OPUS and You
What to expect when you bring OPUS International into your life
Although no statistics support this fact,
it is incontrovertible. There comes a time in every food scientist's
career when he or she takes stock of the status quo and calls
an industry-specific placement consultant.
Whether you're an employer seeking staff
to augment your division, or you're a scientist seeking a better
opportunity, your first call should be to OPUS International.
Regardless of the reason that impels you
to call OPUS, you can be assured that we are true placement professionals
dedicated to furthering your career in the food industry. We respect
the fact that your company and your position are precious.
Talking the talk
Before we get down to business, let's make
sure we're speaking the same language. An "employer"
or "client" is a company or individual who purchases
recruiting services; a "candidate" is a person who expresses
interest in making a career move. An executive recruiter will
answer to "placement consultant" and even "headhunter,"
but please restrain the impulse to call us "body snatchers."
OPUS, like all professional recruiters,
is an agent of, and is remunerated by, our client companies. Candidates
never pay us a fee, as they might to an "employment agency."
The recruiter-employer relationship can
be either a "contingency" or a "retained"
association. In the first instance, we work for our client without
compensation until a candidate has been offered -- and has accepted
-- a position. In a retained association, the client contracts
and pays us to conduct a search, whether or not our candidate
is hired as a result of that search.
Walking the walk
Following is a brief view of what you can
expect when you invite OPUS to be your partner in the advancement
of your Food Science career.
First, whether you are a client or a candidate,
you are assured of complete confidentiality if that is what you
want. Sometimes employers conducting a sensitive search ask us
not to reveal their identity in a first contact with potential
candidates. However, the company name is a major asset when we
talk to candidates about opportunities, and it should be revealed
as soon as possible.
If you're a candidate, whether recruited or coming in from the
cold, you have every right to expect confidentiality from the
outset. OPUS International will never, ever broadcast a résumé,
nor even mention a candidate's availability to an employer, without
the candidate's knowledge and consent. (From a practical standpoint
alone, why spend time arousing Company X's interest in you if
you have no desire to work there?)
Your best safeguard, when you decide to become a candidate, is
to limit your contacts with recruiters -- ideally to OPUS and,
perhaps, one other. Have a phone or in-person conversation with
each recruiter you're considering. Form a "partnership"
only with those with whom you have genuine rapport.
Clients and candidates alike have the right to expect diligence,
responsiveness, and efficiency from OPUS and all other recruiters.
Some explanation, however, is in order. Whenever OPUS agrees to
conduct a search for a client, we begin to work immediately. But
any search is going to take a certain amount of time. After all,
we pride ourselves on finding exactly the right person for the
job.
Candidates, too, must realize that it takes a certain amount of
time to receive feedback from company hiring managers. Certainly,
we do everything possible to ensure a quick response.