hunting for heads.

Are head hunting firms (people who find you a job) all that they are cracked up to be...i ask cause later in the am i'm going for a 'meeting' with a company and was wondering what people thought about them.. These people tell me they have a written gurantee that i will get a job w/in a year in the field that i choose...the downside i have to cough up 150 for this service....

so what are teh thoughts on this type of program? good investment, waste of time and money.....i'm still wet behind the ears for this sorta thing...

<cough, i think i have sars>

from everything that i've heard (never experienced), companies that want cash up front from you are a SCAM.

Other companies (head hunters), that have recruited me, have usually paid me 1.5 to 2 times the going rate for the same service. IE, i was hired for level two support, supporting 5000 users, I was paid twice what a full time union employee would have made. The downside was that I could have been fired at any time. The upside was that I knew my **** and was offerd a raise at the end of my initial contract (which I turned down to work for myself).

IMO, the situation I described was a pay for performance job and the headhunter more than did his job. But, unless they can guarantee you a job (and are willing to sign a contract that says as much), I think you're getting screwed.

Chris, agencies charge the employer when they find the right employee and usually get a bonus if the employee turns out to be good.

If they are charging you to find you an employer, what incentive do they have to make sure they match you with a good job?

Yep, Scam.

Quote:

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Originally posted by NooNoo

Yep, Scam.

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I've used headhunters before, never paid for it. Nothing is guaranteed. And a year is an incredibly long time. If they guaranteed within a month, I might be willing to pay. I would also have a lawyer handy in the event they don't match up.

that is a SCAM dude.. dont go for it, you will get screwed..

Definetly a scam, used several different placement firms as I have worked contract several times. Don't ever pay them a thing, and a year, a midget in a bikini can get you a job in a year!!!

I went through an agency once (didn't pay).

Was supposed to be a 3 month old contract, got laid off 2 weeks later.

Why? Go figure. I suppose company financial problems.

Well before you forget this idea entirely I was once recruited by an agency that wanted my first month's salary in exchange for finding me a job. It was a good job too. The problem was that I got into a freak accident and had to quit soon after.

Before you poo-poo the idea I would first get the particulars. ie, what kind of job are you going to get, and second what kind of salary are you going to get. Also, questions like are you going to have to relocate, work nights, health insurance etc...and get it in WRITING.....

But in this tight economy it MIGHT be worth it.

....Just my two cents, don't blame me if you don't get what you want...maybe the other people are right and it IS a scam...:D

Damn dude, I can find ya a job within a year

I worked for a head hunter for 4 years. We never once charged a candidate for our services, but we charged the companies 30% of your first years anual salary for full time placements and 60% for contracts (if you made $20.00 per hour the bill rate was like $80.00) There are a lot of "Employment Services" out there, don't get them confused with head hunters. Employment services charge you for services rendered. They will help tweak your resume, teach you interviewing skills etc etc. If that is what they want your money for go for it other wise you are likley to pay $150 today, then in 2 weeks another sum of cash for resume, copies, telephone work etc etc.

john

When I got my first job, I didn't have to pay anything...the new employers paid the "finder's fee."

When I was unemployed after that, I had to use a different company that wanted my first month's pay as their "finder's fee." I had to sign a contract stating such. Some prospective employers will pick up that fee while others won't. As it turned out, I found a job on my own and didn't have to pay those clowns anything.

There are jobs out there but finding the right one is the hard part. Anyway, good luck.

thanks for the reply's....did'nt sign up just went and talked to the people...here is there website it has a 'hidden link' y they did'nt make a secure login with member name and password is beyond me...

http://www.e1maine.com/e1home.html


do a mouse over of the upper left of the picture...click there that's their secret link....

they told me about the hidden link, just that they had one...so i just ran the mouse over the whole page and discovered that...

Chris,
I was unemployed for 7 months after getting laid off. I found the best places on the web, (my opinion, based on the amount of responses I got by phone and REAL emails)was Dice.com. Dice also seems to get the most traffice from headhunters and companies.

Monster is good but refresh your resume every couple of weeks as the older it is, the further down the list you get.

As I am sure you already know, the employer pays the headhunters, not you.

Good luck,
EC.

Or you could spend the $150 down in the Brazillian rain forests and join up with some true "headhunters"?!?!?