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?"

Comments

Heh

[ferret70]

Ah, those college days...

Re:You don't want to use one, even if they're hone

[SlightlyMadman]

I've had managers that couldn't code, and certainly the headhunters couldn't, but they DID know how to communicate.

Then why aren't they managers? The only real skill that makes somebody a good headhunter is the abilily to sell, and I don't consider that to be a useful skill. It creates its own need. If one day, everyone suddenly lost the ability to convince people to buy things, nobody would miss it.