[thelist] Head Hunters, Staffing Agencis and Job Hunting Tips

Sean ethanol at mathlab.sunysb.edu
Mon Jan 13 19:01:01 CST 2003


Howdy,

1) Get the latest (2003) edition of "What Color is your Parachute."  And
read it.

2) Unless it's buying a paper for the classifieds, never _ever_ pay someone
to find you a job.

3) Web sites like monster.com should be part of your job search, but you are
right--such sites are filthy with resumes and have a horrendously low
success rate.  Schedule your time appropriately--maybe an hour a week to
check messages and results from custom searches these sites let you design
and save.

4) Talk to head hunters and agencies.  These typically have a low success
rate but are better than the web sites and newspaper classifieds.  If an
agencies asks you for money, walk out.  If anyone at an agency ever asks you
"so, what companies are you looking at?" WALK OUT!

If you have a company in mind, approach that company directly.  An agency
should be pointing you in directions you haven't considered yet.  They
shouldn't be using you for leads.

5) What method have a high success rate?  Get out of the door and down on
the street!  Seriously, comb yer hair, clip on the tie, and boogie on down.
Unsolicited resumes go to the circular file.  A flesh and blood person at
least gets a chance to make a first impression.

This is 40-45% of your job search.  That is, about 16 hours a week.  Going
to companies you've targeted and researched as places you'd want to work and
can utilize your skills.

6) People get jobs when one person says to another person, 'I know Aleem,
he's a good egg.  Give him a shot."  Your #1 resource is the people you know
and who've know you.  You did an internship while in school, right?  (If
not, ask for a refund.  No matter what your area of interest, internships
are the best learning (and networking) experiences going.)  If the folks you
interned for aren't hiring, they'll at least know folks in the industry and
can make introductions.

Who else knows you?  Your school.  They have a placement office--use it.
Use it like a $5 whore.  That's what it's there for.  Fraternal
organizations, social clubs, sports teams--use them.  That's networking.
That's the "hidden job market."

This is another 45-50% of your job search.  Pursuing warm introductions
through your network and working on expanding that network by going to
industry conventions, open houses, etc.

Yes, that leave 5-15% (2 to 6 hours) for the web, newspapers, head hunters,
etc.  Concentrate your resources on the methods that have the best history
of leading to jobs.

Good luck!


HTH,


Sean G.

-----Original Message-----
Sorry if this may come off as off-topic or thelist is not the right
place for this. Please do let me know.

I am starting a job hunt as a fresh undergraduate and have so far been
looking for jobs on places like workopolis, monster and a couple of
others. My question is, are there any websites people on thelist have
experience with or could recommend. Quite frankly, I get the impression
that 100s of people submit their resumes and mine will probably just go
at the bottom of the pile, let alone even get read. Have you people had
much success with these sites?

What is the deal with head hunters/staffers? Is there much of a
difference between the two and why do some people avoid them. Should I
be approaching them? Do they penetrate the "hidden job market"? What
other alternatives do I have? Should I look up the yellow pages and
start calling companies or drop my resumes to their HR? I once read that
you should try and submit resumes to the relevant departments and not
the HR department. Is that a better approach?

Any job hunting tips, resources, advice and experiences the evolters can
contribute would be a great help. I am particulary interested in the
webdev field in the Toronto area.

thanks,
aleem





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