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I'm a technical recruiter and I agree with the majority of this post to be honest. My background: 2.1 in Software Development from a leading Uni in Ireland. 2

• swombat 16y ago
  How are you liking it? Don't you prefer to do development yourself? What's the hardest thing about the job? Would you recommend it to other developers?
  • KoZeN 16y ago
    I love recruitment, I honestly do. Primarily because of the money I make! I loved working as a developer but there was a distinct lack of social and professional interaction that eventually led to me looking at other options. It was satisfying completing a difficult project and seeing it implemented but I get infinitely more satisfaction from finding someone their perfect job as well as landing a juicy commission payment for the privilege of doing so! Hardest part: The sales aspect. It is still a very sales orientated career and it can be difficult to not come across as the 'cheesy salesman' and hammer home the point that I am a developer by trade but a recruiter by choice. I don't know if I would recommend it to other developers. It's quite hard to get established in the industry and start earning enough money to realise the potential of the career.
    • Timothee 16y ago
      No offense, but the fact that the money aspect is what you like the most puts me off a bit... it feels too much like the stereotypical "sales guy". However, it explains why I dealt with a couple of recruiters who touted their PhD in their email signature. I couldn't really understand why someone with a PhD would "end up" being a recruiter. But money can explain it I suppose. (they were still bad though)
      • takrupp 16y ago
        The money is nice, and it is a "Sales" job, but their is some creativity to it. You are trying to marry a candidate to a client. They are both moving targets. Its a skill game, more than a "bang the phones" game that a normal sales job is. There are a number of quants and C++ developers who made the move to recruiting, sometimes after talking to a recruiter and realizing that there is money to be made (usually more than they are making). I related to this: I did a lot of IT and web development work in my youth, and that always entailed being someone's bitch and not getting recognized for the work I did (Only the mess ups get noticed: Like being a goalie in soccer). In recruiting, you see the angles, work your relationships and make money. Its a one person job (mostly) and there is a lot of enjoyment in that aspect. At the end of the day you say "I did X placements, billed Y amount. Thats what I did", which isn't about the money as much as its about having a quantitative score that demonstrates your productivity.
        • bphogan 16y ago
          This is exactly why I started doing training and writing, which led me to my current gig at the Pragmatic Bookshelf - I get to work with smart people who want my help. I get to see people succeed, and I get to share in the success instead of handling the late night support calls when the app is down cos the client's cruddy shared host went offline. I'll always love developing, but I long ago learned that my greatest strength is helping other people become better.
      • unshift 16y ago
        really, it puts you off that people who exchange time for money would like to get the most money possible for their time?
        • Timothee 16y ago
          I'm not put off by someone maximizing the money they're getting for what they do, but I am a little bit by people who do what they do to maximize the money they're getting. Of course, it's a matter of personal taste and point-of-view... But "put off" might not have been the right word, maybe "disappointed" or "disinterested" would have been better. Basically, I saw swombat's question as a question from a developer interested in knowing if he might be missing something, if recruiting might be an interesting career path for hims. And the reply was like "the money, man!". I could just imagine the real-life conversation, and know I'd think "oh ok... nevermind, I thought there was more to it".
    • shalmanese 16y ago
      Do you have a github? I know that if a recruiter included a github link in their email, I would take a much more serious look.
      • KoZeN 16y ago
        Valid point. There is a line though that I need to be careful not to cross. Someone elsewhere on this thread made the point that technical understanding doesn't automatically equate to an excellent technical recruiter as sales/communication ability is just as important. As much as I want my clients to understand that I'm not a wannabe who drops in a few buzz words to sound knowledgeable I am also not just a code monkey dressed up in a suit.
• lkjuhygthyujk 16y ago
  No offence to the above - but it's the same reason you don't find knowledgeable people working in the Software section of the bookstore. Go into the english-lit / history section of a good bookstore in a university town and the odds are the people working there will have degrees / PhDs in the topic. Go into the engineering section and the guy on the till is unlikely to be a pEng/CEng.
• rmc 16y ago
  How do you convince companies and potential candidates that you know your stuff?