Corporate Headhunters

[W3WN]

15 years ago, I sent resumes around to various companies and agencies trying to find a new job, sensing that layoffs were coming... and then to find a job after they came.

Haven't been actively looking for almost 9 years, since I landed my current job.

About 3 years ago, I start getting emails from one particular placement firm. Headhunter wants to talk to me about a job an hour away... for less pay... for a 6 month contract with option to renew. And no health benefits. I politely declined and asked him to remove me from their database.

I guess I was too polite. Or he didn't bother to follow through.

A couple of days ago, I start getting emails from another headhunter at the same firm. Job in Akron, OH... oh, wait, next email says that it's here in Pittsburgh, HE'S in Akron. Well, part-time... never mind. I email him back, saying "thanks but no thanks". Three times.

Wednesday night, we come home from the ballgame, there's a message on the answering machine. He wants to talk to me about this exciting new career opportunity. I ignore it.

Friday night... another message. Last night, ANOTHER message.

I really don't want to be rude. (And the Boss won't let me, she says I need to work on my manners.) Just in case (you never know what can happen anymore), I don't want to burn a bridge. But this is getting ridiculous.

Any suggestions?

[N8YX]

Sometimes I feel like I'm walking through the jungles of Borneo with all the headhunters I have chasing me.

My response is simple: Diagonal or vertical title increase and a minimum 20% compensation adjustment or GTFO.

And I've had a few serious offers as a result.

[W3WN]

I think your skill set is better (and in higher demand) than mine.

[N8YX]

I think your skill set is better (and in higher demand) than mine.
It's not so much what you do as how you word things. For example...your LinkedIn page: Are you effectively selling yourself as a cutting-edge IT professional (regardless of your specialty) or are you coming across as someone who gets paid to watch the disk platters spin?

[W3WN]

Actually, I don't have a LinkedIn page at all. I'm not trying to sell myself.

At 58, I'm rapidly reaching the point in time where finding a new job, if I ever had to, in IT would be at best difficult. And I'm not looking. I've been with HBI for 8+ years now, almost 9, and I'm very well paid for what I do.

I might give serious consideration if it was a management job, but again, at my age, I'd be shocked if one was offered. My time as an MIS Department head (what would now be called IT) is too far in the past. It would take a HECK of a lot of $$$ for me to even consider it.

And absolutely NOT on a 6 month contract with option to renew. What do I do in 6 months if the company decides to "move in another direction"? I had that happen when I was at All-Clad as a contractor. I replaced someone who'd been there 3 years, and if a contractor survived 6 months, they were usually set (according to the skuttlebut, anyway). At 7 months, I get a call at home informing me that the parent company, in a cost cutting move, decided to terminate ALL contractors across the board, regardless. Just like that. This is NOT a situation I can afford to put myself in again.

[ka4dpo]

If you're happy where you are you might want to call that chair warmer and just tell him to please stop calling. I certainly understand the plight of being in contracted positions. When I worked for the DOD we had a lot of contractors on a whole bunch of programs. A lot of these people were good friends of mine, we had worked together for years and it was really tough when Uncle Sam decided they no longer needed to fund a particular program and a whole lot of people would get laid off and that really hurt. I hope your current company is solid (sounds like it is) so don't let that jack wagon get to you. He's just some clown who gets paid by the phone call and he's going through his rolodex.

Even though I'm retired I have a linkedIn page and a lot of people still use me as a reference. I have recently gotten several job offers from contractors but I have no desire to work anymore and besides, my magic 8 year obsolescence period for retired government weenies is fast approaching. No one want's you after that because statistically all of your important contacts have also retired.

[N8YX]

I plan to keep consulting well past "retirement age". What I do is essentially a hobby that I get paid for, so why not?

[KG4NEL]

Retirement lulz

[NQ6U]

Retirement lulz

I know naught of this “retirement” thing of which they speak.

[K0RGR]

Having been 'retired' at 58, I would say that if you can hang onto the job you've got, by all means do so. The year I was 'retired' nearly all of the 'retirees' were 58 and senior level engineers like me. Imagine that.

Financially, I am very, very fortunate. I did the math, and determined that with my pension and Social Security, I would still be bringing home about the same as I was when working, so there has been no panic. I have had some physical issues for a long time that would make going to work difficult at best. Now, I think I'm going to wait until I turn 66 before I start looking, just to avoid any issues with Social Security. I wish I lived in a state where they don't tax SS benefits, and that may be in the future. My wife is still working and plans to for another 10-15 years, and she has great health insurance. I don't really know what's going to happen when I hit Medicare age, but I think things may get even better, as I will get a supplemental plan through my old employer.

But, if I had not been laid off at 58, I'd have worked at least a couple more years, which would have been good for the finances.

I guess I would try to talk to the headhunter directly, and let him know that you are still happily employed and wish to stay that way.

[KG4NEL]

I know naught of this “retirement” thing of which they speak.

In 35+ years when it's even a thought of mine, they'll just shoot us to keep the costs down.

[KG4NEL]

It's not so much what you do as how you word things. For example...your LinkedIn page: Are you effectively selling yourself as a cutting-edge IT professional (regardless of your specialty) or are you coming across as someone who gets paid to watch the disk platters spin?

SSDs have made this a lot less entertaining, let me tell ya.

[XE1/N5AL]

You've got to watch out for some of those headhunters. Not all of them are professionals.

Once, an incompetent headhunter "cold-called" me on the telephone and set me up with a job interview. I wasn't really looking to change jobs, but decided to go on the interview just to see if the grass was greener. Turns out that the company was looking for someone who was fluent in German (which I'm not). I really didn't want the job, anyway. It wasn't a bad job ...just not my cup of tea.

Six months later, that company was still looking for someone to fill the position. Apparently, they had dropped the German language requirement and the same headhunter had started calling other engineers at my company. To get their attention, he was telling my fellow co-workers that it was a good job opportunity because I HAD BEEN ON AN INTERVIEW WITH THE COMPANY AND HAD LEFT FAVORABLE COMMENTS ABOUT THE COMPANY WITH THE HEADHUNTER!

Soon, all my bosses knew that I had been interviewing. Fortunately, I was in good standing with everyone farther up my company's food chain, so nothing ever became of my little adventure.

[XE1/N5AL]

SSDs have made this a lot less entertaining, let me tell ya.
Who says you can't spin SSDs? :)

[W3WN]

There used to be a local recruiting firm called A C Coy, the name was the founder's last name spelled backwards. (I don't know if they're still around.)

When I was still at the Engineering firm, I went through a 3 month cycle with them...

I'd get a call from a fresh young headhunter. Lots of promises of jobs available and an interview pending, if I would just update my resume. So, out of curiosity (later habit) I'd resend the resume. I'd get an acknowledgment and more promises of interviews any day now. Then nothing for another 2 months plus. Rinse and repeat.

I'd ask the new fresh young one what happened to the previous one. No one ever knew (or admitted to anything), they usually said that they had never heard of that person before.

Then, finally, one cycle, I get a follow up call. A local bank is interested in talking to me. For twice my salary! So I set up a late afternoon telephone interview. Went very well, or so I thought. Person at the bank was based in Philadelphia, told me he would be in Pittsburgh in 3 weeks, and he wanted to meet me, take me out for dinner to talk about the job, the works. Next day, I talk with the headhunter, thinking maybe, MAYBE, this time they came through. Made it VERY clear I wanted to follow up with this.

Nothing.

A month goes by. I call the guy in Philadelphia. He's surprised to hear from me. Tells me that the rep from AC Coy never called him back, never answered his calls, so he figured I had changed my mind... and hired someone else. Nutz.

2 months. Cycle starts again, but THIS time, I ask the brand new young gun what the blazes happened? He promises to find out. Calls me back the next day. Seems that the previous young gun had been fired right after my phone interview, and no one ever bothered to follow-up on his recruiting prospects. Why? Because if I had been hired, the fired guy would have gotten the commission, not the guy who closed the deal.

You can imagine my reaction.

I never heard from or dealt with them again after that.

[n2ize]

Ain't capitalism great ?

[NA4BH]

Corporate head hunters

http://static5.businessinsider.com/image/52af7d42eab8ea977c65fad9-960/ashley-madison-site-1.png

[XE1/N5AL]

Looks like I signed up for the wrong site:

14245

[NQ6U]

Corporate head hunters

http://static5.businessinsider.com/image/52af7d42eab8ea977c65fad9-960/ashley-madison-site-1.png

Wrong kind of head…

[ka8ncr]

I go through this periodically and what usually shuts them down is telling them that I will not accept contract positions. Those seem to be the bread and butter of these outfits.

[W3WN]

Corporate head hunters

http://static5.businessinsider.com/image/52af7d42eab8ea977c65fad9-960/ashley-madison-site-1.png
And here I thought it was related to
14247

[W3WN]

I go through this periodically and what usually shuts them down is telling them that I will not accept contract positions. Those seem to be the bread and butter of these outfits.I've done that as well, but sometimes that doesn't stop some of these people.

I once interviewed with a small group that was part of Westinghouse, in their big R&D center outside of Monroeville. I thought it was a permanent position, it was a 6 month option-to-renew contract. I got along great with everyone, it looked like it could have been a fabulous opportunity... only thing was, Westinghouse was in the process of disintegrating, and these guys all told me that they didn't know if THEY would have jobs in 6 months. So I passed on it -- at the time, LMFD was only a few months old, and I couldn't afford to take a short time contract.

4 months later, the entire facility was shut down.

Anyway, I'd told this to the headhunter before AND after the interview... and yet he kept calling with other contract positions. Eventually, I just stopped answering the phone or returning his messages (good thing we were one of the first to get Caller ID!)

[n0iu]

Wednesday night, we come home from the ballgame, there's a message on the answering machine.
Any suggestions?

I can't believe you still have a "home phone" with an answering machine!

[KG4NEL]

I haven't had a home phone since 2004.

[W3WN]

I can't believe you still have a "home phone" with an answering machine!
You never know when ET will stop by to...

[W3WN]

Had another phone call from a headhunter at Robert Half. This time, I got home before they closed for the day, so I called back and talked with the guy.

What had happened (or so he said) is that they recently revamped/updated their database, and somehow the notation that my resume was 9 years old was somehow... ignored? erased? Well, no longer of interest, that's for certain.

They try to match potential contractors up by skill sets. Appears that at the present time, in this general vicinity of the world, there is currently a high demand for people with Help Desk experience, especially with a side dose of M$ Server experience. And that's why I've been getting calls.

All for 6 month contracts. Option to renew, of course. Oh, and for less money and lower benefits than what I'm making now.

So after the recruiter and I talked for a few minutes, he promised to flag my resume as old, inactive, and that I'm not currently looking. I was nice... really, I was. Explained that I didn't want to burn any bridges, because you never know what might happen; I just don't want the calls right now.

We shall see.

[WØTKX]

I'm thinking about dusting off my MCSE and getting my certs current.

Besides, I actually like Windows, including 10.

I'm not in love it it, but it works, usually.