| Topic Name: |
Headhunters |
| Message Name: |
DO NOT PAY |
| Date Posted: |
03/25/2004 |
| In Reply To: |
After eight years in a profession that led to two cross country moves, my wife and I moved back home. She had a job lined up and I have been searching for almost six months.
I have searched the internet, newspapers and networked all my family and friends. I am looking for help in regards to using a paid 'headhunter'.
Does anyone have any experiences they would share good and bad about paying a company/person to become a career coach and recruiter.
Thanks, |
| Message: |
As a retained search executive, I have some knowledge in this arena.
These firms pray on the fears of the out of work. They first thing they ask you is how much did you make in your last Job. That is so they can determine if their fee structure will pay out. In other words, how much money can they get out of you? Because it is a sliding scale.
Often you are required to sign a contract giving them a back-end kicker of 10-15% of your 1st years gross if you take a job they present, in addition to a stiff up front fee.
Any firm you are considering - check out the Better Business Bureau. There are likely complaints. These firms just reconstitute themselves with a new name to sluff off the baggage of the old name.
There are many legitimate paid services you can use - resume prep, direct mail houses, testing services, coaching, etc. But these charges are generally not too big.
I would take that money you are going to give a "paid" headhunter, and invest it some serious direct mail. More work, but a real chance for a payout.
If legitimate headhunters are not finding positions that match up to your background/resume, why should a firm that charges you up-front have more success? Arguably a search firm has to place somebody to get paid (or present several good candidates). The kind of company you are talking about has to do nothing to get paid.
Career coach - possibly a good idea. But a whole lot of career coaches have never held industry or career positions that would give them the experience to actually understand A) your background, and B) the market place of jobs. They have mastered a process, and can provide guidance. But so can others.
Any career coach that seems too sure that it can help you get placed - I would be very suspicious.
It can be a legit path, but they tend to work more on the inner you, helping you do what you need to do. They will not get you a job.
Suggestion: have a resume pro go over your resume and background.
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