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Subject:Re: FW: Headhunters From:"Dennis Hays/The Burden Lake Group, Ltd." <dlhays -at- IX -dot- NETCOM -dot- COM> Date:Wed, 31 Jan 1996 17:17:58 -0500
At 10:20 AM 01/31/1996 -0600, "Eric J. Ray"
<ejray -at- galaxy -dot- galstar -dot- com>/anonymous wrote:
>> Could someone please explain headhunters to me?
>> What do they do, who pays them, who should use
>> one, where do I find one, do they help in the job
>> search? Do TWers use them, or are they just for
>> management?
I guess I'm qualified to answer this one. I used to be a
recruiter/headhunter and did so for many years in the US and in the UK. A
headhunter receives a fee for finding a person for an existing job. The job
may be for the same company as the headhunter or may be for a different firm.
Now, here's a subtle difference. There are some people calling themselves
recruiters, but in actuality they are "agents" or Human Resource personnel.
The difference is a headhunter actively searches for a candidate for a
position by cold calling and networking while HR and agents place ads and
wait for calls to come their way.
A good headhunter gets the fee from the contracting company--never the
candidate. And, if you're good at what you do, you should never have to pay
to get a job or contract. The fee can be based on salary of the position or
it can be a flat fee.
You usually can find a headhunter at most technical "body" shops. Contact
C.E. Publications, Inc. --> ceweekly -at- eskimo -dot- com regarding a subscription to
their Contractors Weekly publication and/or ask about their Directory of
Contract Serve Firms. These list hundreds of agencies. And, do TWers use
them and do they help? Definitely!! A couple headhunters have found
wonderful fulfilling contracts for me for technical writing assignments.
They also are quite good at finding permanent and temp to permanent
positions. I usually get 2 or 3 calls a week!
If anyone has any specific questions regarding procedures or is in the
middle of negotiation, contact me off the list with specific questions and I
will try to answer them. Any general questions will be answered here for the
benefit of all TWers--those that contract and those considering a change in
employment.
Dennis Hays, The Burden Lake Group, Ltd.
Voice: 518/477-6388 Fax: 518/477-5006
E-Mail: dlhays -at- ix -dot- netcom -dot- com
"Write with fire; cut with ice."
