Free Harper's Rules by Danny Cahill Page B

office? I won’t get my interview, the secret will die with you, and I could be unemployed forever!”
    â€œAnd . . . there’d be the tragedy of my demise.”
    â€œOh, right. That too. Give me the PowerPoint version right now.”
    Harper sighed and sat down.
    â€œLet’s role-play it. You are the senior VP of sales and marketing at a major software company. Your goal is simple: drive revenue. You are sitting at your desk. The phone rings, and here I come: ‘Casey, my name is Harper Scott. Have you heard of me? I’m a headhunter who focuses on your industry; I’ve built sales teams for your competitors: people like Jake Malcom at Intellivision and Bob Peters at Odeon Systems. I’m reaching out because I’ve recruited a killer, one of SAP’s big stars: a woman personally responsible for scoring accounts like Amex and Deutsche Bank, sales of over 12 million dollars in two years. She is putting out feelers to make a move, and I wanted you to have a shot at talking to her. How did I do in getting your attention?’”
    It was strange to realize that Harper had just pitched me to me—even stranger to realize I was impressed.
    â€œThat’s what you do, Harper? That’s how you get your work? I guess I thought it was more glamorous.”
    â€œDo I make smart calls to my network first? Sure. But I still do cold canvassing because it generates new work, keeps my skills sharp, and exposes new niches and trends in the marketplace. Basics, baby. For most headhunters, fifty calls each morning to start the day. It’s called ‘prime calling hours with an MPC.’”
    â€œMPC?”
    â€œThat’s you, kiddo. Most Placeable Candidate.”
    Tactic 4: How headhunters get their search assignments, and how you can cut out the middle man and do it for yourself.
    Headhunters’ Most Placeable Candidates are:
Most talented (verified by quantifiable track record)
Most available and motivated to take a job
Most skilled in presenting themselves physically (It’s a shallow world; what can I say?)
Most flexible in the way of location and commute
Most reasonable in their compensation parameters
    Once they have their list, they gather a list of companies who are most likely, based on your work history, to be interested in your background, and they pitch you by voice mail, live connects, and email, fifty times a day.
    And that is Tactic Four. No headhunter should be more effective at doing this for you than you! A headhunter works with many different MPCs and many different search assignments at any one time; you only get a fraction of their attention and time. You just have to have the guts to make the call!
    To make your own MPC call, follow these steps:
Generate a list of companies (competitors) that should have an interest in your background, based on your last five years of work history. You can use Internet tools as generic as Google or as specific as Hoovers, Broadlook, or Zoom Info.
Find the line manager you would report to. See if her profile or direct number is on the website before making the call.
As a backup, you can go to the human resources department . . . but only as a backup.
You will probably get a voice mail. You must leave a compelling message that is thirty seconds, tops! The goal is a call back, not applause.
Present your background in a highlight-film format. Three bullet points of accomplishments and achievements. Let them know you are reaching out to a few players you respect and would like to talk to them about their needs.
Keep the enthusiasm high and the vibe positive. You are not making this call out of need; you are exploring options!
When they call back, close on an interview. “When can we talk about this live?”
Don’t discuss salary or anything of personal convenience on a phone interview or via email. An MPC’s goal is to get an interview.
    â€œThat’s it, Casey. A good MPC gets three