert in business relationship management: “A good network doesn’t just fall out of the sky. You have to work for it,” she emphasizes at unternehmer.de. You should first consider the criteria based on which you want to establish a business relationship with a specific person. Because every contact costs time: “It is better to invest this in a few fruitful contacts than in many fruitless ones,” advises the expert to all employees.
Giving contributions and lectures
In order to stay in touch, it can also be advisable to hold public lectures. A large number of professional top people come together at trade fairs and congresses in particular. Anyone who gives a presentation at such events not only draws the attention of many people, but can also demonstrate their skills at the same time. According to the career academy, company events, specialist seminars or workshops are also suitable for attracting headhunters and top people to attention. Another way to get in the public eye is to work with trade journals and magazines. Through interviews or specialist articles, employees can reveal their knowledge and make their name better known in the professional world.
Pauline Breitner / Editor finanzen.net
Image sources: Jirsak / Shutterstock.com