What Headhunters REALLY Think of Bankers
mod (Andy) note: "Blast from the past - Best of Eddie" - This one is originally from January 2011. If there's an old post from Eddie you'd like to see up again shoot me a message.
You get calls from headhunters all the time, often kissing your ass. But what do they really think of investment bankers? If you believe London headhunter Fred Bayer, not much at all. Bayer breaks investment banking candidates into four categories, and only one of the categories is the least bit complimentary. It's a funny article (at least I thought so) for which Bayer took an immediate skewering in the comments.
His four categories of investment banking candidates are The Best and Rare Ones (of which he says there are only two in all of London - and he's already placed them), The Ones Whose "Jobs We Could Do", The Nice but Rubbish Ones, and The Nauseatingly Arrogant Ones. It makes you wonder if all, or most, or even some headhunters secretly hold his dim view of bankers while pimping them as the greatest thing since sliced bread to the various firms on the Street.
Even though he got crushed in the Comments, at least one person (probably another headhunter) agreed with him, and pointed out a flaw we've seen over and over here at WSO, so if there's one thing you take away from this post, let it be this. Don't be this guy:
he forgot to mention the ones who forge their cv's and memorize the main questions , but when you get them in a unexpected question, they just ga-ga-ga, ..heeee-,, oh , very annoying
Thought you guys might get a kick out the article. Just goes to show you, you never know what someone is thinking even when they're telling you how great you are.
Have a great weekend, guys.






Comments
hes a headhunter and dares to
hes a headhunter and dares to criticize the legions of high finance? Imbecile!
who cares, they are
who cares, they are headhunters. glorified HR staff. just like HR staff the only power they get is from talking shit about the candidates they are forced to suck-up too. let them have their cute little article.
LLcoolJ wrote: who cares,
who cares, they are headhunters. glorified HR staff. just like HR staff the only power they get is from talking shit about the candidates they are forced to suck-up too. let them have their cute little article.
So I suppose that Hollywood talent agents are just glorified HR staff as well? Afer all, they suck up to clients and might be considered "glorified HR staff." If they are so weak why does every investment banker look forward/need their calls in order to get over to the buyside.
I really don't have an opinon, I'm just stating some simple truths and asking a few questions.
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I feel like anyone that comes
I feel like anyone that comes in contact with a large amount of people comes away with a poor view of them. Look at anyone who works in public service or customer relations. This guy is really no different. Just like flight attendants complain about their passengers being rude, obnoxious etc. so do people like this.
I don't really have an opinion on his comments in particular...just a thought.
If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses - Henry Ford
Well, if he only knew what
Well, if he only knew what bankers think of headhunters...
Gekko21 wrote: LLcoolJ
who cares, they are headhunters. glorified HR staff. just like HR staff the only power they get is from talking shit about the candidates they are forced to suck-up too. let them have their cute little article.
So I suppose that Hollywood talent agents are just glorified HR staff as well? Afer all, they suck up to clients and might be considered "glorified HR staff." If they are so weak why does every investment banker look forward/need their calls in order to get over to the buyside.
I really don't have an opinon, I'm just stating some simple truths and asking a few questions.
ari gold is a fictional character. the entire entertainment industry is a huge joke.
LLcoolJ wrote: Gekko21
who cares, they are headhunters. glorified HR staff. just like HR staff the only power they get is from talking shit about the candidates they are forced to suck-up too. let them have their cute little article.
So I suppose that Hollywood talent agents are just glorified HR staff as well? Afer all, they suck up to clients and might be considered "glorified HR staff." If they are so weak why does every investment banker look forward/need their calls in order to get over to the buyside.
I really don't have an opinon, I'm just stating some simple truths and asking a few questions.
ari gold is a fictional character. the entire entertainment industry is a huge joke.
No one mentioned Ari Gold and I think Gekko's analogy is pretty valid
If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses - Henry Ford
LLcoolJ wrote: Gekko21
who cares, they are headhunters. glorified HR staff. just like HR staff the only power they get is from talking shit about the candidates they are forced to suck-up too. let them have their cute little article.
So I suppose that Hollywood talent agents are just glorified HR staff as well? Afer all, they suck up to clients and might be considered "glorified HR staff." If they are so weak why does every investment banker look forward/need their calls in order to get over to the buyside.
I really don't have an opinon, I'm just stating some simple truths and asking a few questions.
ari gold is a fictional character. the entire entertainment industry is a huge joke.
a huge joke, or a huge party?
I agree with your ari comment, but vince chase is a real actor who happens to star in a show about himself, so the show is actually 90% real.
Gekko21 wrote: If they are
If they are so weak why does every investment banker look forward/need their calls in order to get over to the buyside.
I really don't have an opinon, I'm just stating some simple truths and asking a few questions.
Who needs who more? Without headhunters people would still get jobs at the buyside, without the 'talent' headhunters would have nothing.
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derivstrading wrote: Gekko21
If they are so weak why does every investment banker look forward/need their calls in order to get over to the buyside.
I really don't have an opinon, I'm just stating some simple truths and asking a few questions.
Who needs who more? Without headhunters people would still get jobs at the buyside, without the 'talent' headhunters would have nothing.
If it was equally easy to get a job on the buyside without a headhunter as it is with one, I highly doubt there would be quite the market for them that there is currently.
If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses - Henry Ford
swagon wrote: LLcoolJ
who cares, they are headhunters. glorified HR staff. just like HR staff the only power they get is from talking shit about the candidates they are forced to suck-up too. let them have their cute little article.
So I suppose that Hollywood talent agents are just glorified HR staff as well? Afer all, they suck up to clients and might be considered "glorified HR staff." If they are so weak why does every investment banker look forward/need their calls in order to get over to the buyside.
I really don't have an opinon, I'm just stating some simple truths and asking a few questions.
ari gold is a fictional character. the entire entertainment industry is a huge joke.
a huge joke, or a huge party?
I agree with your ari comment, but vince chase is a real actor who happens to star in a show about himself, so the show is actually 90% real.
Not sure if you are being serious or not but just in case, i think you mean Vince Chase is played by Adrian Grenier and stars in a show based off of Mark Wahlberg who is executive producer of the show.
"Mark Wahlberg and Stephen Levinson serve as the show's executive producers, and its premise is loosely based on Wahlberg's experiences as an up-and-coming film star"
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This is really about middle
This is really about middle office jobs. I doubt anyone who could do well at a FO job would ever choose to be a headhunter.
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LLcoolJ wrote: ari gold is a
ari gold is a fictional character. the entire entertainment industry is a huge joke.
Say what you will about the nature of the work or the industry as a whole, but Ari Gold is modeled after Ari Emanuel (Rahm's brother) who has 'joked' his way to being worth about 35 million.
happypantsmcgee
If they are so weak why does every investment banker look forward/need their calls in order to get over to the buyside.
I really don't have an opinon, I'm just stating some simple truths and asking a few questions.
Who needs who more? Without headhunters people would still get jobs at the buyside, without the 'talent' headhunters would have nothing.
If it was equally easy to get a job on the buyside without a headhunter as it is with one, I highly doubt there would be quite the market for them that there is currently.
Umm..the market is created by the firms looking for talent, not by the talent looking for jobs. Firms think headhunters help them find the best talent and are worth their fee (in my view, headhunters don't do shit and actually hurt the process; but they are so firmly entrenched and the mindless analysts just wait for their calls instead of being proactive, that it's a lost cause).
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love it. has anyone here
love it. has anyone here actually have a head-hunter?
if we were so useless, why would anyone pay us a third of what you earn for just setting up a couple of interviews and sending some emails ... I don't want to prove anything, just quite surprised that no one here has a normal hh, who has been with you throught the years and is one of your important sources of market info
NataliaR wrote: love it. has
Veritas
GoodBread wrote: This is
NataliaR wrote: love it. has
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"Prestige is like a powerful magnet that warps even your beliefs about what you enjoy. If you want to make ambitious people waste their time on errands, bait the hook with prestige." - Paul Graham
Good hunters are generally
No real comment regarding his
Oh no, someone called out
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happypantsmcgee wrote: If it
Work hard, play hard.
I wasn't trying to attack the
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Headhunters = Peasants!
LLcoolJ wrote: ari gold is a
More is good, all is better
LLcoolJ wrote: ari gold is a
The answer to your question is 1) network 2) get involved 3) beef up your resume 4) repeat -happypantsmcgee
WSO is not your personal search function.
Eddy, That entire site is a
if you think jersey shore or
LLcoolJ wrote: if you think
More is good, all is better
IlliniProgrammer wrote: I'm
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A headhunter with around 3-5
I don't know if this is what
So I talked to my Mom's
If I had asked people what they wanted, they would have said faster horses - Henry Ford
LLcoolJ wrote: if you think
First two comments only
good headhunters do very
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One helped my friend get a
Argonaut: I watched a couple
Recruiters/Headhunters are
alpha currency trader wanna-be
Can completely believe the
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LLcoolJ: who cares, they are
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