Sherry Ettleson
After graduating law school in 1986, Sherry spent years in Washington working for progressive non-profits and working for a very progressive Senator (Sen. Paul Wellstone D-MN). Her last job before she became a mother was working at M+R Strategic Services, a political consulting firm, where she put her experience and skills as an advocate to use for her clients – many of which are non-profits and foundations.
In 1998, Sherry left M+R and the work world following the birth of her children. After many years of being out of the (for pay) work world, a former colleague called to ask if she could help search for a new Chief Operating Officer. She knew their business and their clients. She was sure that even after seven years of being out of the workforce her contacts would still work. She was right. She found a great new COO and additionally a new CFO for her colleague’s firm. After that Sherry decided to start her own professional search consultant business.
But here is the twist: Sherry is not a typical headhunter who gets a percentage of the hire’s first year salary. Her clients pay her by the hour. That way non-profit organizations can afford her, and they know they are getting what they pay for which is her time, experience and contacts. Organizations can hire her for a certain length of time or until she finds the right person. Some very small organizations hire her just for her contact list when they have exhausted their job posting options.
Sherry also has a few clients who work a lot with consultants on a project-by-project basis. She helps them build their “bench,” ie. a team of experts who her clients can call when projects come in.
In this economy, organizations need someone who can sift through the many resumes they receive when they post a job opening. Sherry becomes an extension of an organization’s human resources department. In addition to mining her personal contact list, she will post the position on on-line job sites, sift through resumes, do initial interviews, set up in person interviews with clients and check references.