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Hey there! Great questions. 1) All of our coaches are experienced engineers. 2) We're much more involved than recruiters. We're going to run you through in-hou
by ztratar 11y ago
Hey there! Great questions.
1) All of our coaches are experienced engineers.
2) We're much more involved than recruiters. We're going to run you through in-house interview gauntlets if that's what you want and need (detailed feedback included). We'll rip apart your resume and start from scratch if that's a smart thing to do. I've found 0% of the recruiters I've talked to can do those things effectively -- perhaps you're different, but we've never met. :]
3) We help you network.
4) We'll actively help you look at companies outside our recruiting contract scope. We'll recommend companies that we don't work with. This is not a "sometimes candidates get jobs at non-clients" sort of thing. This is more of a "let's put you first, no matter what" sort of thing.
- fecak 11y agoBeing experienced engineers is helpful. Whether or not you're "much more involved" than recruiters probably depends on the recruiter, but running multiple interviews internally with coaches is definitely a worthwhile service. Most experienced recruiters can rip apart a resume and are usually willing to help make changes (specifically when it's for their own client). I've seen recruiters that claim ownership of the resume they modify for their candidates, which seems tacky. I understand that you will recommend companies that you don't work with, although your business model has all the same incentives that the traditional contingency recruiting model has. You have two ways of making money. 1 - Getting paid when a candidate accepts a job at your client (standard contingency model). 2 - 20% (of difference) paid by candidate for negotiation You can recommend candidates to companies you don't work with, and you can make money off these deals by providing a negotiation service. I respect that you are trying to provide a superior service to what most recruiters are providing. It's a sad state for the recruiting industry when companies are reluctant to even use the term "recruiting". I'm as critical of the recruiting industry as anyone, so I do wish you well.
- Peroni 11y ago1) That's neither a distinct nor a unique advantage. Being an engineer doesn't immediately qualify you as being better placed to advise someone on how to improve their career opportunities. 2) Recruiters won't rip apart a resume. They'll advise you on how to improve what you already have because they'll respect the time and effort you put into creating it in the first place. 3) Is this is short-hand for 'we'll tell you what meet-ups/events to go to'? 4) Again, neither a distinct nor a unique advantage. Recruiters constantly spec candidates out to companies they don't have contractual agreements with. It's how they win new business. I respect the fact that you're attempting to create a better experience for candidates but ultimately, what you have created is simply a traditional recruitment company that acts and behaves the way a recruitment company is meant to behave.
- ztratar 11y agoQuality points, my responses: 1) You're right it doesn't immediately qualify you, but it does give you a better understanding as to what position requirements actually entail and what people mean when they say "I want to avoid all non-linux dev environments". We just use it as a base filter and then build coaches into the most qualified people over time. 2) Some people need light changes, some people need harsh truth. Recruiters ignore the latter and treat them as lost causes. I don't mean to say we'll disrespect people -- sorry if it came across that way! 3) We're building a network of helpful experts (see https://jobstart.co/experts https://jobstart.co/experts). We'll give people tips on how to explore their own network, connect with our experts, and do generic things such as attend meetups/events. Depends on the coach and the candidate. 4) Hmm, I'm trying to figure out how to explain this part properly and it's admittedly a bit difficult. Have you ever been sent a specced candidate by a company? What was that experience like -- good or bad? In our experience, it's almost always been bad. Usually it's so bad they don't even get the position requirement and candidate aligned properly, let alone send an outstanding candidate. I think some of this comes back to point #1, having the engineer-coach understand the specs, and letting the candidate themselves even do some initial contact. We don't run the entire job search for you -- we'll intro you to some companies, sure, but we're also going to teach you how to get better conversion % on your own efforts. "that acts and behaves the way a recruitment company is meant to behave". I disagree with everything in that sentence. Everything is temporary and no company or service is meant to act in any such way. Startups thrive only by finding creative ways of doing things.
- justonepost 11y agoI like it. I like that you do the 20% difference thing. I have never seen that before, and it's clever and aligned well with the goals of the developer. You're basically saying "if we can't get you at one of our customers, we'll find someone else and grind out a great offer for you." You get paid better if it's your own client, but if there is no fit, you at least still go to bat for your engineers. It's up to the developer to accept it, though, right? They can back out at any point, right?
- ztratar 11y agoYup -- always up to the developer. We don't create any contracts that binds them into anything. TBH, we can't take credit for the 20% thing. It's been done before (by itself).
- igravious 11y agoLocation? SF only? California only? US only? Further afield?