While I was searching for web design work several years ago, it was mainly by way of the targeted job search method, which I wrote about recently.

It was a process that had its ups and downs, as I have referred to before, but was something I was prepared to stick at, as it best suited my circumstances at the time.

You could therefore imagine my surprise when an email arrived, out of the blue, from a company I had not had any dealings with previously, asking if I would be interested in discussing the possibility of working for them.

“You’ve been headhunted!” a friend said to me.

Had I really? To me headhunting always seemed like an activity that was the result of clandestine meetings that followed clandestine telephone calls or letters, between highflying company executives, and specially engaged executive recruiters!

“No, no,” my friend said, “just about anyone, no matter what they do, stands to be headhunted.”

Some people regard it as an honour, while others see a certain prestige in being “hand picked” for a role. It means your work has been noticed by, or your name has been mentioned to, someone who is looking for staff.

While certainly an uplifting experience it is a good idea to rein in your euphoria though, and remember that being headhunted is really just an invitation to apply for a job, and there is no guarantee that you will actually be offered a role.

After all an employer’s first hand impressions of you may differ markedly from the second, or third hand, impressions they have gained of you from others.

Or to use the words of my headhunting-wise friend;

“Consider being headhunted as a free walk to the second interview of a three interview recruiting process.”

That seemed like a good way to put what had happened to me into perspective. Being headhunted is really just another way of applying for a job, and you shouldn’t get too far ahead of yourself as a result.

Headhunters can make contact in a number of ways, and if you already have a close working relationship with the company interested in bringing you on-board, this may even happen in a face-to-face situation, during or after a regular meeting, with the people you normally liaise with.

On other occasions you may be contacted unexpectedly, by a company you have not even heard of.

Assuming you have been contacted by email or letter, the first thing to do before responding to the person, or representative, who made the approach to you, is to find out what you can about the company in question.

While this is a commonsense course of action when looking for work anyway, it is still a good idea to know what you are talking about before you speak to anyone. Find out about the company’s background, and see what you can learn about of some of their current and recent projects, particularly in the area in which you think you may be working.

If it is possible, try to find out how you came to the company’s attention. If someone put in a good word for you, contact them, and ask what they said about you. It can be useful to know exactly how you have been represented, as this can guide your initial communications with the company.

Approach all contact and interviews in a professional manner, and above all do not act as if you are a shoo-in for whatever role is being discussed, and also send thank you emails, or notes, after each meeting or interview.

The fact you are being headhunted may offer you a little more leverage when it comes to discussing salary plus terms and conditions of employment though. To what degree you can bargain here will depend on your skills and abilities, together with exactly how interested the company is in hiring you.

I went on to be offered a role with the web design studio who had contacted me, which I accepted. In my case, I was extremely pleased with the outcome, considering I didn’t actually have a great deal of commercial web design work under my belt at the time.

You may therefore be wondering how I came to be headhunted. It was pretty simple really, I was headhunted because I wanted to be! There’s nothing like a little ambition to get you where you want to go is there?!

Tomorrow, in the second part of this article, I will tell you how I went about getting myself headhunted!