Research is essential

In the first instance you are talking to a journalist and in the second, one of the other great untouchables: the headhunter. In that case, the call may be the start of a beautiful relationship - or at least a relationship that should lead to a better job, even if you were not looking for one.

There are a few things to bear in mind, especially as the investment banking and securities industries start to look forward to better times and the phone starts to trill more frequently with the promise of new challenges. It starts with that one secretive call and it is worth paying attention from the outset.

One ECM banker in Frankfurt says headhunters often do not have the faintest idea what the job they are trying to fill involves. He says: "They just phone and ask if I know anybody that would fit their brief for equity derivatives. Why don't they just ask me to do their job?"

Beware the cold caller. They are not really interested in what you are doing and where you are going. They are more motivated by the opportunistic commission.

However, if the time-wasting cold-caller is still a universal experience of workers in the financial services sector, then so, too, is the polarisation caused by the downturn. Most headhunters these days are, like the girl with the curl in the middle of her forehead, either very good or very bad.

The scarcity of mandates has compelled the best players to become more professional, but there are still fly-by-night operators filling the shoes of the weak that have fallen.

You need to know who it is that has called you out of the blue. It will benefit you even if the headhunter appears to be the bluest of blue chip outfits.

A London-based fund manager, who recently moved jobs, says: "Do your homework. These guys are paid by the recruiting firm to sell its brand to potential candidates and nowadays they sell as well as any sellsider."

She says do not be afraid to ask awkward questions, particularly if the first call is vague about the exact nature of the job on offer. Discuss the call, privately, with friends, trusted colleagues and industry peers. Many of them will have dealt with the headhunter or their firm and will be able to advise you whether to pursue the inquiry.

Put your prejudices to one side: big is not always best and boutiques are not always specialist. Toby Boyle of Henderson Private Capital, who uses headhunters to build his team and his portfolio companies, says: "We tend to favour the boutique consultancy types because they tend to know our business better. But corporates will favour casting a wider net and that might suit the bigger recruitment groups more."

Never forget who pays the piper. They are the reason that this job has stumbled upon you. As one M&A banker that has moved from Frankfurt says: "I was not actively looking for a new situation, and if the headhunter had not called then the opportunity to move would have passed me by."

The client is also the reason that the headhunter is painting it in the best possible light. If you leave it all to the headhunter, then second-tier banks become bulge-bracket and an opportunity to improve your salary dramatically may well go begging.

A risk manager at a Swiss bank says: "You can use headhunters quite efficiently to manage the expectations of their client. They can be very useful as a mediator in negotiations. But don't rely on them to negotiate you a big salary; they are not paid to do that."

Alternatively, try and cut them out as soon as possible, the London fund manager says. She says: "Trust your gut instincts and if they are good then just deal direct. Get rid of the middlemen." It may help you cut out some of the competition, who stick close with the headhunter in the belief that they are the among the chosen few. You are never the only candidate. They will be backing as many horses to the final furlong as they chase the commission.

While your reputation will be temporarily in the hands of the headhunter; you are the one that will be sitting though the interviews; it is your curriculum vitae that is under scrutiny. It is up to you.

More often than not, the experience with today's headhunters is a good one. As one headhunted banker says: "It is like broking. Some people broke stocks, others broke people. The good ones are really up for it and make a real effort to understand the individual and what they are looking for, whether they would fit the team. They are helping to restructure the business, not just placing people."

Thinking along those lines is closer to the employer's remit, but it perhaps marks a sea change in the headhunter's role to one which is less opportunistic and more focused on the long-term relationship. Potential candidates can only benefit.