Has anyone had any luck using a headhunter?
4
7 years out of undergrad (ivy league business program), ~4 years in MBB, then ~2 years on the internal strategy team at a major philanthropy, now ~6 months in strategic partnerships at a startup. Got an L4 offer for Strategic Partner Manager at Google. Didn’t know about leveling when I applied and probably should’ve targeted L5. It’s a meaningful paycut ($205k, $155k options) Google Y1 ~$230k vs current ~$275k Base: $155 (current $205) Bonus: 15% Equity: $105k Sign on bonus: $15k Thoughts?
No tbh but at 4 YOE
Just remember, they are working for the hiring company. If you get lucky, the timing works out where they have something that’s a right fit between you and something they are looking for. More often than not, that’s not the case. It doesn’t take a lot of effort to spin up headhunters though, so why not do it as another potential avenue. Best case, timing magic. Worst case, you spent 15-30min of your time.
I’ve landed 2 jobs in my career with a headhunter. For our backgrounds, HH are best for buyside, some boutique consulting and director+ roles. Outside of that, the ROI isn’t there for the HHs and you might get stuck with lower quality recruiters.
Adding on to the above, was it an HH you paid for, or one like Charles Aris?
Not recently, but I’ve gotten multiple roles that way before. Just think of them as a resource and don’t invest too much time into them. Definitely don’t go seeing them in person. If they talk about roles that have nothing to do with your expertise move on. Spray and pray means they don’t know what they’re doing. Check out their experience too on LinkedIn. And these days Watch out for scammers. DO NOT send any personal info to them early on.
F
No. But I have only used them when they’ve reached out to me on a company’s behalf.
I’ve found they’re often pushing a candidate forward when only 2-3 skills match, while disregarding other considerations (relocation, pay, culture). It’s good to practice interviewing and the hiring manager/position may end up being a great fit, but often times i have found it’s not.
I had one reach out to me for a role for a company. I was a perfect fit but then she ghosted me so I applied for the posting on the actual companys site and landed the job😂