Frequently-Asked Questions About Referral Relationships

In my new special report, "Developing Strategic Alliances and Partnerships with Recruiters," I address some frequently-asked questions about developing and structuring referral relationships.

Here are some of those questions:

Question: Why would a recruiting firm contract with me instead of hiring a resume writer to join their staff?

Answer: The major advantage to the recruiting firm is that they do not increase their fixed costs when they contract with you instead of hiring an employee. They collect a commission for referrals they send your way, but don't have to pay a (fixed) salary for what may be an uneven workload.

Question: How should I handle 'internal' client projects for the recruiting firm?

Answer: There may be situations where the recruiting firm contracts with you directly to write a resume for a key client (instead of the client paying you).

In these situations, you can charge the recruiting firm your fee, less the referral commission (i.e., they would pay 60-85 percent of your normal rates for these projects), paid directly to you at a specified time (i.e., once a month). I suggest invoicing the recruiting firm for these projects and handling payment separately, rather than deducting payment from commissions you owe them.

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Want to learn more? Purchase the report, "Developing Strategic Alliances and Partnerships with Recruiters." The cost is just $27 and the file is available for immediate download.

New Special Report: Developing Strategic Alliances and Partnerships with Recruiters

Have you ever considered developing a formal relationship with a referral source -- a recruiter, headhunter, career coach, mental health therapist, even a Realtor® -- but didn't know where to start?

Today, I'm officially launching my latest Resume Writers' Digest special report: "Developing Strategic Alliances and Partnerships with Recruiters."

This information-packed report is designed to give you an in-depth guide to develop and structure these relationships -- from finding prospective referral partners to coming up with a compensation structure to things you should include in a Letter of Agreement or contract to ensure the relationship begins -- and ends -- the way it should.

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Here is an excerpt from the report:

Risk vs. Reward and the Role of Resources
The more risk you take on (i.e., investment in materials, free programs for the recruiting firm's clients), and the more resources you commit (developing custom forms and templates, meeting with clients at the recruiting firm's offices because that is more convenient for them), the greater the share of the project fee you should reap.

You might consider different fee-splitting percentages, depending on the arrangement:

• Seeing clients at your office vs. at the recruiter's office vs. virtually
• If you are collecting the fee vs. if they are soliciting the funds and then paying you (thus allowing them to "use" the money in the meantime).

If it's up to you to structure the agreement, write it in such a way that is favorable to you, and be prepared to negotiate the details, if necessary.

As a general guideline: The more resources you commit to the project, the greater your share of the project fee should be.

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I conducted interviews with resume writers who currently are in strategic alliances and/or partnerships with recruiters or headhunters and there are also five case studies in the report detailing their experiences. Report also includes Frequently-Asked Questions.

The "Developing Strategic Alliances and Partnerships with Recruiters" special report is just $27 and is available for immediate download.

In addition, I'm doing a special giveaway ... Suggest a topic for a future Resume Writers' Digest Special Report (using the comments section below) and I'll pick one random entry to win a free copy of another one of my special reports, "Maximizing Your Cash Flow: Subcontracting and Referral Relationships." Limit one entry per person. Comment deadline: 2/28/11. Winner will be notified via e-mail.

Resume Partnerships: All-Day Coverage

I'm working on a new special report (tentatively titled: "Developing Subcontracting and Referral Relationships") and was reminded of a cool concept I first heard about a few years ago:

A few years ago, I was at a resume writing conference with a pair of resume writers who lived on opposite ends of the U.S. They operated a joint website and shared projects so they could answer the phones from 7 a.m. Eastern time to 7 p.m. Pacific time (which was really 10 p.m. Eastern). The one on the East Coast worked from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. Eastern time and the one on the West Coast worked from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Pacific.


These two writers would have been competitors if they lived in the same town, but by working together, they served more clients and offered more responsive service than a solopreneur could.


I think that's a neat idea.

What's even cooler would be using a service like Grasshopper with it -- so you could seamlessly transfer calls to whichever resume writer was on duty. (Grasshopper was recommended to me by a client and I signed up as an affiliate because I think it's a great way for resume writers to manage incoming calls and information.)