The headhunter calls. An ego trip for some candidates, something fearful for many, a nuisance to some too! The headhunter certainly evokes a myriad of responses. For most however, it is seen as a moment of truth, that the candidate has reached the epitome of his or her career and they have been recognized!

True? Well, there are certain things that a headhunter certainly won't tell you over the phone. Let me go through them and you might think differently when the headhunter calls you the next time!

I know that with this disclosure, I would potentially get the wrath of headhunters out there. But hey, it's the truth, ain't it? Please take note that I am talking about middle to senior level positions here, not applicants who are enthusiastically looking for jobs and sending out resumes. The definition of headhunting as follows - The practice of trying to attract people in senior positions or specialist fields away from their present jobs to work for one's own or a client's company.

1. They know nothing about you! Yes, the truth is some headhunters really have only a name and a contact number. They don't know your title, job scope, experience, nothing! They are calling you based on some information provided to them and hoping and praying you are in a nice enough mood to answer their seemingly never-ending questions so as to ascertain whether you fall into their short list! Of course, this is the extreme example. Most headhunters know a bit or enough about you to have a decent conversation.

2. They are almost as fearful as you as you are of them. For one, headhunters are also human beings and rejection is certainly not the most favourite reply they want to hear. So really, there is nothing to fear about headhunters calling you.

3. They might not know the job description and expectations full-heartedly. Often, this might not be necessarily their entire fault. The client might be as confused as them and did not give a thorough brief and profiling of the job to be filled. Even if the headhunter were to probe and ask the client, they might just give a "standard" answer on the kind of candidates they are looking for.

4. The headhunter is constantly hoping you are his one hit wonder! Ultimately, the headhunter is looking to fill the position for his client in the shortest possible time. If he is able to identify a few prospective candidates within the first few phone calls, can you imagine how elated he will be?

The question is, how next to work together with the headhunter in order to secure that dream job of yours? I will be discussing this further.