Work has finally gotten to me and I am looking for someplace new. I am considering going to a headhunter, but my only previous experience with one was pretty bad. They pumped up my resume and kept sending me to jobs for which I wasn’t qualified.
I’d like to hear experiences good and bad, and any recommendations for headhunters in the Portland, OR area. I am a senior software architect type.
Most of the one’s I’ve been to (all in the Tokyo area, so probably no help to you, sorry) we’re pretty unresponsive. Really enthusiastic during the first meeting, then I never heard from them again. The one that did go all out for me mostly had clients that were recent internet start-ups, with the result that almost all of the places I interviewed (including the place I ended up working) were bankrupt within a year or two.
Granted, you sound like you have a better looking resume than I did. At the time, I had two years as an English conversation teacher (which gets you little respect in the job market, I discovered), one year as a creative assistant in a marketing company, one year as a tech writer, and only conversational-level Japanese skills. Other than a an eye-catching college degree, I didn’t have a whole lot to recommend me.
In general though, it’s probably a bad sign when the agency seems more interested in hiring you to work as a recruiter with them than in placing you with one of their clients.
My direct experience with one headhunter actually has been fairly decent (used him for my last two company jumps, eight years apart). I think the key is to find one that has established clientele in your particular field or industry. In my case (actually the guy is based in Oregon), this worked well but this guy specializes in the forest products industry and is not really IT, so probably wouldn’t be helpful for the OP.
On the flip side, I’ve had multiple headhunters contact me over the years. The ones I find annoying are those that get pushy or belligerent when you turn down their pitch and don’t give them another name to call.
Actually, I wouldn’t mind working in Tokyo. I just visited there a few weeks ago. What’s the situation for someone whose Japanese is limited to pretty much “ohayo gozaimus” and “oyako donburi?”
Have you seen “Lost in Translation?” My wife and I went to the hotel bar in that movie. I forget the name but it was in Shinjuku.
Haven’t caught it yet, but I will once it’s out on video. Although now that I think about it, I’m not sure it’s even hit the theaters here yet.