Finding a Headhunter

Q. How do I go about finding a good, reputable headhunter to assist me in a job search for a senior-level fund-raising position in a different region of the country from where I currently live?

A. First, bone up on the process that headhunters use to locate and cull potential applicants for their clients. Philanthropy Careers recently tackled that topic in this article.

Next, create a list of headhunters to contact. The best way to do that is to work the phones, suggest Annie Gray, a recruiter in St. Louis who works with nonprofit clients. “Use the back-door approach by contacting the nonprofits in your target city to inquire which headhunters they retain,” she says. (Bonus: The charities might just ask you to send them a résumé.)

Another tack: Contact professional associations — such as a local association of human-resources professionals, or a local chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals — and ask them to recommend a recruiter, advises Ms. Gray.

You can also build your network by combing your Rolodex for friends and acquaintances who have used headhunters in the past and ask them for recommendations, reminds Katherine Beal-Roblin, president of United Chase Group, an executive search company in San Diego that specializes in filling health-care slots. And, she says, check your prospective city’s business journal. Such publications usually put out an annual guide to local employers — complete with contact names and phone numbers.

Keep in mind that headhunters are in the business of filling specific positions — not finding career opportunities for candidates, says Jan Nickerson, a recruiter with Find Great People International, in Greenville, S.C. Contacting a recruiter just as he or she is filling your dream job is a long shot, she says, but contacting a lot of headhunters well ahead of your move date will increase your odds of success. “It may be months, even years, before they have an opportunity of interest to you,” she says.

For more information about finding a job in another location from where you live, check out Greener Pastures: How to Find a Job in Another Place by Andrea Kay (Griffin Trade Paperback, 1999, $12.95), recommended in this previous edition of Hotline, where you also might find some helpful advice to aid in your relocation.

Got a question about job hunting, recruiting, or managing in the nonprofit world? Send it to us at hotline@philanthropy.com.