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Featured Product:
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Career
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On the Job Hunt is a web log for IT professionals looking for work. Our current job hunter is Chuck Drobny, an IT consultant seeking a new fulltime job. Two other people are contributing to On the Job Hunt, an executive recruiter and career coach and the owner of a consulting firm, who will provide advice from the perspective of a hiring manager. TechRepublic career editor Judy Mottl will also provide links to TechRepublic articles on job hunting. Get your free TechRepublic membership here. E-mail the web loggers here.
Note: Unless you specifically request otherwise, all e-mail received will be considered eligible for publication in all or part on the web blog.
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I have not personally used web site job search/placement services. The people that I do know who have used them have generally been less than impressed with the service and the leads. Newspapers are OK, but sometimes the ads are placed for other reasons (such as gathering information to support a visa or green card application).
You could also look for a reputable recruiter that receives their payment from the company that hires you. Generally their fees are high and they are very motivated to place good people. This type of company may turn down candidates that they feel would be hard to place or problematic. Ask the recruiter about their placement statistics (number of people placed in the past year, average time to place, average salary, number of companies placed at, number of candidates that they decided against placing). This information should be readily available to them and they should be happy to provide it to you.
So, what else works? We find most of our new hires and sub-contractors through referrals from people we know and respect. You could try approaching people that you have worked with or for, let them know your situation and assure them that you are not asking them for a job (because you do want them to keep in touch with you), and ask them to mention you to others that they know who MAY be looking for people or know somebody searching for somebody. Offer them a dinner at a nice restaurant if their referral or lead turns into a job. Most people are happy to help this much.
Hurdles & Issues:
When paying for an important service it is good to be cautious and do some
research. Check with the Better Business Bureau, check with the county for
law suits, validate what the company says about its business credentials,
do Google searches, ask for a list of references for both clients and
companies that they have placed people, and then actually perform the
reference checks. A few hours of time could eliminate wasted time and
money.
An unwillingness to provide references is a big red flag that there is a problem. I once was contacted by a recruiter who provided references when asked. I contacted several of them and found out that almost nobody was happy with that person's performance. The recruiter probably assumed that I would never check. So, if you are given references, make sure that they are current, try to make sure that they are real by asking questions that someone in the IT profession would know, and then ask the people how happy they were and what they did or did not like. You may be surprised.
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