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Kevin Kohut
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An Open Letter to IT Headhunters |
| Kevin looks back at his headhunter experience. |
| by Kevin Kohut |
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7/31/2001 -- Well, everyone's still talking about the downturn in IT: It seems no matter what publication I look at, there's at least one article about IT job cuts, lower salaries for certified professionals, or the increasingly higher qualifications being sought by companies that are hiring. Yet, based on the number of unsolicited e-mails I get from headhunters, the IT recruiting industry must still be booming!
In the Los Angeles area alone there are literally hundreds of recruiting firms (just do a metropolitan search on Dice.com -- you'll see what I mean), all claiming to find you that ideal IT position. Being the seasoned IT professional that I am, and also a recent dot-com casualty, I thought I'd let these headhunters work their magic with my résumé.
I found several IT positions that looked like a good fit for my experience and skill set, and contacted the recruiting firms that were handling them. I sent a nice cover e-mail, along with my résumé in the obligatory Word format. If the headhunter had a registration Web site, I filled that out as well. (I should note at this point that this was not just an exercise to provide column fodder -- after my layoff from the dot com, I was truly looking for a new position.)
As a result of my six-week odyssey into the world of IT recruiting, I've written the following letter to any headhunter who is inclined to listen:
Dear Mr./Ms./Mrs. Headhunter,
I know that the IT industry is in a big mess right now. And I know that there are hordes of IT professionals seeking positions, making you a very busy person these days. As one of those professionals I'd like to offer a few suggestions:
- Bone up on your IT knowledge. One of your ads is asking for at least eight years of experience with Windows 2000. Windows NT hasn't even been around that long! Other ads spew forth myriad acronyms -- no one can possibly know all those technologies (or at least know them well). I know, I know, you're just echoing what your client has asked for. Well, you should know enough about the realities of IT to address these issues with your client, rather than just parroting their job description.
- Communicate! Respond to my e-mail. I know I'm not your only candidate, but it only takes a couple of seconds to hit the reply button and type a sentence or two. When I leave a voicemail message, return my call, either to tell me that you're moving forward or that I'm not fit for the position.
- Listen to me. I told you I didn't want to commute more than 30 minutes one way. So why are you asking me about positions that are an hour or more drive time? I also told you that I'm not a C++ programmer, yet you send me job descriptions for C++ gurus. I did go out of my way to mention that I have an extensive project management background, yet you act surprised when I ask you about a project management position.
- Tell the truth. Why do you think we IT professionals rank you guys right down there with used car salesmen and personal injury lawyers? (No offense to either of these fine professions!) Because getting the straight truth out of you is an exercise in futility. I wasted precious time going on interviews for positions that paid far less than you represented; you told me my résumé had been forwarded to a hiring manager when it hadn't; you assured me that I was one of a select few candidates you were sending to a client, when in fact you had already gone through a stack of applicants.
Thank you for hearing me out. Oh, there is one more thing: Can you please tell your clients not to place position requisitions with you unless they are serious about filling them? I know this one's not your fault, but it sure is irksome to go through several interviews, only to find out that the position isn't funded and won't be filled.
Sincerely,
Kevin Kohut
Still Looking?
I never got a job offer after all my searching. But that turned out to be a good thing in my case -- it gave me the extra push I needed to finally get my own business idea moving forward. Of course, as my company develops I'll be needing to hire a variety of IT professionals. Maybe I'll enlist the assistance of a couple of headhunters. Or maybe not!
What's your experience with IT headhunters been like? Post your comments below!
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Kevin Kohut has been involved with information technology in some form or another for over 18 years, and has a strong business management background as well. As a computer consultant Kevin has helped both small businesses and large corporations realize the benefits of applying technology to their business needs.
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More articles by Kevin Kohut:
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There are 51  user Comments for “An Open Letter to IT Headhunters”
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Page 6 of 6
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| 8/6/10: Steve W. from Phoenix, AZ says: |
Thank You, Kevin, you are the first person to actively come right out and front these people off for what they are. Most of them don't have a job for the applicant, they are just collecting resumes in order to justify a paycheck. The thing that makes me angry is that these people and the people who are selling "education" are being listed as employers offering positions and when you actually apply, they take your application and either try to sell you education in a dead end field (An already saturated market with no jobs available or a field like hand drafting after C.A.D.D. became the industry norm.) The operative word, and you said it, is RECRUITERS, they don't care about you, your job, your life, nothing, all they care about is getting you to sign a form saying they helped you so they can get a commission. Think about it, Monster.com has a notice on all the resume areas and in their home page warning that "Recruiters need not reply", but they all do anyway as if that is a signal for them to ignore your needs in favor of their own. When one sees the national job statistics, remember the fact that most government inspectors working for statistics information for demographics experts don't bother to go to a job interview in order to find out if it is really a job. I think it should be a law that they have to advertise responsibly or face a fine if they get caught tampering with the demographic dishonestly for labor statistics. I would guess that about 90 percent of the jobs advertised right now (and listed on job statistics) are a scam to get you to sign up for college or put your application and resume on their personal database so they can get a commission check for "finding" you, when what they did was run a misleading ad. Meanwhile you still haven't found a job and they wasted what time you might have had to apply for a a real job. Also, you have to sift through all of these ads to find the real jobs available which are scarce enough and should be reported accurately. When I have posted my resume on the Monster.com and Jobbing.com (the worst ones) websites, then all I get is recruiters calling me starting at 6 am and up until almost midnight. Most people online who haven't had to deal with it try to rationalize it. But ask yourself, why should I call this guy and sign up to let him have one third of my paycheck? Tell him to go find his own job, a real one, not trying to suck the life out of the actual working class and professional employees. Professionals aren't the only ones who are bothered with all this phony nonsense. It is worse, actually in the general labor ads. I have seen ads for "Warehouse Work" and when the person desperate enough to work at ANY JOB shows up to hire on, they make everyone fill out an application which includes the question, "Do you think you could improve your life by getting more education?" Realistically, who doesn't think that? But, if you are unemployed, looking for something to get you enough money to be able to eat right now, then, did you come down to sign up for a job so some guy could secretly try to sell you a certificate program from the "trade school" that he is recruiting (advertising/selling) for? These people are SHAMELESS. |
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