Takes money to make money

June 6, 2000 3:44 PM

Takes money to make money Does this creep anyone else out, as much as it does me. Sad to see how the web, where everyone used to be equal, is slowly conforming to the real-world model of money = worth.
posted by nomisxid (8 comments total)

ehh? It's a straightforward pay for play deal. Headhunters.net gives you more visibility, the more you pay them. This is not representative of "the web" so much as it is a very small section of the placement industry.

Personally I haven't met a single person who was happy with their headhunter experiences.
posted by bryanboyer at 4:30 PM on June 6, 2000

A headhunter who is only in it for the money? Now there's a shocker.
posted by rcade at 4:35 PM on June 6, 2000

I would say it's very representational of the web. Throw a ton of money around to get the visibility that drives traffic. That's the oldest formula in the books.

I had a really good experience with the headhunter who got me my current job; I'd recommend him to anyone who's looking for work in Seattle.
posted by katchomko at 5:41 PM on June 6, 2000

>I had a really good experience with the headhunter
>who got me my current job; I'd recommend him to
>anyone who's looking for work in Seattle.

Same here (except New York instead of Seattle and her instead of him).
posted by grumblebee at 5:55 PM on June 6, 2000

Same here, except not-current-job, in Atlanta, and he quit the recruiting biz to go be a Real Techie himself... which is probably why he was considerably more clued-in than most.
posted by Sapphireblue at 6:14 PM on June 6, 2000

Well in that case, Michelle, I guess I spoke too soon. =)
posted by bryanboyer at 10:32 PM on June 6, 2000

I think most headhunters fall under the "necessary evil" label. Even if they don't get you a job, they can be useful for getting a raise. ;-)

What fantasy planet was nomis living on, where he thought the web somehow immune from the influences of the real world? It still offers a worldwide publishing platform for anyone. Just because people are using part of it for that awful thing called Capitalism doesn't mean the rest of it is any less useful.
posted by dhartung at 8:57 AM on June 7, 2000

Most of the recruiting and placement industry moved to a 'client pays' rather than a 'candidate pays' model a long time ago, in order to gain credibility. Headhunters that charge candidates are now looked at as scams.
Online job sites that charge candidates will probably discover the same thing, whatever the short-term profits.

Think about it from the client's point of view: you're paying a load of money for access to a bunch of resumes in a database. You want your searches to come up with the best candidates--not the ones who paid more.


posted by feckless at 9:43 AM on June 7, 2000