If you’re not looking for a Career Change,

Feb 23, 2016

Open the Door

Do you have a recruiter saved in your cell phone contacts? What about your dentist, doctor, lawyer, insurance agent? You don’t talk to these people daily, but when you need them, you have their information at your fingertips. Same thing goes for a recruiter. When you need him, he’ll be there, that is if the information is saved in your contact list. Even if you’re not looking for a career change, opportunities knock.

“When opportunity knocks, listen.”

When opportunity knocks, listen. Open the door. Why should you take a call from a recruiter? Because it could be an opportunity! If not for now, then for down the road. An executive recruiter can help move your career onward and upward. Recruiters can pull you out of a not-so-good situation, or they can help you by providing the opportunities that will take your leadership skills to the next level.

If you are looking for a career change, then when a recruiter calls, you’d listen, right? But what if you are not looking to make a career change? Would you listen then? No? Even if you’re not looking to change careers, you should take the call and listen to what the recruiter has to say. We want to learn about you, see if you’re happy, and help if we can. Despite what some people may think about recruiters, we are not “out to steal employees and lure them away.” That’s not how Kimmel operates. We focus on building real relationships. We are experts in the market related to your industry, and know more about you in the labor market than you do.

“Change either happens to you, or you make change happen.”

If you inherited a large sum of money, you’d want a financial advisor to help you, even though you had no idea about the inheritance before it happened. If you had a huge opportunity for your future, you’d want a recruiter to help you, even though you weren’t even looking for a career change. Just as a financial advisor helps you get an ROI in your money, assets, and retirement, recruiters help you get an ROI with your time, career, and salary. The best recruiters act as a job search partner, a labor market maven, but mostly a career planner.

Change Happens

Change happens, whether you’re looking or not. Change either happens to you, or you make change happen, but you can’t make change happen if you’re not open to opportunities. As a candidate, you may think things will never change. But it always does. Eventually. At some point, something will change to make you question your current goals. While you may not be looking for a career change today, one day your current position may not be as secure as you feel it is right now. Your current organization may have a change in control, such as:

  • Merger or acquisition
  • Hiring of a new CEO
  • Departmental structure change
  • Shut-down of a location
  • Consolidation across state lines
  • Company-wide layoff
  • Governance issues
  • New corporate pressures
  • Redefining of what effective leadership looks like

No matter what the change is, we can help with transitions. We like to listen to YOU!

Just Listen

It’s not that hard to take a few minutes to listen to someone about a possible career opportunity. Take a moment and call the recruiter back. Share your vision for your own future. See where the recruiter may want to lead you. We want to learn about you and keep in touch with you. We don’t necessarily expect you to be interested today. We know you’re not looking for a career change. That’s okay. We want to find out what motivates or does not motivate you at your current position.

  • Why is it such a good fit?
  • What drives and motivates you?
  • What is important to you?
  • What gives you professional satisfaction?

If you take the call, it doesn’t mean you’re looking for a career change; it means you’re networking. It’s okay to change your perspective. Take the call. If you miss a call, take a moment to call the recruiter back. Learn something. Be open. Listen.

What We Can Offer

Good recruiters have a proven track record that gives them the ability to offer career advice. We can help you reach your goals. We have an “in” with the industry and the client companies. We know the marketplace and everyone in it. Think of the phone conversation as a networking opportunity. We aim to create a relationship with you, a lasting relationship. There’s a lot more to learn, other than a potential offer for a new position. We may know things in the industry that could help with your three-year goals.

A good recruiter listens to you as well. We’ll try to find out about who you are and what makes you tick. We may or may not have something in mind. If a recruiter calls you whom you’ve never before spoken with, and you get the feeling that they simply want to fill a position whether you’re looking for a career change or not, they might not care where you are right now and how you’re doing. We always care. When we call to check on you, we do want to know how you’re doing. If the last time we spoke, you mentioned that you wanted to be a project manager within five years, we’re going to ask how that’s going so far and see how you’re doing.

Looking for a Career Change

When the time comes that you are indeed looking for a career change, or at least actively thinking about it, we’ll both be ready. When you get that call, you’ll already know whom you can trust. If you are always open to opportunities and constantly networking and making industry connections, you can’t go wrong in your career. When it’s time to make a change, you’ll know it.

About the Author

Bill Wolfe

Bill began working at Kimmel & Associates in 2007, and he concentrates his service on heavy equipment and heavy civil clients and professionals. He also serves on Kimmel & Associates’ Board of Advisors.

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