I posted my resume on back in December when I was laid off. I got flooded by calls from various headhunters, but one occured last week that really put a bad taste in my mouth when it comes to headhunters. It went something like this:Me : Hello?Him: Can I speak to Mr. Bradley?Me : Yes, that's me.Him: Hi, I'm xxxxx from yyyy and I saw your resume on We have an embedded job that match your skill set. Does this sound interesting?Me : Sure. What is the product and what type of work is it?Him: It's an embedded Java job.Me : Oh, I don't know/do Java.Him: But it's an embedded job.Me : But you also said it's Java work.Him: Yes, but if you know embedded, you can do Java.Me : Um... no, Java is a lanaguage, embedded is completely different.Him: No, if you know embedded you know Java.Me : Trust me on this one - Java is a language they're using in an embedded system. I have plenty of embedded systems experience, just not doing anything with Java.Him: Then why did you say you did embedded work on your resume?Me : Because I've done 8051, ARM, AVR, PowerPC, and Intel based processor embedded designs in my history, including hardware and firmware.Him: So.... then you know Java.Me : No, I don't know Java. Java is a language. Java CAN be used in an embedded system, but more often it's straight C or assembly language instead.Him: You can't know embedded without knowing Java.Me : Are you actually serious?Him: Yes - Java is a prerequisite for embedded in this job.Me : Maybe for that job, but not generally - that's why I didn't list it on my resume!Him: But on your resume you shouldn't say you know embedded if you don't knowJava.Me : (getting really irritated at this point) It's clear from my talking with you that you have NO CLUE what you're talking about, and I wouldn't consider working for you or any client stupid enough to hire you. Goodbye!I've gotten other really bizzare calls, too - one who couldn't get it through her head that I didn't want to move 120 miles away no matter how...

......Quite a lot of headhunters/recruitment 'consultants' (in UK) are justglorified insurance/snake oil sales people with the so called ability tomatchthings up. Often some companies have targets to meet so do simpleword searches and never read the resume/CV.I have in the past had problems with "VME bus" and "VME Operating System",those who know the later will know that it is rarely considered an embeddedsystem let alone a small system!Personally I think resumes/CVs should be distributed as image files, withsufficient added noise to the image to make OCR very difficult. To forcereading and stop word searches and changing of the documents to send topotential clients/employers.-- Paul Carpenter | PC Services GNU H8 & mailing list info For those web sites you hate

Why are headhunters overwhelmingly idiots?

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brybb03 18 years ago

I don't know if anyone is still reading this thread; however, I couldn' resist responding. I want to be up front and let everyone know that I a a recruiter. No, I am not trying to recruit anyone here. I just wante respond and actually give you some advice in finding the right recruiter. Yes, many recruiters make us look bad because they don't have the technica expertise in explaining the position, or asking the right questions (bu pretend that they know). So in order to qualify the recruiter, ask them this: What does industry is the company in? If you have automotive embedde experience, it may not be enough for a wireless company. Are you working with the hiring manager? Recruiters will only understan the position if they are dealing with the boss. Don't even deal wit recruiters that have to go through HR. HR can be just as clueless. And if they ask you to tweak your resume, forget it. The hiring manager director of engineering will know what to look for in a resume. Tru embedded developers can see through the b.s. in a resume. Recruiters cannot help an engineer with his/her resume. Period. So don't fall for that trap. Anyway, just my thoughts....

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CBFalconer 18 years ago

Please do not top-post. Your answer belongs after (or intermixed with) the quoted material to which you reply, after snipping all irrelevant material. See the following links:

(taming google) (newusers)

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Mark McDougall 18 years ago

I've heard...

"If you can't do it - teach it! If you can't teach - consult!"

I guess taking that one step further...

"If you can't consult - recruit?"

Regards,

Mark McDougall, Engineer Virtual Logic Pty Ltd, 21-25 King St, Rockdale, 2216 Ph: +612-9599-3255 Fax: +612-9599-3266

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Robert Adsett 18 years ago

The idea being that if they can actually parse that question they should be eliminated from consideration? ;)

Robert

Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com

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Everett M. Greene 18 years ago

Then there's the recruiter I encountered who said he was paid so much money to do recruiting that he couldn't be bothered to discuss the jobs for which he was recruiting.

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Moon Shine 18 years ago

Why are headhunters idiots? Because there are zero requirements to become a headhunter other than wanting obscene fees for a few minutes on the phone.

Why are they hated? Because they are typically sleazy as a used car salesman, an un-needed middleman, a parasite.

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AZ Nomad 18 years ago

They are no different than the HR department of any company. Think of them as outsourced HR.

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Mark McDougall 18 years ago

Which is exactly what Moon Shine just said!

Mark McDougall, Engineer Virtual Logic Pty Ltd, 21-25 King St, Rockdale, 2216 Ph: +612-9599-3255 Fax: +612-9599-3266

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Guy Macon 18 years ago

...without the longevity of HR employees. There is little point in assisting a headhunter by, say, giving him a lead in the hope that he may help you in the future. For him there is no future; he will be gone in a few weeks.

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AZ Nomad 18 years ago

exactly not.

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Mark McDougall 18 years ago

"Because there are zero requirements to become a headhunter other than wanting obscene fees for a few minutes on the phone. Because they are typically sleazy as a used car salesman, an un-needed middleman, a parasite."

Reads like a dictionary entry for "HR" to me?!? :P

Mark McDougall, Engineer Virtual Logic Pty Ltd, 21-25 King St, Rockdale, 2216 Ph: +612-9599-3255 Fax: +612-9599-3266

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Rob Horton 18 years ago

How about communicating in English? With this sort of rubbish, you only make yourself appear to be an imbecile.

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Why are headhunters overwhelmingly idiots?

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