Recruiters are notorious for not returning phone calls, rarely acknowledging receipt of a resume, and generally speaking, not even knowing that a job candidate exists. And that is precisely why you should reach out to them, even when and especially when you're not looking for a job.

Why Recruiters Play Hard to Get

Recruiters are an excellent resource and a valuable part of any career network. They find opportunities that you won't know about it; and they serve as gatekeeper to hiring companies. So getting a recruiter on your side is a must.

But the recruiter is a coy mistress-or mister. It takes time and energy to build relationships with them. Most recruiters get hundreds of unsolicited resumes and phone calls a week. Unfortunately, most recruiting organizations lack the resources to respond to all of this traffic.

5 Ways to Get In With Recruiters

So how do you get through these obstacles? Here are five things to try.

1. Create Target Lists: Treat the search firm like you would any other company. Find out the name of a partner and then do your due diligence to find someone who knows the partner. Create a database or list of search firms where you know people and expand the group.

2. Meet Face to Face: Once in, treat recruiters as you would any other networking contact. Remember that networking is a contact sport. Although the phone and e mail are important, only so much networking with recruiters can be done from a remote location. You need to get to meetings and press the flesh.

3. Dangle Carrots: When contacting a search firm, always have something to offer in return. Names of other candidates is one of the most tempting carrots to dangle in front of a recruiter. Willingness to serve as an expert about a specific area is another, as is the ability to hook the recruiter up with contacts at professional organizations.

4. Contact Recruiters Even If You Don't Need a Job: Your best shot at cultivating a fruitful relationship with a recruiter is by taking action when you're NOT looking for a job. This way the recruiter will know who you are when you do need a job. And this way you'll have chits to cash with the recruiter at the opportune time.

5. Follow Up: Once you make initial contact, follow up on an irregularly regular basis. Have a reason to call or email, other than just to check on the status of a search. For example, let recruiters know that an organization is having a monthly meeting or conference.

Conclusion

When it comes to handling recruiters, most job candidates make two mistakes. The first is not realizing that the recruiter-job candidate relationship is one of mutual dependency. Job candidates don't just take but give back. At no point is your leverage vis-à-vis the recruiter greater than when you don't need a job.

And that leads me to the second common mistake. Most job candidates don't reach out to recruiters unless and until they need a job. At that point, the leverage shifts and you end up at the recruiter's mercy. The people who find themselves in this position are the ones whose resumes go unread and phone calls go unanswered.

Wishing you career success,
Lauryn Franzoni
ExecuNet, www.execunet.com

FRIDAY THE 13th

Loki: Norse god who helped make the number 13 unlucky

Why Is It a Jinx?

By Glenn Demby

If you're the superstitious type, you might still be in bed with the covers wrapped firmly about your ears. Chances are you'll be there again in February, the next time the 13th of the month happens to fall on a Friday. But what are you afraid of? Why is Friday the 13th considered so unlucky?

The 13th I can understand. After all, there are a lot of folks who fear the number 13. Apparently, many of them are architects. According to National Geographic, more than 80% of the high-rise buildings in the U.S. don't have a 13th floor. More precisely, they label the floor after 12 as floor 14. They even have a word for the fear of 13: triskaidekaphobia.

There are a lot of theories to explain the fear. The pagan theory: The Norse gods had a party up in Valhalla one day. 12 gods were invited. 13 showed up. The uninvited guest was Loki, the troublemaker that nobody liked. Loki apparently persuaded Hoder, the blind god of darkness, to shoot the popular and hunky Balder the Beautiful, the god of joy. When Hoder's poison-tipped arrow struck Balder, all heck broke loose. The earth mourned and was shrouded in darkness.

The Christian theory is a lot simpler. There were 13 guests at the Last Supper. Do you know who number 13 was? Judas Iscariot.

But it's the Friday part of the Friday the 13th superstition that I find puzzling. I thought Friday was supposed to be a good day - the "F" in TGIF. For 50 weeks of the year, we thank the almighty that it's Friday. What did Friday ever do to deserve the evil reputation it has on those two weeks of the year when it's the 13th of the month?

The only bad things about Friday I could find in my exhaustive historic research (as exhaustive as any search can be in the space of 10 minutes): Jesus was crucified on a Friday. That would certainly be enough to hurt any day's image. And on Friday, October 13, 1307, French King Philip IV executed a bunch of Knights Templar. Thereafter, followers of the victims decried Friday the 13th as an evil day. Somehow, the October part of the date got off the hook.

Still, we can't blame it all on history and pagans. Any hope that the superstition might die out in modern times was probably snuffed out forever by those hideous Jason Friday the Thirteenth slasher movies that continue today.

So, do your best to get through the day; and help your workers do the same. Remember that while it's easy to poke fun of superstitions, there are people who really believe them. And when superstition, no matter how irrational, affects behavior, it becomes a real world problem.

FRIDAY THE 13th IN HISTORY

Loki: Norse god who helped make the number 13 unlucky

Births & Deaths on This Date

BIRTHS

Georges Simenon: Belgian writer, Feb. 13, 1903
Sir Johannes Bjelke-Petersen: Former Australian Prime Minister, Jan. 13, 1911
Margaret Thatcher: Former British Prime Minister, Oct. 13, 1925
Fidel Castro: Cuban Dictator, Aug. 13, 1926
Steve Buscemi: Movie actor whose credits include Fargo, Dec. 13, 1957
Julia Louis-Dreyfus: Comedian, TV actress who played Elaine on Seinfeld, Jan. 13, 1961
Mary-Kate & Ashley Olsen: TV actresses best known for the show Full House, June 13, 1986

DEATHS

Arnold Schoenberg: Austrian composer, July 13, 1951
Hubert Humphrey: Former Vice President of U.S. who lost presidential bid to Richard Nixon in 1968, Jan. 13, 1978
Stuart Challender: Australian conductor, Dec. 13, 1991
Tupac Shakur: Murdered rapper, Sept. 13, 1996
Tony Roper: Race car driver, Oct. 13, 2000

TREATMENT OPTIONS

Hypnotherapy

Helping Victims of Friday the 13th Superstition

If you or any of your workers have a dysfunctional fear of Friday the 13th or the number 13, here are some of the treatment options to consider:

Note: None of us at SafetyXChange purport to know anything about, let alone endorse any of these treatments. Our purpose is to let you know that they're out there. You'd be nuts to follow any of these courses without first doing a lot of research and talking to your doctor.

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