by Jimmy Steel
Recently I found myself in the unenviable position of
being out of a job. I've been in the hotel business all my working life, and
have been a General Manager for the last 20 years. Needless to say, I am no
spring chicken…but I prefer to think that I have a wealth of experience
gained slugging it out in the hospitality industry.
I had never really been out of work before. Yes, I had
moved jobs and companies, but there had never been major gaps between moves.
Mostly, I had received attractive offers while I was already in a job.
So nothing really prepared me for that awful state…unemployment.
At the start, I attacked the job market with gusto. I did all the right
things…I got in touch with all my contacts, I networked, I wrote letters,
and I kept visible.
I also discovered the wonderful world of job listing sites
on the Internet, from the massive monster.com through to the more specialist
hcareers.com.
Hundreds, if not thousands, of hotel job openings are
handled by these sites every month. Some of these opportunities are listed
by the actual employer, but most are entered by an employment consultant or
headhunter. I guess this is the most practical way for an employer to handle
the recruitment process. After all, seeing as how the Internet is worldwide,
a good job listing must receive many, many online applications. Just to weed
through these must be a huge task. Ergo, the need for the headhunter.
Of course, I had also contacted the leading headhunter
organizations direct and lodged my resume with them, but the Internet
introduced me to many others.
Which brings me to my beef with headhunters…the number
of times I was left hanging after receiving encouraging feedback from the
headhunter was just not funny. I'm not talking about expecting a response to
a first resume submission. I suspect just too many are received… and some
not appropriate for the qualifications requested-or even downright flippant.
No, I'm talking about getting into a dialogue to and fro
with a headhunter…then…nothing, nada, silence. Not even a quick email to
say 'thanks but no go". Remember, your ego is already a bit bruised up,
the last thing you need is to sit like some jilted lover beside the
telephone harboring vain hopes.
Come on, headhunters! Where's your professionalism? Email
is free and a copy/paste message is quick. You don't need to rack up the
phone bill. Remember, what goes round, comes round…. and soon you may
receive a juicy commission from someone you treated properly.
© The Donvër Corporation 2000
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