A shout out to Gary Bremermann...
Here is an interesting item forwarded to me by soon-to-be author David Wright. Check it out...
1. If you get a call from a recruiter, be polite. I know it can be irritating sometimes when you get a "cold call" at work, but the person calling may just be calling you to offer you a dream opportunity. Most good recruiters will understand that you may be in an open office and unable to talk. They just want to introduce themselves and find a time that you can talk in private, either by telephone or by a face to face meeting. If you can't talk, at least ask them to send you an email, or if you are reluctant to provide your email address, ask for theirs and do follow up. If you can talk, give the recruiter a few minutes of your valuable time to hear what they have to say. If you're not interested, at least be polite about it because in a year or two you might be interested in something and you don't want to have left a bad impression on the recruiter. I know of a few cases where a prospective candidate has missed out on an "opportunity of a lifetime" just because they were very rude to a professional consultant calling them.
2. Before moving forward with a recruiter, find out about them and their company. Sad but true, there are quite a few unethical, poorly trained recruiters in the Tokyo market. Before you commit to actively work with a recruiter (i.e. send them a resume or agree to be presented for a specific job) do some due dilligence and find out whatever you can about them. What is their area of expertise, what is their process/approach to recruitment, what kind of success they have had in your specialized field, etc. Also ask them about their confidentiality policy. A recruitment firm should NEVER send out your resume to a client without your prior knowledge and approval. Trust and high ethical standards are critical, so ask yourself if you can really trust the person you are working with.
