Chaps,
Am I going to really piss my headhunter ("HH") off if i contact the firm directly?
e.g., he said X is hiring, he is going to speak to X about me. all good so far. but i dont trust him to "sell" me as well as i could, hence, i'd like to drop X an email, saying, "yo bro, HH said he's going to speak to you, just expressing my interest directly, because your firm is dreamy."
Yay? Nay?
I asked this same question a while back. Imma go with don't do that. Huge difference between being vaguely told about a position and then finding out where it is through deductive reasoning, and outright being told where it is. I'd say talking to them directly is kosher in the former and not in the latter.
Ask your HH if he minds you reaching out to the firm in addition to him contacting them about you. If you don't feel comfortable asking him this it's probably a good sign you shouldn't do it
fundamentally i hate feeling commoditized and powerless and my inherent lack of trust leads my expectation of HH to fall foul of what i want
however, since writing ballsy, to the point sharp emails has got me pretty far recently, i'm wondering if i should just stop dancing and just fuck, get on with it and grab some ballzz
cheers for the input
this is what i hear is best
Some firms have headhunters so they do not have to deal with it themselves. Depends on what the situation is here. If the firm hired this headhunter/firm to find candidates for them then definitely don't do it.
Recently interviewed with a HF who uses the same headhunter/firm to find candidates when they need someone, all the candidates for the position went through this headhunter first. It is their version of HR since it was like a 10 person HF.
I would go through the headhunter. There's no question that the HH would be pissed. If he has a relationship at that firm, he could paint you in a bad light to the hiring manager if you go around him. Very risky move.
I would work through the HH unless he okays your direct communication. He is trying to get paid after all.
Don't go around the headhunter. You will likely end up looking bad on multiple fronts. If the firm has a good relationship with the headhunter, the firm will wonder what you are doing and why you are going around the process. The headhunter will certainly be pissed, and in addition to bad-mouthing you for this opportunity, will most likely bad-mouth you for other opportunities. Finance is a small world and there isn't a lot of tolerance for overtly shady behavior. Whether this qualifies as overtly shady might be up for debate, but I think it's close enough to play it safe. You don't want to do something that gets you blackballed.
If you don't get this opportunity and you really think this headhunter isn't giving you a fair shake, I'd drop him and strike out on your own or find another headhunter. Headhunters like to boil you down to a few stats and then put you into buckets, so if this guy is giving you lukewarm recommendations, that means he has you in a less than top-tier bucket and you're probably not going to get out of there.
Don't go around the headhunter. Unless you already had some sort of relationship with the firm in question, let the HH be the gate keeper. Nothing to be gained by going around them. Not with that firm, and not with any future opportunities they might have for you. If you go around them, you could effectively burn a bridge.
Having once made the mistake of going around a real estate broker, I can say that the HH will not be happy.
Make them earn their fee, tell them you're interviewing elsewhere but that the role the HH is working on is your preference (say why) and they will ring up the firm and hard sell
Or... they will just recommend one of the hundreds of other analysts that are vying for buyside jobs.
I did it a few times during my search. HHs deal with a ton of people, say they submit their top 15 first...you dont get the look.
Also, sometimes firms hire multiple headhunters. I would take into consideration your relationship with said recruiting firm. Most times, you will hit up this guy, if he likes you he'll respond if he doesnt he wont and sometimes he will just fwd your info to HR. Each time I did it, it did not affect my relationship with either party...
I own a recruiting firm and advise against reaching out. Does nothing to help you and could do everything to hurt. It's a crazy small industry.
yes, never ever go around a HH. It will come back and bite your butt.
I agree with the "don't go around a HH" crowd.
There can also be legal implications with reaching out to the firm directly, because at that point one can argue that the HH didn't fill the spot, thus shouldn't get the associated fee. You can reasonably be auto-dinged just because the firm wouldn't want to deal with such a potential issue.
100% right. In our contracts if such a thing happens the person in question is dinged for 12 months with said firm. I also drop the person from helping in the future. In the past year we have done this to about 20 people.
and for the record... Headhunters dont sell you. Your resume sells you.. HH just bring together buyers and sellers.... our rep's are too important to be wrong selling people so no one will. they dont want you to know that but its the truth
nothing you can do now honestly to sell yourself. You have NO upside in your actions. NONE. only downside.
HH are not a dime a dozen but vetting them out can be tough. When you find one that does a good job, you tend to stick around.
yes, when you find a good one, sure (if there are any "good" ones). but there aren't many of them, frankly, they're all slimy myopic sycophants. again, just my view, not trying to offend.
notwithstanding that, cheers for taking the time, always good to have multiple points of view
lol. Dont get me wrong, sounds like a sweet gig as long as you're the one doing it. Seems like a natural progression is: use HH -> find their fee structure absolutely absurd -> instead of getting mad, decide to become one -> profit
Go through headhunter or go around him? (Originally Posted: 04/17/2012)
Advice on this situation? Recently a headhunter arranged for me to meet the regional head of equity research at a large bank. Not for a specific opening, but he felt that the guy would be interested in my background. We got along very well and he felt I could make a good contribution to the business, but unfortunately he only had headcount for some specific sector hires. At first he said we should meet for drinks after a month or two, but just days later he arranged through the headhunter for me to meet with another manager. This is someone previously very senior who has come out of retirement to work on a special initiative.
This meeting also went well and it seemed I would probably be working for this second person if they were to hire me. Again, this manager said that there was no immediate headcount, but he would raise the issue with global management on his upcoming business trip. So I waited patiently for a month and heard today from the headhunter that the second manager didn't have a chance on his recent trip, but would be visiting head office again in early-May and should have some feedback in about a month.
I'm going nuts waiting and these are very senior people, so I think they should be able to make something happen if they are really serious. Do you think I should i) patiently wait for feedback like the headhunter suggested? ii) approach the manager directly and request another meeting in the meanwhile to remind him of my candidacy + gauge his intent? iii) contact the head of equity research to suggest a drink (like he suggested before fixing me up with this other person)? I think this is a great opportunity and I don't want to wait while two months pass, during which their initial enthusiasm might wane, or they might meet more candidates who are more fresh on their mind. Is it against protocol to just go around the headhunter?
Headhunters have their own incentives, they are not wholly aligned with your goals. If you have a network with the senior guys especially if he said to meetup for drinks then I'd definitely follow upd irectly and fuck the headhunter over. The headhunter only cares about placing you for an actual position, not truly generating a network because he gets compensated based on actual placements. If tehre's no actual position to place into right now, the head hunter will not push for you to meet with the group as that only results in his time without any financial compensation. I always prefer internal connections over head hunters, nothing surpasses your personal relationship with a firm, and no one cares more about your getting a job than you do.
I'm mindful though of my relationship with this headhunter, since he is highly ranked and could potentially introduce me to other firms if this doesn't pan out. I don't want to irritate him by circumventing him in this case. Also, I'm keen to catch up with the head of equity research, since he probably has more power over budget and knows about other roles. At the same time, I don't want to irritate the immediate hiring manager by networking with someone other than him.
It is ethical to tell your headhunter that you have plans of talking to the bosses. I am sure he would understand your eagerness to know if you will be hired or not.
tell the head-hunter you want to the guy for a drink, he might even set it up for you. Some of my clients don't like when people contact them direct, so if the senior guy explicitly asked you to call him, gave you his mobile - i would ask the hh first, and tell him that you are itching to meet him again, and what is the best way to do so.
just a note, since the first meeting was set up through a hh, he will get paid no matter what if they would hire you.
also, i don't want to demotivate you, but this also might be a polite 'no', so i wouldn't sit for 2 months waiting and not pursuing anything else
if the headhunter has your resume he will still get paid for the "intro" for usually about a year after you meet him at said firm. Go around him and he still gets paid... go through him and he still gets paid. just to keep everyone happy i would at least let the headhunter know.
Headhunter has opportunity- ok to contact alumni at firm? (Originally Posted: 03/16/2013)
I know this has been discussed, but I would like people's view on this particular situation:
A headhunter has presented an opportunity, and there is a school alumni that works at the particular firm. Is it okay to tell the headhunter that you are interested in the role and also reach out to the alumni saying a headhunter recently presented an opportunity with their firm and wanted to speak with them about the role/firm? What if the headhunter doesn't think the role is "the right fit", can you still reach out to the alumni to see if you can get in the door through them?
Minus dolorem eos earum quia deserunt cum commodi a. Libero necessitatibus deleniti necessitatibus quo. Doloremque aut veniam voluptatem modi.
Ea vel at aut enim quos iste rerum. Molestias aperiam voluptatem doloribus reiciendis quasi. Qui consequatur eaque quia et atque. Voluptatum facilis est id tenetur. Maxime dolorem sunt quo dolorem id cumque cum quae. Unde ut eum quis magni nihil commodi quaerat. Molestiae et saepe sed repellat.
In et aut omnis alias. Quam at enim cupiditate magnam in facere exercitationem facere. Dolorum sit deserunt rerum doloremque magni ipsa. Non voluptates consectetur aut.
Beatae esse dignissimos aut maxime et id placeat. Omnis omnis consectetur sed itaque sed expedita voluptas.
See All Comments - 100% Free
WSO depends on everyone being able to pitch in when they know something. Unlock with your email and get bonus: 6 financial modeling lessons free ($199 value)
or Unlock with your social account...
Eligendi tempora exercitationem ad repellat facere animi necessitatibus. Aperiam iusto maiores eos alias eius quod. Beatae sit explicabo aliquam debitis minima est reprehenderit.