There's A Big Difference Between The Web And A Real Live Headhunter
According to executive recruiter Martin Shapiro, traditional executive search differs vastly from an Internet-based search. Shapiro has been filling commercial trucking positions from salesman to president for 25 years. His firm, Shapiro Associates, is based in Tarrytown, N.Y.
Shapiro described a hypothetical search for a dispatcher in Chicago.
But aren't "dispatcher" resumes easily found on the Internet?
"Yes, but what you're finding is people looking for jobs, and at any given time they represent a very small segment of the market," Shapiro said.
"They're either unemployed or in a situation that is rapidly deteriorating. If I'm looking for a terminal manager in Chicago, I will go to all the companies that I know might harbor people. You have companies that have three, four, five terminals within the greater Chicago area. So I develop a list. I get the names."
Then he calls those people, who are not necessarily looking to make a change.
"Does it mean they'll move? No. But they'll listen, and we try to make an evaluation over the phone of the personality of the individual. Then, once we've identified four or five people who make sense, we'll go out to Chicago and sit down face to face. They won't even know who the client is until I've found who I think will be the best fit. I don't want to give a client 12 applicants. I want to find the three best that I think make sense."
Of course, that involves the sixth sense of an experienced executive recruiter, something not currently available on the Internet.
According to Shapiro, looking for a job on the Internet is easy. Finding one is another matter, especially if you're a high-level trucking or fleet management executive.
"It totally depends on timing," Shapiro said. "And even if the timing is right, it's almost a coincidence that an applicant and an employer find each other."
Shapiro said the Internet is overrated as a job-search tool — or in his case — a candidate-search tool.
"The only success I've had is taking people's backgrounds and putting them in my files for future consideration. I've never come close to placing anybody through the Internet," Sharpiro said. "Talking with some of my competitors, they say the same thing."
