Doostang Premium: Is it worth it?

Recently, Doostang has been aggressively marketing its new premium membership at $29.95 / month. I have previously used Doostang with little success. The jobs were posted by members and were murky on how to send resumes/cover letters/etc.

The new premium membership offers a lot of big name and big positions. I am a senior who is still looking for a job. Has anyone used Doostang with success and is it worth the $29.95/month? Thanks

 

I personally didn't use it, but if by now you haven't secured a full time i don't see it having much of a downside. You can try it out for 3-4 months and worst case scenario you're $120 lighter.

 

I've been a member for about a month now. I was confident to buy membership there since I got my current hf job on the website. It's good but make sure you have realistic expectations. I've applied to 12 jobs and heard back from 5. Dinged by 2 already and talking to the other 3; very serious with 1. They really do have the best jobs. Better than any other website, recruiter, Glocap etc. BUT because times are tough, don't expect miracles....

 

+Cover letter and resume.

I haven't had anyone tell me that their job has expired. But when you have 5,000 jobs, I guess maybe a few of them are stale? Law of large numbers no?

 

Ive been a Doostang member for some time now. Decided to give premium a try a few months ago. I've applied to about 70 jobs on it, all of them immediately after they were posted and have yet to receive anything from it. Not an interview, not a response. This is surprising to me because I'm coming from a top university with good grades, good resume, and have been having no trouble getting interviews from decent employers once in a while on my own. Needless to say I am not very satisfied with Doostang, and thinking about canceling soon.

 

i noticed that 99% of their jobs are based in the us. is it a waste of money to suscribe if your canadian? i would be willing to work in the us but if i put my self in the employers shoes, i wouldn't even think to interview talent from out of town when its available locally,

 
Best Response

So, after waiting a very long time and working all of the various methodologies for getting a job, I broke down and got a premium Doostang membership. Here are my thoughts:

-In terms of effectiveness, outside of NYC I have found head hunters much less effective. -Networking is great, but if you are looking to move to a new place it can be difficult. -Doostang was great for all of the smaller MM shops that are harder to get in contact with and for getting access to jobs in areas where I didn't have a good network. -I managed to get more interviews than any other approach. -It seemed like the firms whose jobs were in the doostang premium section and had you apply through doostang (not a company website) really weren't available anywhere else. -Go far the three month membership, especially if you are in one of the premium networks (one of the colleges that gets the discount). Its $75, which is less than the cost of a decent dinner in NYC and if it gets you a few interviews its worth it.

At the end of the day, I managed to get access to a job I would never have known was available. I accepted the offer yesterday and am very happy that I ended up giving it a try.

--There are stupid questions, so think first.
 

I've been on for almost a month, 50 applications later, not a single response.

I go to a target school with a decent management consulting background (non MBB).

I've been getting a lot more responses from my school's alumni job board.

My impression of Doostang is that the companies on there only reply to the TOP TOP candidates and unless your dick is 12 inches long, you've worked at Goldman and Mckinsey, and you graduated Harvard dual Law and Business top of your class, and scaled Everest... you should probably save your money and look elsewhere.

I've had even better luck using headhunters, which is sad because you would think they would be even more selective.

 

Recent college senior with a job not related to investment banking, and recent college senior without a job should not waste their money on Doostang. It is not going to work out, given your level of exp and the job market in banking.

Even if you really get selected for interviews, your chance is slim to none when you are competing with a group of ppl with solid banking exp and I don't see why you stand a good chance. Not to say you are bad, but other ppl are better qualified.

Your real opp will arise when you get connected to someone big in the firm. In this case, I'd imagine that you are not going to apply through Doostang.

 

have used doostang while at my non-tgt u. and had decent success with it, probably averaged 1 response for every 10 applications and got 5 or 6 interviews out of it. so if you got good creds and resume, might be worth it if other sites haven't worked out, especially if your campus recruiting sucks like mine did.

 
TraderGuy55:
have used doostang while at my non-tgt u. and had decent success with it, probably averaged 1 response for every 10 applications and got 5 or 6 interviews out of it. so if you got good creds and resume, might be worth it if other sites haven't worked out, especially if your campus recruiting sucks like mine did.

to follow-up on my previous post, i found that emailing the recruiter and/or applying on the firm's website in addition to applying through doostang brought better results. then here's at least somewhat more of a chance that they'll at least look at one of your apps.

 

Guys, I guess I've noticed a fake job posting on Doostang. This is a fresh "opportunity". Just check this:

"Junior Analyst McKinsey and Co. (Yeahh! For sure!) New York, NY March 07 2011

Job Description

Our clients call us when they have something pressing on their minds—whether it is a major strategic or operational need or an organizational challenge. They look to us for honest, objective, thoughtful, and experienced advice.

Our clients talk to us when they find themselves under pressure to deliver results. They call us in uncertain times. They talk to us when information is difficult to get and insights are scarce. They call us when they need to make decisions that will have major consequences for their people, their organizations, and the countries in which they operate. They call us when they want a truly global perspective.

Specific responsibilities include: • Support due diligence and manager hiring process by collecting and validating documentation of all new and existing fund managers • Locate new or unknown fund managers and compile/filter investment universes by methodically collecting, codifying and analyzing information on investment funds • Conduct periodic maintenance of funds’ and fund managers’ information in our databases; find new and innovative ways of interpreting that data • Support operational activities that allow portfolio managers to make the most efficient use of MIO’s capital and time • Work with Bloomberg, Pertrac, and other data sources to create and maintain analytical tools which allow PMs to follow developments in their respective markets. • Use spreadsheets and in-house data systems to aggregate data and perform various analyses.

Qualifications: • Must have a Bachelor’s degree with a record of strong academic achievement • Proficiency in (or willingness and ability to learn quickly) Excel and PowerPoint"

It's obvious scam! Just try google it - I did some part of "Specific responsibilities" - and you will find another posting (probably the original one), that was listed half a year ago. It also has different name and company! I think most postings on Doostang are fakes (if they are not redirecting you to the company official web-site). And this is the reason why we don't receive any responses from the employers. Our applications goes to nowhere.... Yesterday I purchased a 1-month premium membership. Now I understand that it was the waste of time and money...

 

Same thing here. I even had a "secret" account that I had as a back-up, in which I didn't apply for anything, and that was deleted as well. I emailed a few of their representatives, but all of my emails were ignored. If you check frequently, a lot of people make 2nd/3rd accounts and ask why their accounts were deleted on the forum, but those accounts and posts are deleted quickly as well.

I am not a fan of doostang and I'm glad my career search is nearly over - I've had great results with monstertrak, indeed.com, wallstreetoasis (amazing; really helped me ib interviews, thanks guys), and most importantly, reaching out to the alumni network!

 

Thanks - anyone else have actual experience with Doostang Premium?

  • Capt K
- Capt K - "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
 

Captk - While it is not specifically for job postings, it seems that there are tons of contacts to be found on LinkedIn. If you get their "premium" service you can send messages to people that you're not even connected with. Might be worth a look.

 

jimbrowngoU,

I have. A couple of the smaller VCs did interview me. Lost out in the final rounds for one. But the well-known VCs have pretty much ignored me, shops like Grotech, Granite, Maveron, Austin Ventures etc. Can't blame Doostang for that though, I imagine there are hundreds of guys out there right now with more relevant experience and better credentials than me. It was a long shot to say the least, applying to these firms.

I have a year of MM IB and a year of HF Experience under my belt. As we all know, what PE/VC firms are really looking for are the ex-BB/ex-MBB analysts, so I imagine those guys will have a much better shot.

 

Just thought I would check back into this thread (way late, I know) and mention that I tried Doostang premium, and I really don't think it's worth it. There are some good jobs, but the competition is super-intense for anything interesting. Companies are also really bad about maintaining their listings, a few times I applied via Doostang and called a recruiter to follow up, who said they hadn't even downloaded the Doostang resumes yet or at all.

Do you own networking and use headhunters, you'll have a much better shot.

- Capt K - "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
 
CaptK:
Just thought I would check back into this thread (way late, I know) and mention that I tried Doostang premium, and I really don't think it's worth it. There are some good jobs, but the competition is super-intense for anything interesting. Companies are also really bad about maintaining their listings, a few times I applied via Doostang and called a recruiter to follow up, who said they hadn't even downloaded the Doostang resumes yet or at all.

Do you own networking and use headhunters, you'll have a much better shot.

How do you use headhunters if you're entry level?
-- Recent Actuarial Science (good statistical skills) grad looking for entry-level work ANYWHERE. Writing CFA Level 1 in June 2010. Passed 3 actuarial exams.
 

havent done it but most jobs worth having should be found through the network not some recruiter or start up posting on doostang


I'm making it up as I go along.

------------ I'm making it up as I go along.
 

It's a site all about networking with others in the industry to build contacts and possibly a job. Most of the members have their resumes posted and others will even post job opportunities on the site. It's good to get to know more people out there, especially those with similar career interests/goals as you.

I sent you an invitation to join in your email fyi.

 

Like the old adage goes, "you only get as much as you put into it." Doostang's primary benefit is that there are literally hundreds of recuiters that have active accounts on the site. On their profile it will tell them if they are looking for candidates or not. When you find something that interests you just send an email to them and if they reply back just carry on from there.

 

I remember last year when I was looking for jobs and used Doostang... Here's the secret to utilizing the service WITHOUT paying. Go to doostang, apply, and set up an account. After you do this, you can search for jobs. When you find one you want to apply to, go to simplyhired.com and search for that exact position (Same title, location). It will be bring you to the doostang link where it says "you can apply for free for this one". Simply submit your resume.

Good luck fellas.

 
itecya:
I remember last year when I was looking for jobs and used Doostang... Here's the secret to utilizing the service WITHOUT paying. Go to doostang, apply, and set up an account. After you do this, you can search for jobs. When you find one you want to apply to, go to simplyhired.com and search for that exact position (Same title, location). It will be bring you to the doostang link where it says "you can apply for free for this one". Simply submit your resume.

Good luck fellas.

triple fuck Doostang
 

No. Occasionally there are some really good listings, but the competition is insane (everyone and their brother is on Doostang, and they're all qualified). Also, many of the companies that list don't check their applications that often, or at all.

I tried it during my job search - pretty much a waste of time.

- Capt K - "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
 

Not a very effective tool imo.

I agree with the above in that the competition is insane and companies probably prefer you to apply directly to their site.

IT IS USEFUL however to target some positions and places. I.e. if you know someone at Neuberger Berman and you see they are posting 3 - 4 positions on Doostang - you can apply and follow up with your contact that you're interested and have applied to these positions.

 
teresa:
It is weird that some postings I cannot find on the company's website... Doostang seems make up some positions
Many reasons. Some are old listings but the company paid for the listing so they just leave them there. Also, lots of companies have positions they dont have on their careers site because they dont update those. Some companies still have positions from like 2009, doesnt mean you can apply and get the job.
Frank Sinatra - "Alcohol may be man's worst enemy, but the bible says love your enemy."
 

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"History doesn't repeat itself, but it does rhyme."
 

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