"Not interested." Are you sure?

"Not interested." Executive search consultants hear that answer often when they approach potential candidates. Frequently such enquiries go unanswered altogether. It is widespread in exactly those fields that are most in demand and short of experts. So why do the people working in those professions appear so uninterested in changing jobs and developing further?

Impersonal messages sent through Xing or LinkedIn by recruiters and consultants on the volume principle, often written in complete ignorance of the recipient's professional focus and goals, are a considerable nuisance. The specialists and managers on the receiving end are rightly fed up with them. Respect looks different. Nobody should have to deal with obviously irrelevant job offers that bear no relation to their profile, to the experience and skills listed there or to what they say they want. It seems, though, that quite a few recruiters and consultants have lost all sense, under constantly rising pressure to deliver, that changing employer is far more for most people than crossing from one side of the street to the other. It always brings existential questions and uncertainties, unfamiliar challenges, new colleagues and managers, and often a move to a different town.

Even so: for your own career planning, working with a good consultant whose approach is not aimed purely at short-term wins can be worth a great deal. A consultant who approaches the work with empathy and a real interest in how their candidates develop can be of considerable use to anyone who wants to get on professionally. The consultant's knowledge of the market and their background information on potential employers often give candidates a decisive advantage when career decisions are due. A good consultant also knows how to bring out a candidate's individual strengths and open the door to a potential next employer. So why let that chance pass?