[goleoboy]

any good recommendations? any reputable headhunters you'd recommend or had positive (or horror stories?!?) experience with personally?

[Choccywoccydoodah]

What industry are you in? Certain firms specialize in an area.

[entropyfan]

I've worked with Hudson Hong Kong and it pretty much did not get anywhere with them. I'm currently in negotiations with a company I worked for back in the US about an offer. I was fairly unhappy with Hudson however.

[goleoboy]

I am in the advertising industry. Any thoughts? I have spoken to Hudson but not sure about their 'success rate'.

[goleoboy]

Which one is the most credible - Aquent? Hudson? etc?

[freeier]

let's put it this way, a 'good headhunter' is a misnomer.
they are there for the convenience and for a certain purpose. the only thing one can expect of quality of a hh is their ability to be discrete and not to be irritating/pushy.

jobs in the market are seldom on consignment basis. i.e. when a company wants someone, they send the job scope to 5/10 HH that came marketing to them. so there's no advantage of one HH over another.

[KnowItAll]

The advantage of one HH over the other can be pretty significant if the head hunter has placed the hiring manager at the company.

Aquent is pretty well known and reputable.

[jungle]

Originally Posted by KnowItAll

The advantage of one HH over the other can be pretty significant if the head hunter has placed the hiring manager at the company.

Aquent is pretty well known and reputable.

Agreed. The good and experienced HHs have deep relationships with their hiring managers and intimate knowledge of their sectors. A good headhunter should be able to manage your expectations and position and prepare you properly to maximise your chances of getting the job. Having said that, a good HH will also understand what their clients want and if you're not right for the role, they'll probably not bother with you.

As a HH, I see a wide variance in the quality of recruiters - just like in any other profession. Some recruiters are simply superb and beloved by their clients and candidates alike. Others, well, let's just say they should headhunt themselves and get another job.

[MrNiceHk]

Originally Posted by freeier

let's put it this way, a 'good headhunter' is a misnomer.
they are there for the convenience and for a certain purpose. the only thing one can expect of quality of a hh is their ability to be discrete and not to be irritating/pushy.

jobs in the market are seldom on consignment basis. i.e. when a company wants someone, they send the job scope to 5/10 HH that came marketing to them. so there's no advantage of one HH over another.

I have been involved in recruitment and later executive search for over 13 years. I can tell you with complete honestly a good head hunter can be incredibly advantageous to not only your job hunting exercise but also your career. Like all industries recruitment and executive search has its fair share of cowboys, truth be told quite lot of them actually, but there are genuine talented professionals out there.

Personally I take a very ethical, honest and highly professional approach to what I do and how my firm carries out engagements. I realize that as a professional we are dealing with critical issues not only for our clients but also for my candidates. Moving from one company to another is a very big undertaken and could have serious adverse effects for all concerned if it is not the right move.

I have extremely close relationships with my clients, so much so I tell them what they want in potential hires. I work mainly on a retained basis or the very least exclusively. My clients take my recommendations very seriously. Finding talented people is no cake walk and once you do managing the process of moving them from company a to company b is riddled with potential preverbal banana skins.

I normally don?t comment on threads like these because I seen so many of them over the years and mainly with negative connotations. But finding a good head hunter can be one of the most important relationships you will ever develop. I have lost count the amount of times I have doubled some of my candidates salaries although its not all about the money real career development or a great company with strong products are just as important. We are not all in this business for the money or for our clients.

Personally I enjoy working with people, I enjoy helping people out and sincerely get a kick out of putting good people into good companies. My advice always be talking to head hunters / recruiters, for every 10 idiots you come across there will be 2 diamonds in the rough who potentially can really help you out.

As luck may have it, I am starting to move into the Advertising industry myself and have met a few of the GM;s of the Large firms. I am particularly interested in talking to people involved in Digital Media, regardless of what you do drop me a line I would be more than happy to offer you some advice.

[KnowItAll]

MrNice : well thought out post ...

Truth is ... one needs a good doctor, a good lawyer, a good accountant and a good headhunter these days -- folks you can trust and rely on to give you honest advice.

All of the folks mentioned above, can either treat you as a transaction .. or mentor you though areas you don't know.

More and more .. it is rare to find someone who adopts the mentoring attitude.