Looking for a senior finance job? Employers typically rely on executive recruiters for help in filling their top jobs, including finance positions and senior roles at finance companies. If your goal is to reach the executive suite, you'll need to build strong relationships with these corporate gatekeepers.

Be Sincere
First, only reach out to recruiters if you're sincerely interested changing jobs. Recruiters say that some professionals offer themselves as candidates in reaction to having a bad day at work, and later turn down offers to interview for positions. Such backtracking can turn off recruiters from wanting to collaborate with you again down the road.

Do Your Homework
If you're sure of your interest, start by researching the recruiters you want to reach out to in the same way that you would a potential employer, says Mike Ramer, founder of Ramer Search Consultants Inc., a Livingston, N.J., recruiting firm that specializes in investment and commercial banking. For example, you'll want to be able to show that you know they concentrate on your area of expertise and that you've targeted them for this reason.

Stand Out from the Crowd
Meanwhile, seek out a referral to the recruiters you've targeted, suggests Adam Zoia, CEO of Glocap Search, a New York-based recruiting firm with practice areas in asset management, accounting, investment banking, wealth management and other finance sectors. Naturally, he says, recruiters tend to favor working with candidates recommended to them by people they know and trust.

Introduce yourself to recruiters over the phone before sending them your resume, says Ramer. Too many job hunters initially contact recruiters by email. They send their resumes and brief, canned messages that fail to set them apart, he says. Their personality doesn't come through and they get lost in the shuffle.

Use email to follow up, says Ramer. Include a copy of your resume afterward and be sure to provide three references -- including each person's contact information. These can be former bosses, colleagues or people you managed. The effort will help bolster a recruiter's desire to represent you to his or her clients, especially if you're unable to offer a referral.

Be Honest -- It's Confidential
Note that recruiters are like doctors and lawyers in that you're relationship with them is confidential. For this reason, you should be open and honest about your work history, including salary information, says Jonathan Mazzocchi, general manager of the accounting and finance division at staffing firm Winter, Wyman & Co. in New York.

Mazzocchi once recommended a candidate for a director of finance job at a large financial-services firm in New York who exaggerated his compensation by around $15,000. The employer uncovered the truth during a background check and the candidate was knocked out of the running. The incident also prompted Mazzocchi to end his relationship with the candidate.

Don't overstate your interest. Some candidates have said that they're willing to work for any type of company or in any location only to admit otherwise later on. Similarly, it's not necessary to accept an offer from a recruiter to interview with a company that doesn't satisfy you. Explain why the opportunity isn't a fit to help the recruiter better understand what you consider a strong match.

Stay Connected
Bear in mind that a recruiter may not be working on a search assignment that's a fit for your background at the time you happen to call. For this reason, it's important to stay connected by regularly reminding recruiters of your interest, says Deb Markus, founder of Columbus Advisors LLC, a search firm specializing in asset management. But limit your checking in to about once a month to avoid becoming a nuisance.

Expressing Interest
If a recruiter does mention a job opportunity for you to consider, show that you'd be a strong candidate by asking about the size of the employer, its culture and what's required of the position, says Zoia. Recruiters often have inside knowledge about their clients, such as if a firm is very family-oriented or favors opinionated candidates.

Also inquire whether you're the first candidate to be considered, and if the answer is no, find out where prior candidates went wrong. "It's fair game to ask the recruiter what have people choked on before," says Zoia.

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Keep recruiters posted on any progress you make on your own. For example, let them know if you've applied for positions advertised on the Web and if you landed any interviews. This can prevent recruiters from the embarrassment of presenting you as a candidate to a company you've already contacted.

-- Sarah E. Needleman

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