Headhunters Revealed! Career Secrets for Choosing and Using Professional Recruiters

by Darrell W. Gurney

WANT TO BE A HEAD ABOVE THE REST?
THIS BOOK SHOWS YOU HOW! 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 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!

208 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2000

About the author

DARRELL W. GURNEY, Certified Personnel Consultant (CPC), Certified Job & Career Transition Coach (JCTC), Certified Career Management Coach (CCMC), and Licensed Spiritual Counselor (ALSP, RScP) is a 25 year recruiting veteran, executive coach and career advisor, supporting thousands of professionals at all levels to make profitable transitions. Microsoft, America Online, Hunt-Wesson, and American Express have all utilized Darrell's professional services.

A Summa Cum Laude graduate of the University of Texas with degrees in Finance and International Business, Darrell spent his early career with Arthur Young (Ernst & Young) in London. Conferring with a career-coaching firm at the age of 24, he utilized a “stealth” job search method to meet with 7 CFOs of the top Hollywood entertainment studios and landed an international financial position with MGM/United Artists Pictures. Through these initial experiences, he developed an understanding of networking and what it takes to get in to meet important people…and get ahead. Based in Los Angeles, he educates clients in his Stealth Search™ method.

Darrell is the author of Headhunters Revealed! Career Secrets for Choosing and Using Professional Recruiters, winner of the Clarion Award for Best Book by the Association for Women in Communications and was reviewed in Publishers Weekly. His newest Amazon bestseller, Never Apply for a Job Again: Break the Rules, Cut the Line, Beat the Rest, has been endorsed by bestselling thought leaders such as Harvey Mackay, Keith Ferrazzi, and Dr. Ivan Misner. It and his other books have become highly touted resources in the careers field. His newest ebook is Finding the S Spot: Career Pleasure Secrets for Merging Skills, Pay and Play.

Darrell has been featured in CBS Moneywatch, Fortune.com, Forbes.com, Wall Street Journal's CareerJournal.com, BusinessWeek Online, MSN Careers, CareerBuilder.com, and on Wall Street Journal Radio. He has been a guest on local and national radio and television programs and has been quoted in newspapers, magazines, and journals. He has consulted for the largest worldwide corporate outplacement organizations, Lee Hecht Harrison (LHH.com) and Right Management (Right.com) and speaks and leads workshops for both professional and trade associations as well as leading MBA programs. He is a media expert on subjects such as recruiting, networking, and finding one’s passion and was recently named Networking Expert for BeyondB-School.com. He offers webinars and programs that get students and working professionals out, connected, and expanding.

He is currently completing his next book about midlife transitions, entitled The Back Forty: 7 Critical Embraces for Life’s Purposeful Second Half (due out in 2014) and developing an inspiring reality show, "Dream Job Life" (DreamJobLife.com).

Reviews

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

I came across this book only recently. In my 15 years as a corporate executive and management consultant I have worked with all the major and many smaller search firms, either as a candidate or as a paying client. Darrell's book is as important today as it was when written a few years back. The author's practical, straight, and open advice captures the essence of working successfully with a search firm. I believe this book should be on everybody's desk and reread frequently. I just love the author's advice of thinking long-term when building a relationship with a search firm - so true! Darrell delivers his messages in a concise and sometimes funny fashion. His book is not only relevant for most people in Corporate America, but a great read. There is also a very useful Appendix with regard to how to write your resume - again, very short and to the point, all you will ever need.