How to Attract a Headhunter or Recruiter

One of the best ways to find a new job is to enlist the help of a headhunter. If you have the right experience for the role, recruiters would love to speak with you. A headhunter is financially incentivized—by a substantial commission paid by the hiring company—to get you hired.

With this in mind, job seekers should proactively signal to recruiters that they are open to a conversation and show that they possess the on-target skills, background and experience that a hiring manager requires. This is how you can do it.

How to attract a headhunter

The key is to stand out. Despite feelings of awkwardness or discomfort, you’ll need to think and act like a marketing professional or salesperson—for yourself.

Creating and continually updating your LinkedIn profile is one of the best ways to get noticed by a headhunter or recruiter. More than 800 million professionals have a LinkedIn profile, and as a result, it’s where a lot of recruiters spend their time. You should also activate the feature that lets recruiters know you are open to work. This lets a headhunter know you are receptive to new opportunities discreetly.

Because there are so many profiles, recruiters use keywords that are relevant to the job they’re looking to fill. You should list all of the specific functions you have worked on so that recruiters can reach out accordingly. You need to make sure that your LinkedIn profile is updated and contains everything a headhunter might need to know to clearly understand that you fit within a job’s requirements.

Using LinkedIn to get the attention of a headhunter

LinkedIn has changed, and it’s not just an enhanced or less structured resume. You can create a short video talking about recent developments within your field. Regularly write LinkedIn posts or articles that address issues that people within your field are curious about. These actions can position you as a thought leader and draw the attention of recruiters.

If your profile is lacking, you don’t have a photo or the content reflects that you put in only a minimal effort, it will discourage recruiters from contacting you if they can even find you at all. A headhunter or recruiter often doesn’t have the time to unravel what you do and will move on to the next prospect.

How to talk to a headhunter

It’s always seen as good form to accept a call, video meeting, text or email from a headhunter or recruiter. It doesn’t cost you anything except for a few minutes of time.

If you aren’t currently interested, be polite and honestly tell the recruiter that you’re not interested right now. Let them know that you would like to keep the channel of communication open, just in case circumstances change.

But if you’re not inclined to move, it’s worth having a brief conversation to learn from the recruiter the temperature of the job market, which companies are hiring, the firms that might be in trouble, the compensation range for your type of job and other market intelligence.

You can also feel out the recruiter to see if they place people within your sector, as well as the caliber of companies they have as clients. Inquire about the pay and corporate-title levels the search agent specializes in, so there are no misunderstandings that could waste a lot of time and energy.

The bottom line

Once you’ve established a relationship with a few select recruiters that you feel comfortable with, stay in touch. One way to keep up the professional relationship is to offer introductions. Recruiters love referrals. If you disappear from a headhunter’s radar, it’s harder to ask for a favor in the future. Having a close relationship with an experienced recruiter can come in handy when—or if—things go awry.

This article was written by Jack Kelly for Forbes and was lightly edited and published with permission.