By Garth McCardle of WetFeet.com

One day the phone in your office rings. It's an executive recruiter, speaking as if she knows you. She touts your accomplishments and resume, and whispers sweet financial nothings in your ear. She wants to float your name for several lucrative possibilities. You ask yourself: Who is this woman? Am I jeopardizing my job by listening to her? Can she really help my career? Quickly, the answers: She's an executive recruiter. You're not jeopardizing your job by listening to her. And yes, she can really help your career - though that's not a foregone conclusion. Headhunting and the New Economy Companies are evolving new strategies each quarter in order to stay competitive. Most don't have time to put ads in the paper to fill positions. And job listings were never a really good way to get a job, anyway. These days, executive recruiters are increasingly responsible for finding and placing employees, particularly for high-level positions. Companies hire recruitment firms to find talented employees and bring them in to take high-salaried, high-profile jobs that are not often publicly advertised. Some industry surveys suggest that recruiters play a role in 30 percent to 40 percent of all new hires. If you're dissatisfied with a job, seeking a mid-career challenge, or just like to have options at your disposal, an executive recruiter may be the perfect agent of fate. And you don't have to wait for one to call. How Recruiters Work Recruiting firms are employment agencies. Companies hire executive recruiters to find and bring in candidates for management positions - anyone with two years of professional work experience on up. The corporation is the recruiter's client, and the job candidate is the product. Thus, recruiters normally find a person for the job, not a job for the person. Recruiters are compensated either on retainer or a contingency basis; either way, the standard fee structure is 25 percent to 35 percent of the position's first-year salary. Retainer firms have exclusive contracts to handle higher-level positions involving six-figure salaries. Most firms are specialized in some manner, either regionally, by profession (such as accounting, legal, advertising, marketing), or industry - such as high tech or pharmaceutical. Some firms have exclusive contacts to do all of a company's outsource hiring. ©2000 WetFeet.com