CIO Career Coach: 6 tips for working with executive recruiters (video)

This is episode seven of “CIO Career Coach,” a video collaboration between Heller Search Associates, CIO.com and IDG.tv, the video division of CIO’s parent company IDG.

All of the videos included in this first season of “CIO Career Coach” focus on how to effectively run an IT executive job search. Whether you are a CIO, CTO, CISO, a vice president, a director in the IT organization, or you aspire to one of these roles, the advice in these videos will help you win your next great job in technology.

So far we have covered how to know when it’s time to leave your job; building your brand; writing your resume; and acing the job interview. This episode focuses on something that is very near and dear to my heart: working with executive recruiters.

It is important to keep in mind that not every company hires an external search firm to recruit senior executives, and many companies have their own internal recruiters. If you rely solely on a handful of search firms to make you aware of new opportunities, you’re missing out on a whole host of potential new jobs. Networking directly with the company you are interested in should be a critical part of your search.

Executive search firms often play an integral role in matching candidates to clients, especially when it comes to senior level IT roles. Here are my pointers on how to establish and maintain relationships with executive recruiters.