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Old 11-12-2008, 07:40 AM
 
575 posts, read 3,127,934 times
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I usually bypass recruiters by only going directly to to the companies. If I see a job that is listed by a recruiter, I call them to get as much information about the company as I can so I can deduce who it is by a simple internet search and go from there! It is beating them at their own game.

Last edited by glxyman21; 11-12-2008 at 08:06 AM..
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Old 11-12-2008, 08:13 AM
 
Location: Stuck on the East Coast, hoping to head West
4,640 posts, read 11,904,566 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by glxyman21 View Post
In my history of using recruiters, i found most of them to be of poor service and quality. They fish for resumes online to build their databases and find names of companies. Whenever I have gone to past interviews, references only needed to be from someone at your past work - manager or not. Recruiters only want to speak to a manager because usually a manager would have decision making on hiring and it is a direct line to fish for more jobs to fill. Also, don't fall into the trick of answering questions of "who else are you interviewing with?" as this is another line for them to find more company names and contacts - just say you have interviews lined up and you do not wish to disclose who.

Recruitment is only a sales factory - and nothing more. If you think about it, they never give you the company name. Yet companies want people that are going to be passionate and enthusiastic about working for them. how can someone become that if they don't find out who it is a few days before interview and then realise they don't want to work for that company. I am a strong believer that companies should do their own recruitment to find the best candidate for them without the miscommunication that comes with a middle-man.
This has also been my experience. At this point I don't even bother with recruiters. The other thing is that I have some really great references that are top in their field--and they didn't appreciate recruiters trying to establish a relationship with them. The bottom line is that the recruiter doesn't have the authority to hire you.

I find jobs by figuring out what companies I'd like to work for and then cold call and/or work my network. I also try to avoid want ads and the job sites, too. I try to minimize my competition as much as possible. It's laborious and time consuming, but it works.
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Old 11-12-2008, 08:43 AM
 
Location: City, State
364 posts, read 1,566,594 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by glxyman21 View Post
I usually bypass recruiters by only going directly to to the companies. If I see a job that is listed by a recruiter, I call them to get as much information about the company as I can so I can deduce who it is by a simple internet search and go from there! It is beating them at their own game.
And by doing so, you have effectively burnt many, many bridges with a lot of companies. Seriously, there are several companies that outsource all of their hiring to staffing firms.
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Old 11-12-2008, 09:50 AM
 
575 posts, read 3,127,934 times
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Originally Posted by djkkt6 View Post
And by doing so, you have effectively burnt many, many bridges with a lot of companies. Seriously, there are several companies that outsource all of their hiring to staffing firms.

Many of these firms have HR departments and websites that list to contact them for job opportunities and there was no need to go through agencies - it was extra publicity for them. Some do outsource everything, but many others don't.
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Old 11-12-2008, 11:15 AM
Rei
 
Location: Los Angeles
494 posts, read 1,759,471 times
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I usually present recruiters with a copy of my professional engineering license, degrees and some of my projects. My work speaks for itself.
I would NEVER give out my personal references until AFTER the interview.
If they have a problem with it, it's most likely a BS.
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Old 11-12-2008, 02:11 PM
 
Location: City, State
364 posts, read 1,566,594 times
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Originally Posted by Rei View Post
I would NEVER give out my personal references until AFTER the interview.
If they have a problem with it, it's most likely a BS.
Again, it's not BS. My company guarantees to all of our clients that we check references on every candidate, along with interview them ourselves, prior to our client even seeing the resume. It's part of the reason why companies pay us tens of thousands of dollars to find people for them.

If you can't understand this, then it's best to just not waste anyone's time and avoid working with recruiters altogether.
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Old 11-12-2008, 02:16 PM
 
Location: Weehawken, NJ
2,179 posts, read 6,707,982 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by djkkt6 View Post
Again, it's not BS. My company guarantees to all of our clients that we check references on every candidate, along with interview them ourselves, prior to our client even seeing the resume. It's part of the reason why companies pay us tens of thousands of dollars to find people for them.

If you can't understand this, then it's best to just not waste anyone's time and avoid working with recruiters altogether.
A very good friend of mine who is head of HR for a very large clothing company told me yesterday it's best to apply on your own for jobs in this economy. Not too many businesses are going to pay tens of thousands of dollars to a recruiter when they are trying to make budget.
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Old 11-12-2008, 02:40 PM
 
Location: City, State
364 posts, read 1,566,594 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by HobokenGuy View Post
A very good friend of mine who is head of HR for a very large clothing company told me yesterday it's best to apply on your own for jobs in this economy. Not too many businesses are going to pay tens of thousands of dollars to a recruiter when they are trying to make budget.
They will when they can't fill that position on their own.

And sending your resume directly to the company puts your resume in a general inbox next to 100's of others applicants for numerous positions. Working with a recruiter allows you to have your resume sent to the hiring manager for that specific position. (Good) recruiters will get you some sort of feedback with 24-48 hours, as opposed to waiting weeks or months to hear something from an HR person.
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Old 11-12-2008, 02:45 PM
 
Location: Weehawken, NJ
2,179 posts, read 6,707,982 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by djkkt6 View Post
They will when they can't fill that position on their own.

And sending your resume directly to the company puts your resume in a general inbox next to 100's of others applicants for numerous positions. Working with a recruiter allows you to have your resume sent to the hiring manager for that specific position. (Good) recruiters will get you some sort of feedback with 24-48 hours, as opposed to waiting weeks or months to hear something from an HR person.
I understand that you are a recruiter and you are trying to make a living, but come on...

Do you not think there was ever a Monday morning meeting where the boss said to his HR worker bees? "Ok, people. Since we have to slash spending budgets, we now have to be more proactive with the hiring process. We cannot afford to pay a recruiter X amount of money, so it's everyone's responsibility to start pitching in and helping out".

More work for same pay. It's happening all over the place. If the company is tightening the belt with little things such as office supplies, they'll be tightening the belt with recruiters.
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Old 11-12-2008, 03:06 PM
 
Location: chicago
89 posts, read 267,266 times
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Quote:
Originally Posted by HobokenGuy View Post
I understand that you are a recruiter and you are trying to make a living, but come on...

Do you not think there was ever a Monday morning meeting where the boss said to his HR worker bees? "Ok, people. Since we have to slash spending budgets, we now have to be more proactive with the hiring process. We cannot afford to pay a recruiter X amount of money, so it's everyone's responsibility to start pitching in and helping out".

More work for same pay. It's happening all over the place. If the company is tightening the belt with little things such as office supplies, they'll be tightening the belt with recruiters.
I have some experience in HR and in my opinion that only works the way you imagine in industries where its easy to get good candidates to apply, or if you want unskilled labor or you don't mind the turnover...retail for example...but staffing agencies are a very good asset to work with if you are looking to fill technical or professional positions. it's a lot harder to find qualified people for those positions and companies are willing to pay the agencies 10's of thousands of dollars to find a qualified person. The recruiting and the hiring process for a company when doing it on their own costs the same amount (I would know, I've done this), yet working with an agency at least they save their people and their time (all converts into money). Plus most of the time staffing agencies back up their recruits so the match is usually a very solid one. I don't think most people understand that companies spend a ton of money on every new hire, and if that person doesn't work out it costs them a lot.
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