[Moma]

What's the trick to cracking the IT headhunter game IN THE US?

My friend said that most of them just send out mass emails to people with certain qualification on the resume as per a buzzword search on Monster or Dice (or wherever one's resume is posted) and then they screen and set up interviews for the most suited.

A fam friend suggested that I immediately ask what rate they are offering once they call so that they do not waste my time gathering my details and screening me for jobs just to have me dangling.

I have had several request last four of SSN and also month and day of birthday. Date of birth request is that legal?

Also, should I withhold giving last four of SSN to the agency or is that okay? Please advise, this is a bit of a new animal I am dealing with out here.

Thanks,

[BoneDaddy]

Hey Brother Moma,

I'm an old IT hand since the mainframe days, still hitting it every day.

I'm on the other side of the headhunter game and occasionally use those cats to fill a position. As such, I tend to deal more with the guys on the sales side of the business rather than the traditional "headhunter" who is the guy out searching for talent.

Whether dealing with these kinds of guys is useful for the job seeker is somewhat debatable - a lot of it depends on what kinds of organizations you are targeting in your career search. The larger organizations will tend to use these guys to fill positions, smaller organizations not so much.

Some of the more successful hires I have made have been job seekers who did their homework, identified my organization as the kind of place they'd like to work and used their networking skills and plain ol' perseverance to get to me. As an employer, a go-getter like that will rise above the noise and get my attention.

My advice to a job seeker would be to identify specific organizations in the area and find the ones that are doing well. From that group, determine which are kind of organization YOU want to work for and target accordingly. Be reading your local Biz journal for clues.

Are you active in your local IT-specific user-groups? Seek them out and get active. The meetings are free and often you'll find free food and vendor swag. Get out, get known, build a network and work it.

Everybody else scans the job boards and signs up with a placement firm. Be the guy that's proactive and you'll stand a better chance of getting a potential employer's attention.

Should back or PM if I can assist in any way.

Bone

(10-15-2012 12:48 PM)Moma Wrote:  

What's the trick to cracking the IT headhunter game IN THE US?

My friend said that most of them just send out mass emails to people with certain qualification on the resume as per a buzzword search on Monster or Dice (or wherever one's resume is posted) and then they screen and set up interviews for the most suited.

A fam friend suggested that I immediately ask what rate they are offering once they call so that they do not waste my time gathering my details and screening me for jobs just to have me dangling.

I have had several request last four of SSN and also month and day of birthday. Date of birth request is that legal?

Also, should I withhold giving last four of SSN to the agency or is that okay? Please advise, this is a bit of a new animal I am dealing with out here.

Thanks,

[Parlay44]

They have accounts on LinkedIn and "friend" me all the time. They'll send me job offers through the website.
Usually decent guys. Professionals. LinkedIn is a good resource for work.

[DoctaWho]

You should never have to give any of your ssn or your date of birth. The key to finding a good head hunter is networking. In other words you mainly want to deal with head hunters that you know have placed people in the fields you are looking for at the salary you desire. Remember, you want a head hunter that is trying to get you the job you want and not a guy who is trying to put you in a job he has open. For example, a few years ago I would get regular calls from one recruiter trying to put me in a development job. Each time I told him I wanted to transition to BA work. He constantly ignored my requests because he stood to gain more by placing me in the job he had available and was saving the BA jobs for guys with more experience so he would make more.

There is nothing wrong with stating your salary requirements and the job you want when they contact you. The main problem is that if a head hunter finds your resume on monster, dice...they will mainly be looking to place you in a job they have and not the job they want. That said, depending on your level of experience and how well you can write a resume then you'll get tons of responses from posting your resume on that site.

I just took a contract, sadly not what I wanted but the pay is decent, and I still get offers and listings. Just be patient and either network your ass off or be willing to take a job you don't want for a while just to get in good with a certain headhunter.

One last piece of advice is to call the companies you want to work for and try to find out if they deal with a particular firm. I know a guy who has an IT contract at a bank making a lot more than me with less years of experience. How did he get in that position? He actually wants to do development, is amazing at writing a resume that pings the interest of hiring managers and got a recruiter at the only local firm the bank works with to put him up for the job.