Clever headhunters look for ways to entice an individual to look seriously at a new position – particularly if the headhunter is working on a ‘contingency basis’ (meaning that he/she gets paid only if you take the job.

Finding someone who is in Q3 is very good – from the perspective of the headhunter – mainly because convincing someone to make a job change is much easier if the individual is ‘bored/frustrated’ in a job.

From the perspective of the individual, however, this is particularly dangerous.

So – be careful! Make sure that whatever job/position for which you are being considered is actually a step UP – and not merely some of the same sorts of things you are already doing but at a higher level of compensation and a new environment.

Taking such a job might put you over in Q2 for awhile – but very soon you will find yourself right back in Q3 – albeit with a little higher standard of living.

Headhunters who are not compensated on a ‘contingency basis,’ i.e., the ‘retainer headhunters,’ won’t necessarily put a hard sales job on you to make a job move if they can see the Q3 problem.

Just be aware of this when the headhunter calls.