Headhunter/Recruiter poll

I don't want to name any names. But I thought this would be amusing. And was also curious as to what the results would be. We have all had to deal with one or more then one. Im sure theres maybe some interesting stories to.

Headhunter/Recruiter

1. Yea I've had one send my resume to a bunch of places without asking me. Later realizing that some places wouldn't call me because a headhunters fee would be attached. And that they couldn't take my application because the headhunter sent my resume to them first.

2. Heard that a headhunter turned a job down for me. Without telling me about the job.

3. Been told buy the a company that they liked me but didn't want to deal with my headhunter.

4. Had a good position offered to me through a headhunter/recruiter. Later to find that the company was not in great shape. And was laid off later.

5. all of the above?

 

I voted 4, although it wasn't a good position. It was terrible, then I was laid off (company went bankrupt - they weren't paying their employees for months even before I started)

Although, even those 3 months experience was enough to get my foot in the door and I learned my first 3D package. I got a very good job a couple of months later, which I stayed at for nearly 7 years.

[Edit] Oh yeah, the headhunters didn't get paid either. C'est a vie.

 

I've been told the opposite of 3 before. Approached a company directly only to be told that I had to go through their agency instead.

 

My friend got involved with recruiter nonsense once. They worked tirelessly to sent his CV absolutely everywhere, including the company he was currently working for. He got fired.

Tsk, eh?

 

View from the dark side!!! (Headhunter / Recruiter)

I hope we aren't all so bad, although I would agree that the industry has a bad name as there are a huge amount of cowboys out there! Most headhunters / recruiters seem to focus predominately on the employer and give little regard to the candidate, which is in my opinion kinda pointless as a good candidate is worth their weight and there is also a add on as they will if you treat them right use your services as an employer in future. The problem stems I feel from headhunters / recruiters following the money and not by simply doing their job right (in my experience if you do the job right and communicate honestly throughout the entire process to both client and candidate then the money will follow). I also think that employers tend to get the service they deserve, if they are just looking for the lowest rate then the type of agencies that they will have the pleasure(?) of working with won't be the best and will likely as not use sharp practices (such as sending out CVs to employers without the explicit permission of the candidate for example), and will normally be working against the clock as they are up against other agencies of the same class, which doesn't give anyone a good service (the employer is not neccessarily getting the best candidate, the candidate is not getting enough information/preparation/choice/communication, the agency is not getting a good enough fee or enough time to do anything other than churn out a few CVs, the headhunter / recruiter is simply going to move on to the next opportunity). Yes, at the end of the day we are a sales organisation (just as your employer is), but candidates are what we sell so it amazes me that my industry on the whole doen't recognise we are nothing without the candidates.I don't want this post to turn into an advert for my company or myself, and I hope you don't read it that way, its just an opinion from someone on the other side of the coin.

 

My friend had his CV arrive on our boss's desk after one agency just bulk emailed it.

This was 5+ years ago now but still caused severe problems for him.

I believe they offending agency has been bought up a bigger one and the old cronies have left.

 

Headhunter / Recruiters are the blood sucking pond scum of the game industry. Even lower than the know-it-all comic-book-guy-like kids behind the counters at EB. They're like parasitic used car salesmen.

I have yet to have one do any good for me, whatsoever and I've been in the biz for 20+ years!

All they ever do is troll the same sites you can, regurgitating posted job offerings and whoring your CV to anyone with an inbox. If you're lucky, they know an HR person at a company or two and then they can get your name into the HR person's inbox, but most companies don't want to deal with paying the fees, so you get an immediate flush.

I've had recruiters "fix" my resume by fixing spelling errors, such as; "gameplay (turned into 'game play')" and "edutainment (turned into 'entertainment'). I find when people don't know enough about the biz to even recognize terms, that's a bad sign.

I once told a recruiter, "I *DARE YOU* to get me a job before I get my own! If you do, I'll throw a $1000 cherry on top, from my own pocket!" And I'm no slouch. I have enough skill / experience to be in demand, but

I have yet to have to cough up that $1000. Just stick to your friends and such things as LinkedIn.

Recruiters suck.

 

I certainly wouldn't go so far as to say they're pond scum, but there are certainly many many careless ones out there by the sounds of it.

I got my first job because of a recruiter. Coming from some remote town with no degree and no contacts in the industry, I didn't know what else to do.

They bug me periodically. But I am still grateful for them getting the foot in the door for me.