I recently got contacted by a headhunter looking to place people at a PE firm. I work in consulting at a non-MBB, so getting contacted was great. I had an internship in PE from undergrad, and its a long term goal so this seemed like a great piece of luck.
The issue is that the headhunter is looking to fill an investor relations position. This is not for me. It's not because I'm stuck up and think I'm too good for it - almost the opposite: I genuinely don't think I would perform well at the job. I have trouble networking (hence the non-MBB consulting job!) and I don't know how to play golf and I obviously have no idea what even goes into the job.
My question is how can I spin this somehow with the headhunter to get some better opportunities? Do I tell the headhunter upfront I'm not interested in it? Do I try to make a solid impression at first then at the end tell her honestly I am not interested in the IR position but would be interested at other positions at that firm and her other clients? Do I play it off with the headhunter then once I'm seated in front of the firm do I tell them what I'm interested in (I'm guessing this is a bad idea...)? Any advice at all would be appreciated!
HH's work for the companies whose positions they fill, not you. They get paid when they place ppl. If they think you'll "work" for a position they have, they'll try to give it to you. They could care less about your desired career trajectory or anything else of the such. Know what it is you want, and stick with it. Don't expect them to give a shit too.
If they have another position that you're more interested in, I guess there's no harm in bringing it up. But I wouldn't expect much if they could just go out there and find an "easier sell" for it. Unless you are textbook popped out of the cookie cutter for a position, networking >>>>>>>>>>>>>>> HHs.
Yeah I'm perfectly aware that the HH doesn't care about me. The fact that I was contacted about a specific opening means that they are not looking to build any sort of relationship but just want to fill the one spot, and 95% chance they hang up as soon as I tell them I'm not interested in that specific job.
I'm curious if anyone has been in the same boat and made it work.
IME I haven't been successful in building relationships with HH that have contacted me in that manner. Headhunters normally work in a narrow range of industries (using their network) and often switch firms. I have only had 1 HH refer me to their colleague, and we weren't a good match.
Convincing recruiter to put me forward for a different role (Originally Posted: 07/25/2014)
I was called by a recruiter today after I applied for a PERE role. I'll speak with him next week.
I'm not interested in the role after I've read about being pigeonholed into RE. Is there a way I can swing this and get him to put me forward for a pure PE role?
Any advice/guidance would be appreciated
Edit: This is a prestigious recruiting house so they do have PE roles that I would definitely be interested in but this particular guy only recruits for RE roles
Bump
Bump (again)
What is your background?
I suppose its possible, but if this guy only recruits for RE roles, then you may just have to take a pass with him and move on...
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