The ugly process of dealing with headhunter and recruiting agencies

I've got my resume out there. I'm open to short-term contract jobs if they're a good fit, even though I'm hell bent on being mostly self-sustaining. I don't even mind going through a third party to pick up the gig. However, it's getting too hard to find the good stuff in all of the noise.

The problem is that so many agencies put the commission over the fit, and that drives me nuts. It's not good for the employee or the client. If you can't tell me specifics about the job over e-mail, I'm not interested. I have wasted so much time over the last year responding to agencies that have crap I don't want. Which part of "short-term local contract for ASP.NET or C# development" sounds like "contract-to-hire VB6 in Louisville?"

1 Comment

  • Geeze Jeff with your experience and smarts and contacts I think you could get some work rolling w/o an agency. Reach out to your past clients once a quarter--at least. Call 'em next week. You'll feel good, you'll feel like you're your own boss. You'd be surprised how much they're gonna tell you and what projects they have going that they could use some help with and what's in the pipeline. And if for some reason that's not do-able for you (or even if it is) get 3-6 testimonials (with photos) and send them to a dozen contacts (each). You'll more work than you can cache!



    I'll be honest with you, this is my least favorite...or maybe really just the part I don't feel I do that well. But it'll keep you rollin' year after year, and feeling safe. And then you'll look forward to those quarterlies (in a weird way) because the more you're paying, the more you're making. Or maybe you'll incorporate and let PayChex do your payroll for ya and your account work the tax man. Anyway, you're golden.



    cheers,



    Cameron

Comments have been disabled for this content.