Please, haven't you got the opportunity to look it up in the sticky threads under the Employment section of helps&tips? Google websites of headhunters - you cannot expect though that they are all translated to English. EF seems to be answering these sort of questions since a long time.

Isn't the idea of a headhunter that they find you, rather than you finding them? They call people asking for recommendations and trawl sites like LinkedIn, JobUp and so on where people have posted their CVs, looking for profiles that match their clients' criteria.

Or at least that's what I thought was the difference between a headhunter and a "classic" employment agency, I may be wrong.

I feel that what one person here mentioned is very true...re: people submitting CVs which are a loose fit to the job advert or generally sloppy. A while ago I was helping my employer fill a teaching position, and I posted an ad on EF asking for CVS and cover letters specific to the post. I was surprised at what I got:

- People applying even if they did not have the necessary experience
-people applying without neither teaching qualifications nor experience
- people going on and on about their experience with children, when the post was to teach adults
-someone even saying that as a tour guide, he/she 'taught' history to people (claiming that this qualified him/her to teach).
-someone just copy pasting a message he/she had written for another school (it was obvious because of the wording) and not bothering with proofreading.
- people not bothering with a cover letter when their CV clearly did not have enough information and didn't show how they fitted the job

etc...

Yes, you are right. I am not employed in the IT Business, anyone else who is could surely give an explanation whether one can approach them as an employee on job search.

How do you know this ? You only joined in June 2011 ?

It's not difficult to find out. The sticky threads are on top and answer questions that are asked repeatedly. But Stephen said that headhunter differ from employment service. My answer to leJoker then regards only info on employment service, apologies.

"The reason I put "If it's in you" is, if I waste good time and money looking for it, and see it's definitely not in you, I don't wanna be sued 'cos you haven't got it, so, you know, you're not gonna get me on that." - Mr David Brent.

Really disappointed to come back later and still find out no one else has added another Office (UK) quote for you Adrian so thought I would have to do it myself. Mr Brent was a true leader - wouldn't have any problems in the interviews we are talking about in this thread!

That is the beauty of such online application such as "E-Recruitment"... hahaha.

All CVs are filtered automatically by the application... and usually the filters are quite extensive, and only a handful of folks are called in for interviews - that is if they don't put the hiring "on hold" or decide to wait, as the FTE has not been approved.

A good head-hunter should be able to filter for you - as long as you are senior enough to retain interest. Otherwise, I suggest to persist, apply on-line, then look for the possible manager HR (or position manager) on Linked-In, and contact/write to them. at some point, you will get a reply.

Data-mining on Linked-In is very useful - but don't get upset if you don't receive a reply. many people are already doing it, but sometimes you may luck out and see a common connection that can provide introduction or recommendation, or see a same alma mater ...

good luck.

Oh dear, this all sounds so familiar.

For a start, RTN is spot on. It all boil down to culture and what most are experiencing is a culture clash. On top of that, I'm sorry but the job market is pretty dry in Switzerland and it's all about talking to the right people and I spend an awful lot of time developing relationship with companies myself.

I agree with Mowvich, recruiters generally don't have a background in IT (although I do) and many look down on non-Swiss people, which is quite sad actually.

I agree, im currently searching for an internship and it is a complete nightmare to search throught the internet, see the internship description, look at your cv, reacomodate somo phrases, write a new cover letter, apply...

and then wait..
and wait
and wait..

and then get an automated answer telling you that you suck, i mean that the they have better fits for that position.

and that is if you dont have to call them to ask them what is going on, if they have any updates or something

mode rant[off]
sorry i just needed that of my chest

The trick is to get the interview. When some automatically generated and processed checklist asks you "Do you have ten years of experience of Project Management" simply answer "Yes". Just don't add "...at the receiving end, as a project member".

One of my friends told me about this strange answer from a company:
we thoroughly studied your application and despite your great experience and skills we had other applicants with a better fit for the position. We wish you good luck etc.... after 2 months the position is still open

This is the most common thing, i basically had the same issue and the position was marked filled, the next day i saw the same position advertised through 2 other agencies and been contacted by one of them as they found me to be a perfect match, so i gave the the approval to go for it, waiting for reply now

I have a better half at home that found his job by Monster.ch. He actually updated his page about a week ago and within 3 hours he had 5 headhunters calling (sometimes I wonder if they really hide behind the internet bushes with spears and head shrinking potions at hand).

I am not in IT, but online applications did help me once, finding a bad paid job which led to a burn out because of the competion...

I went to a job agency for construction related jobs and they have helped me ever since getting great stuff. In the end, at least in my field, is all about connections: the best jobs are NOT posted online.

Is this a joke I am not getting?
Or are you serious?
I mean... did you ever thought about the possibility of being YOU standing in the "unlucky side" and therefore rejecting all the best candidates?

Read the whole post... It specifically says it's a joke...

Thanks. Yeah, I added that shortly after I made the post just in case someone, for some crazy reason, thought to take me seriously.

(I actually throw away 80% of the applications ....)

it's normal newbie reaction to adrian's posts till you discover you got addicted to his jokes.

Ooopppps...
I didn't notice you wrote it was a joke.
I feel very silly now

Now I have to investigate in my mind what was the crazy reason by which I toke it seriously...
(I am quite afraid of that honestly)

Probably stress caused by looking for a job! Let's hope you're one of the lucky 50% next time