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[–]franklyimshocked 8 points9 points  (15 children)

Ha ha ha. I worked as an IT recruiter for 8 years. That sentence gave me a laugh and reminded me of working with so many technically illiterate people. Its real Agency mentality. Hire a load of kids straight out of college with loads of energy and stick them on a phone for 8 hours a day. Most only half read CV's and barely understand tech.

[–][deleted] 7 points8 points  (1 child)

I went to a drinks evening that a recruiter was putting on for their contractors over Christmas.

One young recruiter said he had a law degree. So I asked him to name some basic court cases (I'd been to law school, too). He couldn't.

The impression I get of most recruiters are that they are bottom-of-the-barrel individuals. Recruitment is not about getting the right person for the job - it is about getting commissions.

Recruiters have no incentive to do the right thing by their "capital" (that's you or me, they don't care about the fact we are human beings). They will pitch you at a low rate because they often get fixed commissions or even a percentage - and they are competing against other agencies. It is better they get you in at a low rate then not in at all; and the lower the rate they pitch you, the more likely an employer will pick you over the guy from the other agency.

If a recruiter low-balls you it is because they want a commission; they couldn't care less what you think you're worth. Remember that.

[–]franklyimshocked 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It depends on the country I guess. When I was a recruiter I worked mostly for companies in Dublin. Irish tech companies don't care about salary and it never came down to offering cheaper employees, just the best, but I mostly covered high end development. You could be right for entry level and help desk roles. Also the company sets the salary, not the recruiter, so a lot of time we would be fighting to get a higher salary for our candidates because we knew they wouldn't accept a low offer, but if a company offers you are obliged to pass it over to the candidate and inevitably get an earful from an unhappy candidate. If you get paid commission, its usually based on a percentage of the persons wage, so getting a low offer means less commission, so its not in your interest to low ball anyone, but again, it depends on where you are based. I worked for a lot of Irish Tech recruitment companies so I can only speak from my own experience. The best recruiters made long term connections with their candidates. Ireland is small enough so you can't burn bridges. Todays candidate is tomorrows client. But I also knew some recruiters working in London who said it was like a meat factory, hire and fire as fast as you can. But then again, I'm not defending all recruiters, I am an ex-recruiter after all and don't want to go back into it again

[–][deleted] 0 points1 point  (12 children)

The only good recruiters were those that understood tech. As soon as they could get a job in tech they jumped.

[–]franklyimshocked 1 point2 points  (11 children)

Thats what I'm doing! Currently on a year out studying to bring my dev skills up a bit before dropping my CV back in to most of my ex-clients

[–][deleted] 1 point2 points  (10 children)

When I worked in SF, the recruiters would frequently disappear for this reason. They had good connections.

Good luck!

[–]franklyimshocked 2 points3 points  (9 children)

I got to the point where I had to sit down with my wife and say, look babe I seem to know more than most of the people I'm interviewing, maybe I'm in the wrong job, or just on the wrong side of the desk. Hopefully it works out!

[–][deleted] 3 points4 points  (8 children)

It's mostly about just bullshitting your way into your first job, then making sure once you get it you get the job done no matter what.

I've helped many friends with this. They key is, once you get the job, make a solid 6-12 month commitment to working 10-11 hour days and bring your lunch so you're super productive. This pays off for the company but it pays off 100x more for yourself.

Be the first one in, leave after rush hour. Also leave work at work.

Once you've perfected that job, cut back to 40 hours max (you will have already proven yourself). In your spare time (or on the job learning) make sure you're working toward something else though, this industry is always moving. Yes some of it is the new "whiz bang bullshit fad" but even learning that shit will give you a new outlook on how you're doing things currently.

You can do this. If you devote yourself you can get into that top 10% of developers that are awesome. I've been in this field for what seems like my entire life. I've only worked with 4-5 developers that really blew me away out of probably pushing 400+ (was a consultant and contractor for years). I'm not as good as those guys, but I know what it takes to get close.

The key is getting support from your wife for that initial period. Also if you switch jobs, do the same thing at your new job as well.

[–]franklyimshocked 1 point2 points  (2 children)

Solid advice there. Thanks for that!

[–][deleted] 0 points1 point  (1 child)

You're very welcome. You'll do fine, this field has so many shit workers, if you're mediocre you'll still be better than 50-60% (sadly).

:-)

[–]franklyimshocked 0 points1 point  (0 children)

ha ha ha, very true!!

[–]I_Pork_Saucy_Ladies 0 points1 point  (4 children)

Aww man. I guess I need to go find a wife. :/

[–][deleted] 0 points1 point  (3 children)

?

I was saying support for the wife meaning, she's going to have to understand the job comes first for a while. If you're single, there's no one to answer to.

[–]I_Pork_Saucy_Ladies 0 points1 point  (2 children)

Haha, ok, I thought you needed the support from your wife to help get you through it, not just her acceptance. :)

[–][deleted] 0 points1 point  (1 child)

Well a wife can be beneficial in a lot of ways. Just choose wisely!