Someone sugested that I reach out to headhunters. I've never worked with them before.
Any advice here?
I am in IT, ~10 years of experience, I am located in Southern California.
Any suggestions or comments are welcome - thank you for taking time and I hope all goes well for all of you today.
@oli - thanks for this - this is #gold
I work for a IT Staffing and Services firm and I think the most important aspect of working with a recruiter is building a relationship with one you can trust. If they do not ask to meet with you face to face, then you can assume they are the type of recruiter that isn't serious about your best interests. You should NEVER have to pay a recruiter for their services. The fees are paid by the clients that they place you at. Recruiters are paid on commission so be up front with them on how much you need to make (hourly rate and salary expectations) so they can match you up to relevant positions that meet your expectations. A good recruiter will negotiate on your behalf to get you as much as they possibly can. They will also let you know if you are over priced for the market. If you feel like it is a difficult negotiation, you are probably not working with a recruiter that has your interests in mind. The good news is that now is a great time to be looking for a new job (especially in IT) as unemployment is at record lows and there is a war for talent out there.... especially with Healthcare domain experience. If you need help finding a Staffing company, start with seeing who is ranked by staffing industry analysts and work your way down the list. http://www2.staffingindustry.com/Editorial/Daily-News/List-ranks-largest-IT-staffing-firms-in-US-by-revenue-38639
I would say do heavy networking on LinkedIn
I work for a IT Staffing and Services firm and I think the most important aspect of working with a recruiter is building a relationship with one you can trust. If they do not ask to meet with you face to face, then you can assume they are the type of recruiter that isn't serious about your best interests. You should NEVER have to pay a recruiter for their services. The fees are paid by the clients that they place you at. Recruiters are paid on commission so be up front with them on how much you need to make (hourly rate and salary expectations) so they can match you up to relevant positions that meet your expectations. A good recruiter will negotiate on your behalf to get you as much as they possibly can. They will also let you know if you are over priced for the market. If you feel like it is a difficult negotiation, you are probably not working with a recruiter that has your interests in mind. The good news is that now is a great time to be looking for a new job (especially in IT) as unemployment is at record lows and there is a war for talent out there.... especially with Healthcare domain experience. If you need help finding a Staffing company, start with seeing who is ranked by staffing industry analysts and work your way down the list. http://www2.staffingindustry.com/Editorial/Daily-News/List-ranks-largest-IT-staffing-firms-in-US-by-revenue-38639
Best of luck in your search!
Guys, keep it clean. Advertising is not allowed here. Would hate to see a good thread removed by site admins just because someone named a company or two.
Good luck to all
They DO NOT take a cut of your wages. The company pays them if you work out and end up staying for at least six months. I was placed in Molina by a head hunter. Create a linkedin profile, I have about 40 messages from recruits in by Inbox right now. I get about two emails from headhunters a day.
I can recommend Workbridge Associates as a good recruitment company to work with in So. Cal.
They all have access to the same jobs.
Not necessarily. Some have exclusive placement agreements and are 'prefered vendors'.
For example, Toyota IT had a list with a handful of vendors who were able to place contractors with them. Some of our folks went there, all used the same vendor. Now they are goine (moved the HQ out of Cali) but that's how the game is played.
They will also take a cut of your wages. Be careful there.
Some are really good here in Long Beach - be smart about who you chose. Chose someone that comes recommended. You are not buying a recruiting firm, you are buying a recruiter, make sure you know who will be working on your placement, that's the key. They all have access to the same jobs.
I've been getting hounded by random recruiters and headhunters on LinkedIn over the past couple months. That and Dice.com have been helpful for me in finding jobs.
Best of luck friend.
I've had several experiences, most of them negative. Some have treated me like if I was a piece of meat... It had felt like working with mercenaries or traffickers... Most only want to make a quick profit out of you with a quick positioning (companies usually pay them a commission of up to 25% of your first years' salary). I've been lied about job specs, contract terms, etc.
Not all recruiters are what I would call "headhunters"... I got my current job through one that I would consider an exception, as he was the total opposite of what I've just described above. He spent a lot of time working with me to be successful in getting the job (and my salary is not high at all). At the end, we both won, but his style an attitude was extremely different when compared to the other experiences I had.