ATTRACTING THE HEAD-HUNTERS: Professional recruiters are a fact of business life. No longer dealing only with boardroom jobs, they are now the referees and coaches at all levels of the rat-race. How skilled you are at catching their eye could be a determi

Every generation has a question it asks itself. A century ago it was: 'How do I get posted to a good regiment?'; 50 years ago: 'How do I get into the civil service?'; 30 years ago: 'How do I land a job with a big corporation?'; 10 years ago: 'How do I make my way into the City?' Today, it would more likely be: 'How do I get myself head-hunted?'

Head-hunters have become a ubiquitous feature of business life. They are the referees, coaches and ground staff of today's commercial rat-race.

How well you get on with them - and how skilled you are at catching their eye - may well prove to be the determinant in whether your career takes you to the boardroom or you are forever consigned to the branch office.