Ask-A-Recruiter: Working On Your Career, Not Just In It

istock_000005168521xsmall1.jpgContributed by Caroline Ceniza-Levine of SixFigureStart

Actors have somebody or a group of people actively managing their careers, guiding, preparing, negotiating, etc. Is there such a thing for a business executive? You pay somebody a fee, similar to an agent, for the services provided by a number of disparate functions: e.g., recruiting (executive recruiter) for the ideal positions, performing at a high level (coach), negotiating salary and contracts (labor lawyer). In short, I would be interested in a career manager that would handle my career. Does this type of service/person exist?

You’re right that there are 3 separate pieces — legal, search, and coaching. But there are good reasons why all 3 are not under the same arena:

With legal, you want very specific expertise in contracts and compensation/ options structuring, so while there is some coaching offered, a lawyer who really knows labor stuff is going to need to do that stuff full time;

With search, positions are funded by the hiring company. While good search recruiters offer coaching and definitely massage their candidates before they are presented, their primary relationship is with the company. The company relationship and fees are worth much more than any one individual can provide in fees;

Finally a coach does work for the candidate. In this way, a coach could theoretically be on the lookout for jobs. However there are very strict labor laws against having to pay to have access to jobs, so no coach is going to market as if they are charging clients for access to work. Coaching is really about getting you to take the actions. Besides, the fact that the coach is paid by the candidate should make a good hiring firm less trusting of the coach’s recommendation, so how much can coaches really advocate on your behalf.

The best step is to have access to all three – good legal, good search and good coaching – but you retain management of all three. While the temptation is to outsource your career management, you are the best advocate for yourself. You should work on the business of your career and not just in your career doing your job. The reality is that knowing your market (your competitors, the recruiters and what they are working on) will help you do a better job, so working on your career will make you even more effective in your career.

Get serious about your career with personalized, 1:1 coaching from SixFigureStart. Caroline Ceniza-Levine, co-founder of SixFigureStart, has recruited for Accenture, Booz Allen, Citigroup, Disney ABC, Oliver Wyman, Time Inc, TV Guide and others.

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