Headhunter's behavior atypical of how they treat job candidates

By Joan Cirillo 

Q. Recently, I was called by a headhunter about a particular job. I spent a long time on the phone with this person and he said he would call me back in a few days to make plans to meet. That was several weeks ago. I never heard back from him. Is this typical? I was so unimpressed with this guy and consequently, with his firm. Do they all behave this way? Say they will call and then never call. What's up with that? By the way, I make very good money. This was not for a little job.

A. No, this is not typical headhunter behavior. This does not excuse him, but he probably talked to someone right after you who was a perfect match for the job and so he put all of his attention into that candidate. This is very short-sighted since you might have been perfect for another search. Most headhunters, particularly those searching for high-level candidates, are very careful about how they treat their candidates because they never know when the candidate might be perfect for another position they are searching for. I am surprised he didn't circle back and close the loop with you. Most headhunters are extremely professional and treat their candidates very well.

Q. My daughter was teaching in Philadelphia at a charter school and after six months decided she could not take it anymore. The lack of discipline in the school was so stressful that she could not teach. She has taught for 10 years and does not want to teach anymore. She taught science and has a real interest, as well as acumen in scientific things. She has come back to live with us, which is fine, but I don't know how to help her. Any suggestions for the next career?

A. First, let me say what a loss this is for our students. Every time we lose a good teacher, it is a real loss for our children for many generations to come. We must figure out ways to support our teachers so they have positive experiences and want to continue to share their expertise in the classroom.

We need to figure out ways how to compensate them competitively, create ways so that they are continually learning, and ensure they have the support systems in place so they are not spending their time disciplining, but in fact, are spending their time imparting knowledge. I am genuinely sorry to hear that she is so turned off to teaching that she wants to change professions.

I would try a multipronged approach to help her identify the next career. First, encourage her to read the want advertisements in the papers and online. What types of jobs interest her? Have her cut out ads of jobs that interest her. After several weeks, have her look through them. There may be some patterns of types of jobs that she continually cuts out.

I would also encourage her to talk to lots of people doing different kinds of work. The more she learns about the different types of jobs out there, the better decision she will be able to make about next steps for herself. I still think information interviews are an excellent way to learn more about what people do for a living. Information interviews are just that. They are short interviews where the job seeker has a set agenda and tries to learn more about what the person being interviewed does for a living. The job seeker must watch the time carefully. If you ask for 20 minutes, only take 20 minutes. They are for information-gathering only. Job seekers should not turn around and ask for a job after hearing about the job for a few minutes. That is not the intent of these brief meetings. Appropriate questions on an information interview might be:

Tell me about your job. Walk me through your day. What do you like most about your job? Least? Where could I learn more about this field? Would you mind looking at my resume? Would my resume be attractive to an employer in this field? Is there additional training or education that I would need to get into this field? Do I need a special degree or certificate? What kind of salary might I expect for an entry-level job? What is the salary growth in this field? Are there career ladder opportunities in this field? If so, what are they?

Can you think of someone else that I might talk to about this field/job?

That last question is key. Try not to leave an information interview without a name of someone else who you might call. Also, remember that you don't have to be a best friend to ask for an information interview.

Friends of friends will work just fine. What the individual is doing is information-gathering, so the tie does not have to be strong.

If the person tries to dodge a meeting because they are so busy, offer to buy coffee, breakfast, lunch, or a drink. It's hard to pass up that kind of an offer to talk about yourself and your chosen field.

Finally, I might suggest that your daughter seek out a career counselor to help guide her through this process. A good counselor will give your daughter several career instruments to determine interests and aptitudes and come up with some suggestions based on how your daughter responded to the questions. Have your daughter ask around to friends to see if there is someone they can recommend, just as you would a new doctor. Your daughter must feel very positive about working with this counselor or the counseling won't be as effective.

If the first meeting does not feel right, have her go to someone else until the chemistry is right and they both click. Two websites to help identify a career counselor are the Career Counselors Consortium at careercounselorsne.org and the Association of Career Professionals Inc. at acpinternational.org/experts.html.

I cannot end this topic without throwing out the possibility of your daughter working in the life sciences field. It is hot in Massachusetts right now.

The field has unlimited possibilities. With your daughter's interest in science and with this field exploding, I can't help but think there might be a career just waiting to happen.

Q. I have been in residential real estate for the past 10 years and absolutely love it. Not only has it been very good to me (until the past 12 to 18 months), but I am very good at it. I understand the business and I am very good with people. I am very good matching up the people and the properties. However, I am single and must make a decent income to live on. When the housing market is good, I do fine. When the market declines, as it has this past year, I am a nervous wreck. Now they are talking recession. I can't live for months, let alone years, without income coming in. I hate to give up a profession that I love. Any suggestions?

A. I am sorry that you are being forced to think about another profession when you love the one you're in. However, real estate is one of those fields that has definite ups and downs and people in this field have to be able to ride out these fluctuations in the market to be able to stay in the real estate field.

The trick is to be disciplined about putting away cash when the market is good so that you can live comfortably when the market is down.

Before giving up real estate completely, I might investigate other options in the field. For example, is commercial real estate as down as residential real estate at the moment?

Can you work on leasing/renting properties instead of selling them right now? Would you be interested in providing appraisals for residential or commercial real estate?

Do you have any interest in managing properties? Do you have any interest in working for a developer that may be building properties for a particular niche or target population that is more recession-proof, such as baby boomers?

These are some of the things that I would look into in the real estate field before I left it completely.

Other options are to think about the skills and abilities that you are using to sell residential real estate and see if there are other fields where you might be able to use these skill sets.

For example, I am guessing that you probably have excellent customer service skills. You must have good attention to detail because there are many details that go into selling a home.

Some type of retail establishment or hotel would welcome your skill sets since they are critical in making a customer or guest feel welcome and comfortable.

Another option might be to find temporary work that might tide you over until the real estate market picks up. Do some research. Investigate your options. Decide on what will work best for you in the long run.

Joan Cirillo is the executive director of Operation ABLE, a nonprofit that provides employment and training opportunities to mature workers 45 and older. 

E-mail questions to jobdoc@globe.com or mail to Job Doc, Boston Globe, Box 55819, Boston, 02205-5819.