Headhunters Revealed! Career Secrets for Choosing and Using Professional Recruiters, by Darrell W. Gurney, Certified Personnel Consultant and 14-year search industry veteran, de-mystifies the world of executive search. This empowering and witty guidebook exposes the inside workings of the recruiting industry so professional job seekers can reap the most rewards from this viable avenue of career transition. Far from self-serving, it gives both the scoop and the poop on the business of executive search. Headhunters Revealed! shines a light on a dark and mysterious world to reveal tips and techniques for commanding the attention, and even "career partnership?," of professional recruiters.
In today's frenetic and ever-changing employment e-world, perhaps the recruiter remains the best long-term booster for a person's career. But, recruiters can't "place" everyone. Some estimate that only 10-15% of those utilizing search firms actually land a job that way. Though the best professionals in any field (the top 15-25%) are always more "marketable" from a recruiter's perspective, the truth is that anyone stands a better chance of being placed if they play the game right.
This book teaches the game: how to differentiate the wizards from the rogues of recruitment; how to play placement "politics;" how to design one's resume for today's computerized databases; and how to enlist the equivalent of one's own lifetime Hollywood agent -- a "career manager." Chock-full of resources, any career professional will benefit from having Headhunters Revealed!
As a child I was told, half in jest, that the mark of an intelligent person was his or her ability to follow directions. The first step is: BUY THIS BOOK. The second is stick to the program -- this guy definitely knows what he's talking about.
Remember, you can lead a horse to water, but the hard part is getting the bathing suit on. Darrell helps you through the hard part --- what more can you ask for?
p.s. I look forward to another book by Darrell Gurney. I have no doubt that when you hit the playing field with Darrell as your coach, you'll score touchdowns you never imagined.
Susan Geary, CRW1st Rate ResumesNot Perfect, but a very good resource nonetheless While, as some of the previous reviews note, this book is guilty of dispensing some fairly obvious information (the most efficient headhunters have computers, for example) and the hypothetical exchanges featuring a fictitious headhunter and some fairly heavy-handed humor do little to keep you turning the page, if you evaluate this book strictly on the usable information contained, it is a very good value.
Inside information, such as how to increase the likelihood that your resume will be read and how to format your resume for cut and paste email are two items that I do not recall seeing elsewhere and are very much on point for an effective career search campaign.
If you look past the "humorous" vignettes (as Gurney actually is an effective and witty writer otherwise) and I found this to be that fairly rare commodity that delivers what it is supposed to.
