Headhunters?

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Noble Savage

Noble Savage

Kang of Kangz
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So I have been toying with the idea of relocating to another region of the US. One of the challenges is that I would be starting completely from scratch with my network of contacts in my field of work (IT). A thought that has come to mind is to work with a headhunter to find a decent job within the area I would look to re-locate. My question is how legit are these guys? I have been on the other side of the equation many times where companies have hired them to find employees but not necessarily the other way around. Would they even consider such a thing and if so what kind of compensation would they be looking to get? Most of the so called "headhunters" I have dealt with basically just matched my resume up with keywords in a job description. Obviously I would be looking for something a little more quality where the headhunter would have established connections in the big companies in the area. Is this even a realistic idea and if so where the hell would I begin to find such a resource. Looking for anyone who may have had any experience with a situation close to what I am describing.
 
Borzak

Borzak

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I can't speak for the IT industry but they contact me often in my industry. I haven't found them to be very knowledgable about the job they are trying to place you in or contact you for. They seem to go off a list of keywords as well.

Guess it just depends.
 
Khane

Khane

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Recruiting firms do indeed work "the other way around". You can and should definitely contact a few IT recruiting firms in the area you wish to relocate to. However, you should note that companies will almost always look at resumes of candidates who do not need to relocate to fill the position first so you need to make it abundantly clear that you are looking to relocate regardless. That it's somewhere you are certain you want to live. Even if you aren't certain just lie and say you are because otherwise you'll have a very hard time unless you have a heads and tails better resume than a majority of candidates for a specific position/field.

As for finding good recruiters that's a total crap shoot. I've worked with some excellent recruiters and some god awful ones, even from within the same companies. For some it's a matter of knocking on as many doors as possible, for others it's actually trying to find the right fit. It's all about the individual recruiter. There's no harm in working with as many as you can find because when they present you with a job req that clearly isn't a good fit you can just say no to it. They have to ask you before they submit your resume to a company if it's something you're interested in.
 
fred sanford

fred sanford

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It's realistic but as Khane mentioned, you're more likely to get something once you've relocated. Look for head hunters that are larger and more established so they have better contacts. My last three jobs in 11 years all came from a recruiter. I've worked at AirTran, Siemens Energy, and Darden Restaurants doing IT work.
 
Frenzied Wombat

Frenzied Wombat

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If you have a quality LinkedIn profile and good education/experience they will flock to you like flies to shit. I probably get solicited by a recruiter at least once a week, and that's despite me excluding "job opportunities" from my list of reasons to contact me. If you don't have a LinkedIn profile, or just have a shitty one with no pic and outdated accomplishments, the first thing you need to do is update your profile.

The bonus to using this strat (besides not having to search for a headhunter yourself), is that you will attract recruiters specifically for your field, and you'll be able to counter-vet them based on their contacts/company/recommendations. Ultimately though, as the job seeker it's a free ride no matter what the quality of the headhunter is, so the most you really have to lose by accidentally choosing a shitty one is time. Just stay away from job mill firms like Robert Half, and focus on recruiters that specialize for your field and you'll be fine. Relocation is generally not an issue to the hiring firm depending on where they're situated, and assuming you won't try and saddle them with the relocation costs. Just make it clear that you are moving to that area anyways and it should be a non-issue.
 
O

Obtenor_sl

shitlord
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Frenzied Wombat_sl said:
If you have a quality LinkedIn profile and good education/experience they will flock to you like flies to shit. I probably get solicited by a recruiter at least once a week, and that's despite me excluding "job opportunities" from my list of reasons to contact me. If you don't have a LinkedIn profile, or just have a shitty one with no pic and outdated accomplishments, the first thing you need to do is update your profile.

The bonus to using this strat (besides not having to search for a headhunter yourself), is that you will attract recruiters specifically for your field, and you'll be able to counter-vet them based on their contacts/company/recommendations. Ultimately though, as the job seeker it's a free ride no matter what the quality of the headhunter is, so the most you really have to lose by accidentally choosing a shitty one is time. Just stay away from job mill firms like Robert Half, and focus on recruiters that specialize for your field and you'll be fine. Relocation is generally not an issue to the hiring firm depending on where they're situated, and assuming you won't try and saddle them with the relocation costs. Just make it clear that you are moving to that area anyways and it should be a non-issue.
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Pretty much this. I'm in IT with a good LinkedIn and Jesus christ, it's like vultures; I get 4 offers a week at least. Tidy up your CV and properly format your LinkedIn, you'll get offers in no time.
 
Shonuff

Shonuff

Mr. Poopybutthole
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Don't pay for a recruiter to find a job for you. They try to double dip all of the time. When I was "out there," I had recruiters trying to charge me 10k, and then charge the Employer that and more. They might try to tell you things like they aren't a recruiter, they charge for professional development. And in the meantime, they are doing the same things that all Recruiters do. They think that if they change their job title, they can get away with double dipping. Oh well, I guess there's a new sucker born every day. The company that did this had people lined up in the waiting room.

edit: Actually, I had two recruiters try do this
 
Khane

Khane

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Interesting Lyrical. I can tell you, as someone who's worked with recruiters my entire professional career in Software, I have never once heard of a recruiter trying to charge the employee. They always charge the employer.
 
Frenzied Wombat

Frenzied Wombat

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Yeah same, never in my 15 years of interacting with headhunters have they ever mentioned any type of fee. Sounds like a scam.
 
Shonuff

Shonuff

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Khane_sl said:
Interesting Lyrical. I can tell you, as someone who's worked with recruiters my entire professional career in Software, I have never once heard of a recruiter trying to charge the employee. They always charge the employer.
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I was a Junior Executive in a corporate setting, maybe it's different. I was making well into six figures. They try to tell you that the market isn't so good, and that for every 10k a year you make, it will take a month. So it will take you over a year to find a job, but they can cut your job search down by at least 25%, saving you 30k+ in lost income. And then they tell you that sounds like a good deal, right?

Every professional job I've ever gotten was through an alumni job department. Isn't that sad? Recruiters not only didn't get anything done for me, but they didn't understand the job they were hiring for. I had one recruiter ask me why the job he was trying to fill was so hard to fill. He didn't see a need for it. Apparently, the company he was using kept shooting down his candidates. The job that I had was managing a supply chain, that had about 200 million in revenue annually. The company always pushed way more product than it's vendors could handle, so it was a nightmare. The recruiter commented that he thought product moved itself. Really?
 
Khane

Khane

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Software is probably the easiest industry to fill positions for so I wouldn't be surprised if it's a bit different in other fields. However, the story you were told by the recruiters who were trying to talk you into paying fees sound like typical snake oil salesmen.
 
Shonuff

Shonuff

Mr. Poopybutthole
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Khane_sl said:
Software is probably the easiest industry to fill positions for so I wouldn't be surprised if it's a bit different in other fields. However, the story you were told by the recruiters who were trying to talk you into paying fees sound like typical snake oil salesmen.
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The sad thing was, they had offices in penthouses in the high rent areas of the city. Someone was paying their rent. Also, to be fair, my industry was in decline, and there was an overabundance of Execs looking, some of them more desperate than I.
 
Noble Savage

Noble Savage

Kang of Kangz
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Alot of good advice guys and I appreciate it. I have run into the relocation thing being a problem before. I was interested in a job in Chicago and would have moved there in a heartbeat if I had gotten it, but basically the recruiter I had to work through wouldn't return my calls once he found out I was not local and told me such. I don't have a LinkedIn account mostly because I have wanted to avoid unwanted solicitation, but I guess since I am getting back into the market I should go ahead and set one up.
 
Khane

Khane

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LinkedIn is a must honestly. There is no good reason to not have it. It's very easy to ignore emails and that's all they are. Emails.
 
Khane

Khane

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They're all bored housewives who do no actual work but get paid exorbitant commissions anyway?

Oh shit you're right...
 
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