Ask the Headhunter: Five Questions for Daniel Moore, Vice President of Business Development at AMN Healthcare

Hello followers! Welcome to the latest edition of the Job Guy Newsletter. Each month, I will be sharing statistics, career management guidance, a testimonial or two, and a favorite tip from my blog page. Please do feel free to comment or suggest content that you might like to see or find useful. This is all about the job seekers after all!

Employment by the Numbers

Key points:

• Annual posted wage growth has registered 3.1% in each of the past three months and is in line with the pre-pandemic average.
• This stabilization is broad-based, with steady wage growth across wage levels.
• Further stable growth at this level would signal that the labor market has sustainably rebalanced.

This Month’s topic:

Ask the Headhunter: Five Questions for Daniel Moore, Vice President of Business Development at AMN Healthcare

I am breaking from tradition this month to focus on an interview I did with one of the top executive search professionals in the healthcare field. I have known Dan Moore for nearly twenty years. We have called upon each other countless times over those years to help companies match great people with great jobs. The session was great fun. Here is what we talked about:

1.      So, Dan, why do employers hire search firms instead of just using their own internal staffing teams?

There are several reasons. When companies publicly post an open position, they are typically overwhelmed with applications from job seekers with varying qualifications. Because this pool of candidates only represents those actively seeking a new role at the time; it often makes sense for our clients to consider those who may be better qualified but who have not applied.

On another level, there are many reasons why an organization may require specialized or senior talent but not be comfortable broadcasting that need to their competitors, customers, vendors, or internal personnel.

A top tier executive search firm will reverse engineer the process by focusing on the precise skillset and experiences required for the job and seek out the very best fits across the entire industry. Those of us with extensive professional networks can often gain access to the types of talent that in-house recruiters simply can’t.

Employers also value our support to define qualifications, develop job descriptions, and create marketing materials to brand them as employers of choice. It is also known that reputable staffing firms don’t recruit from their own clients, so using them can improve retention, too.

2.      What can job seekers do to improve their odds of getting a job through a recruiter?

Identify recruiters who specialize in the right industry, sector, and geography. While this can still be done with directories, LinkedIn is absolutely the best way to find us. Connecting to us on LinkedIn makes qualified candidates easier to find through the social media site’s people database.

That said we prefer to start with candidates who have already been screened and are in our internal database. Once the connection has been made on LinkedIn, I suggest offering to submit a resume for inclusion in the recruiter’s files.

And please avoid coming across arrogant or entitled. It is important to remember that we are paid by employers to present candidates who will reflect well on our company. We are likely to shy away from candidates who might put our client relationship at risk through abrasive behavior.

3.      How can job seekers attract the attention of the appropriate recruiter?

Make sure the resume (and LinkedIn profile) includes all the skills and experiences that the next job requires. In addition to day-to-day skills, it is important to show accomplishments that demonstrate when and where the job seeker produced the results that the next job would value.

Presentation is also very important. Recruiters need to see tenure and career progression, so make sure to lay out the resume in a way that it is easy to see promotions, key projects, and examples of taking on additional responsibilities.

Please watch for typos! Those basic errors and inconsistent formatting suggest a lack of attention to detail that most employers find off putting.

4.      What is the biggest mistake you have seen a job seeker make when using a recruiter?

This is an easy one! Unrealistic expectations regarding salary and timeframes.

While it is true that some top-tier recruiters can influence, and even negotiate, compensation, we are subject to the same market conditions as the industries we support. As intermediaries between job seekers and employers, it is always in our best interests to do whatever we can to make everyone feel that they got a fair deal, but we can’t make a position bigger than it is to justify an out-of-range salary.

Similarly, most experienced recruiters understand the urgency that comes with a job search. But we earn our fees by filling client companies’ needs, not by creating them. Forcing a mismatch on an employer in the interest of expedience helps no one. So, it is great to stay in touch, but not so great to think that “lighting a fire” under a recruiter will produce the desired result.

5. How can headhunters work with career coaches like me?

Most executive search professionals don’t have time to rewrite resumes. This can sometimes mean that the candidate who looks best on paper may be more actionable than a great candidate with a poor resume would be.

While we executive placement pros know a lot about what our employers need, we don’t offer the same expertise as resume writers do regarding how applicant tracking systems’ algorithms work to optimize keyword matching.

Who is Daniel Moore?

With over 25 years of experience, Dan is an expert in providing interim leadership, executive search, and consulting solutions to hospital and health system executives in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Delaware.

Dan prides himself on helping clients achieve their strategic goals by identifying, attracting, and retaining top talent to empower their leadership team to address immediate and longer-term needs. Over the years, he has developed an extensive network of tenured professionals in healthcare leadership that enhances his ability to quickly and effectively match top tier talent to the needs of his client organizations.

His employer, AMN Healthcare, has been consistently ranked as a top executive search firm by Modern Healthcare and has been consistently recognized for exceptional service to healthcare organizations and professionals.

Job Guy’s Search Tip of the Month

One of the things I have come to know about Dan Moore is that he is fixated on closing the loop with job seekers regardless of how far they got through the pipeline. Sadly, the field of recruiting has earned some bad press because of those who leave candidates hanging or don’t’ even return their calls.

We must know that, as with any field, there are some great recruiters and those who are less good. It is also important to remember that recruiters, both internal and external, can often be stuck in the middle between an indecisive hiring manager and an anxious candidate. Sometimes they don’t respond because they are awaiting an overdue decision from up the line.

In the end, I recommend using recruiters (headhunters) in a well-rounded search. For more insights into how these firms work, see my most recent blog post.

A Favorite LinkedIn Testimonial

Diane had worked for the same company for several years but found that the job she was doing had morphed due to numerous changes in the corporate structure and a consolidation in her industry. She needed help to identify a new career path and to market her skills into that new path using current best practices for resume development and overall job search:

“After 26 years of working for the same company, I decided it was time to, at the very least, update my resume. I was considering a change of careers and possibly an entirely new industry but still unsure of what I really wanted. John was referred to me by a well-respected colleague so I decided to reach out. Very quickly I realized a lot had changed over the years. John helped me consider options and determine what I would feel is an ideal career at a company that fit my personality and values. We worked on identifying my strengths and what I had to offer. John has taught me so much valuable information in those eight sessions. I was able to find a position with a new company in an entirely new industry where I have value add and enjoy going to work. Without John's help and knowledge, I'm pretty certain it would have taken me much longer to find the ideal position. John "The Job Guy" is worth every penny!”