Finding and Using a Media Headhunter

Finding and Using a Media HeadhunterFinding and Using a Media HeadhunterHeadhunters are people who help career professionals find new (or first-time) jobs in their chosen profession. They can place people with large behemothslike General Motors or small national (or local) businesses including firms with 100 people or less. Essentially, a headhunteris someone who works in the field of human resources as a kind of free agent. Depending upon the industry, a headhunter might only spend time actively seeking out an individual to fill a job opening. This is often the case in financial services (where people command salaries in the high six-figures) or when a headhunter is tasked with filling a senior-level position for someone with an established career. Media headhunters are those individuals that exclusively work to place people in jobs in the media industry whether its workingat a newspaper, magazine, TV station, ad agency, or PR firm. How to Find a Media Headhunter A media headhun ter might find you, but its more likely youll need to do the legwork and find them (unless, of course, youre at that point in your career where you can command a high six-figure salary). While its ideal to work with someone in our area so you can meet face-to-face, dont shy away from those outside your immediate geographic area. Narrow your search by looking for a media headhunter with positions that notlage only appeal to you but are in your designated area. Another way a media headhunter might find you is if you submit an application in response to a job posting online, which is often the case with LinkedIn. Many companies, especially the large ones, only hire employees through a headhunter. You may submit your resume online and think its going directly to the organizations HR department but its actually going to the headhunter they hired whose job it is to weed out the best candidates What a Media Headhunter can do for You Similar to a media careers counselor, who helps peopl e figure out what it is they want to do, a media headhunter can offer advice on your job search and give you tips about your resume. The value of working with a media headhunter is that you have a skilled professional aware of job openings (ones that youre probably unaware of) and theyll help you get a job, for free. How to Prepare for Your First Meeting Your first meeting with a media headhunter is no different than a job interview. While your headhunter meeting will feel more like youre on equal grounds, you still need to comport yourself with the utmost professionalism. Dress the partand be prepared to answer the kind of questions youd be asked on a job interview. Its imperative you make a good impression with the headhunter because (initially) hes the one standing between you and the organization you want to work for.