Slashdot Mirror


Have You Personally Used an Honest Head Hunter?

Haacked asks: "As a software manager, I've tried using recruiters and head hunters to find qualified employees. My experience is that used car salesman feel like paragons of integrity, in comparison. It seems their interests never lie with the job applicant, nor the company. However, I once read that some recruiters do act with integrity and actually care about the people they are trying to place. The book suggested finding a head hunter who is interested in a long term relationship with you (not for the commitment-phobic) and will serve more as a career counselor, attempting to find a position that meets your goals. Seems to me that establishing a long-term relationship with fewer as opposed to screwing people over in volume would make good business sense to garner repeat business. Have any of you ever worked with any firms you felt represented your interests well?"

19 of 478 comments (clear)

  1. Yes. by grub · · Score: 5, Funny


    Have You Personally Used an Honest Head Hunter?"

    Yes, a fellow named Jeffrey Dahmer. Nice guy, if a bit strange. I'd ask him what he did with the rest of the bodies but he always just gave me a sly grin.
    I wonder what ever happened to him..

    --
    Trolling is a art,
  2. Yes. by cliffy2000 · · Score: 1, Funny

    Duane "Dog" Chapman was pretty good for me. See?

  3. I have.... by bahamat · · Score: 4, Funny

    I've been used by one, does that count?

    Wait, maybe that was abused...

  4. Networking the other kind... by kabocox · · Score: 2, Funny

    Mom and Dad were the best job finders for me. Of course if you don't want to work near family this might not work for you.

    1. Re:Networking the other kind... by admiralh · · Score: 4, Funny

      Wow, I didn't realize George W. Bush read slashdot!

      --
      Hopelessly pedantic since 1963.
  5. Nope... by telstar · · Score: 4, Funny

    Got a call from a guy that's called me every 3-4 months last week.

    Me: "I'm still pretty happy in my current job"
    Him: "Well, we're looking for C# developers, but we'll interview people with java talent to fill those roles."
    Me: "We're looking for Java talent as well, so if I knew good people, I think we'd take them."
    Him: "Really?!? What's the hiring manager's name?"
    Me: "I'm pretty sure he wouldn't want that information given out."
    Him: "Fine... **click**"

    I don't expect to hear from him in 3-4 months.

  6. Good headhunters... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

    If I knew a good headhunter, I wouldn't be at home in my underwear posting to Slashdot, you insensitive clod!

  7. I knew one once. by HBI · · Score: 2, Funny

    His name was Alan. He was a decent guy. Alan and me got to know each other when I needed to fill some spots on a desktop support help desk at 35k a year (this being back in 1995-97 when it was hard, but possible to find such people). He sent over a boatload of fine people - I hired about 6 people off of him.

    Anyway, since he was so good, I gave him my resume and let him shop me around the next time I was looking. He landed me in 3 jobs in a row. Then, I have to admit, I fucked up. I was in the middle of a divorce, and I was being slack. The company fired me because of a performance issue (my fault - I was taking too much time up, showing up late, that kind of thing).

    After that, he didn't have any time to spend on me. I suspect (this was mid-2000) that he was having performance issues of his own - the .com bubble had burst in Silicon Alley and placements were really dry.

    I haven't been able to get a hold of him in a long time. I suspect he is out of the business, he doesn't work for the old agency he used to. If anyone knows of an Alan Chase in the NYC area, send me an ICQ or mail, though, he was a great guy and i'd love to work with him again. Divorce is over, things are cool again.

    --
    HBI's Law: Frequency of calling others Nazis is directly correlated with the likelihood of the accuser being Communist.
  8. Contract agencies... by `Sean · · Score: 2, Funny

    On a side note, ditto for contract agencies. Seven years ago I was totally psyched to find a contractor that paid me $28/hour for jack of all trades systems administration and network architecture. Being 19 or 20 at the time I was enthralled with that hourly rate. Many years later, while talking to a company I used to contract for, I found out they were billing me out at $250/hour. Riiight...

  9. Head Hunter's Over Sell by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    I once had a head hunter place me in a position at Enron as a DBA of their financial databases, even though my only prior experience was that of MS Access and a little VB. My incompetence was almost exposed a few times especially when one of my macros got out of hand and started calculating losses as profits. I just hope my new position at SCO will last a little longer :)

  10. My experience by cptgrudge · · Score: 2, Funny
    We had someone come out from a temp agency, but they had a section specializing in tech support. We needed another person to help with projects for a while. Info: I work for a public school district.

    He was a moron. Idiot. Slacker.

    I don't understand why he was even in the tech field in the first place. Sure, he knew how to install software, but I had to show how to browse a Windows network! He was the equivalent of an end user! Ack! He had very little knowledge, couldn't improvise, and only showed up half the time.

    When we interviewed (and hired) somebody else for the position he wanted to fill, he was disappointed. Wanting to somewhat save his damaged pride, I said, "Yeah, the person we hired for the job had a Master's Degree."

    To which he replied, "If I had a Master's Degree I'd just go in and ask to buy the school."

    As if they roll up a million dollar bill with your Master's. As if one could simply buy a public school.

    It was the stupidest thing I had ever heard, but I only said, "Yeah, the tech sector is kinda tight right now."

    --
    Qualitas edurus commercium, nullus penitus net rimor, nullus deus beneficium
  11. Re:They are out there... by Elwood+P+Dowd · · Score: 2, Funny

    Tell us Vince's last name. I'm sure he'd appreciate it.

    --

    There are no trails. There are no trees out here.
  12. Re:Huh? by El · · Score: 5, Funny

    [Suddenly realizing I forgot to click Post Anonymously]
    Well, I certainly declared it as income on my income tax forms, and certainly didn't spend a cent of it on illegal intoxicants (or even legal intoxicants) or women of negligable or negotiable virtue, that's for sure!

    --

    "Freedom means freedom for everybody" -- Dick Cheney

  13. wait a minute... by neurojab · · Score: 5, Funny

    You're trying to tell me that you're having TROUBLE FINDING QUALIFIED SOFTWARE ENGINEERS? Surely you jest. Why not just put an ad on Monster.com and look through a few of the thousands of resumes you'll get. If you're too lazy for that, I can forward you twenty or thirty names. Damn, you can't throw a dead cat in Sillicon Valley without hitting an unemployed software engineer with excellent credentials.

    While we're at it, I'm having trouble finding a starbucks in the San Francisco Bay Area. Can Slashdot help? Please send me the addresses of the one closest to me. I'd also like a free Frappucino.

    1. Re:wait a minute... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

      Damn, you can't throw a dead cat in Sillicon Valley without hitting an unemployed software engineer with excellent credentials.

      I don't disagree with you here, but I just want to criticize your technique. You're supposed to swing a dead cat, not throw it.

  14. Hell, I used them by NineNine · · Score: 2, Funny

    I couldn't care if they were honest or not, jsut as long as they got me a job. That, and kept buying me dinners & lunches. They'd call me, and I'd say, "Sure, let's talk. Over lunch.", then I'd have them meet me at a very nice place for steaks and/or sushi. Why would I care if they were honest? They got me the jobs, and as long as I got paid, I didn't care if I ever saw them again (but I usually did call them up for dinner/lunch every few months).

  15. Re:Huh? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    I am an auditor for the IRS. YOU ARE BUSTED.

    I note you correctly filled out form IGH-RUT-GNE73823, Income Slipped to Me in Unmarked White Envelope.

    However, you neglected to list the value of the envelope itself.

  16. Re:Huh? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    I checked box 5c, "Empty Envelope Returned to Sender".

  17. Re:They are out there... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    It's Gambioni, Vince Gambioni. Just tell him Rico sent you, and you'll be okay.