Debra Feldman introduces executive candidates to hiring decision makers, not HR, to identify new career opportunities in the unadvertised or hidden job market. She\'s a corporate matchmaker: part sleuth, part networker.

1. HIDDEN JOB MARKET SECRETS
Do You Need an Executive Talent Agent?
Debra Feldman, JobWhiz
Executive Talent Agent
Having an executive talent agent is a competitive advantage providing expert
confidential, personalized career guidance, exclusive entrée to prime inside connections
as well as comprehensive professional services that support the daily needs of busy
executives.
Executive talent agents and headhunters (also called executive search consultants or
external recruiters) are often confused. They appear to produce the same outcome:
introducing executives to potential new employers. However, there is an unmistakable
distinction. The two professions are paid by, loyal to and represent separate parties that
may have different priorities and opposite interests related to the same recruiting
transaction.
Headhunters stay in business by satisfying their corporate client’s, i.e. an employer’s,
mandate. They find appropriate prospects to fill an open position. They are not
outplacement specialists. They don’t create new jobs or find spots for individuals.
Headhunters are paid by employers to identify and attract new talent that exactly matches
the employer’s specific requirements. Their role is to source the perfect candidate and
manage the applicant pool. Thus, headhunters frequently exert control over the recruiting
process by limiting executives’ ability to communicate directly with company insiders,
those with actual hiring authority.
On the other hand, executive talent agents are consultants to individual executives and
have been compared to the agent model in the entertainment field and sports industry. As
experts, executive talent agents provide a competitive advantage for the individuals
whose careers they manage. Their knowledge, guidance, connections and business savvy
propel their clients’ success. Individual executives, not employers, pay an executive
talent agent for services that include being their personal coach, mentor, representative,
advocate, confidant, and scout. An executive talent agent can be a long term partner or
retained on a short term basis to advise on a job search campaign. Their remuneration
ranges from a percentage of an executive client’s annual compensation to a project-based
or hourly fee. Agents usually differentiate their practice by industry sector or functional
discipline.
Executive talent agents are not a substitute for executive search consultants and vice
versa. Search consultants put their employer-clients first. Executive talent agents
evaluate situations from the personal perspective of individual executives. Here are more
This is important to executives whose range of opportunities are further restricted by how
each search firm internally allocates potential candidates among different search
assignments at any given time.
Debra Feldman Executive Search Consultants vs. Executive Talent Agents
Page 1

2. details about executive talent agents and the exclusive benefits they provide for their
executive clients.
• Providing objective advice and counsel gleaned from a wide range of practical
industry and personal experience- more than any one person might gather in a
single lifetime.
• Devoting 100% of their time and resources to their client’s career management
issues. Customer service is top priority. Sample assignments include developing
strategy, evaluating alternatives, analyzing deal structure, researching and
collecting information, preparing documents, initiating introductions, planning
new mandates, conducting follow-up activities, etc.
• Maintaining their client’s privacy and conducting business or setting up meetings
on a confidential basis. Protecting the client’s current status while pursuing more
rewarding future challenges consistent with the client’s career goals.
• Incented financially and motivated by client’s success in finding a new job or
getting promoted or closing a deal on favorable terms, not satisfying an
employer’s needs.
• Independent agent: not restricted by employer-defined recruiting agreements that
limit which other employers they are allowed to propose an executive as a
prospective candidate.
• Each executive’s career comes first. No limitations on where an executive is
introduced based on other search engagements undertaken by other headhunters in
the firm.
• Access to the 80% of executive positions that are not advertised. Agents deliver
leads in the hidden job market. Establishing new connections for their clients to
place them on the radar screens of hiring authorities in advance of other potential
candidates.
• Bypassing human and automated gatekeepers and opening closed doors to
connect clients with hiring decision makers, key industry leaders and academic
trendsetters. Promoting their client’s visibility, building their client’s credibility
and strengthening their client’s competitive positioning for their next gig.
• Unparalleled cachet that differentiates an agent’s clients commanding attention,
developing credibility and promoting meaningful dialogues with contacts leading
to productive business relationships, new opportunities and creative ventures.
Retaining an executive talent agent is an investment. Those most likely to appreciate and
value this relationship are executives that fit into the following categories.
• Doesn’t have a network or known contacts are not generating leads
• High stakes campaign: search must be confidential, discreet, sophisticated
This is important to executives whose range of opportunities are further restricted by how
each search firm internally allocates potential candidates among different search
assignments at any given time.
Debra Feldman Executive Search Consultants vs. Executive Talent Agents
Page 2

3. • Re-entry candidate emerging from a sabbatical or early retirement
• Changing career or industry: needs new, targeted inside contacts
• Not prepared for today’s complex job market. ” I never had to look for a job
before because I was always promoted or recruited.”
• Limited time and restricted availability for networking and researching
• Job search progress stalled and needs diagnostic to remove barriers
• Needs sharper focus and consistent execution of the right strategy
• Seeking hands on partner: “Can I hire anyone to job search for me?”
If any of the above applies to you, then an executive talent agent may be the right
solution for your career’s future success.
© 2009 Debra Feldman
Debra Feldman ( link to http://www.jobwhiz.com/index.php ) is the JobWhiz™, a nationally-recognized expert who designs and
personally implements swift, strategic, and customized senior level executive job search campaigns, banishing barriers that
prevent immediate success. Her gift for cold calling, executed with high energy and savvy panache, connects candidates directly to
decision makers, not HR. Network Purposefully™ with the JobWhiz, and compress your job search into mere weeks, using
groundbreaking techniques profiled in Forbes magazine. In addition to her private practice, writing featured columns and
conducting exclusive workshops, Debra is a recommended resource to alumni of top-tier business schools. Contact Debra @
www.JobWhiz.com ( link to http://www.jobwhiz.com/contact.php ) to expedite your executive ascent.
This is important to executives whose range of opportunities are further restricted by how
each search firm internally allocates potential candidates among different search
assignments at any given time.
Debra Feldman Executive Search Consultants vs. Executive Talent Agents
Page 3