Question
Every day I read about frustrations of people looking for work. It’s usually some version of this: “I sent out X number of resumes (usually in the low 100s) and got nothing (or two interviews but no offers.)” That kind of effort might be worth it if it yielded even a 5% return — say, 20 interviews on 400 applications. Such results might make it worthwhile but nobody gets 5% on hundreds of resumes! Your short article “They’re not headhunters” got me to thinking. If it were possible — I know you think it’s not, but what if it were — to pay somebody to get you, for example, a $120,000 job, how much would that be worth?
Nick’s Reply
Ok, I’ll take the bait. I’m glad you agree that a huge blast of resumes is not likely to return anything but intense frustration! So let’s do that exercise. What should someone pay to get a $120,000 job?
People want “the secret” to job hunting. The secret is that you must work as hard as the good headhunter I refer to in that article you cited – and that’s a lot of hard work.
What’s a job worth?
The online jobs sites have convinced people to “sit back and let our intelligent agents” do the work!” But as you note, only a tiny fraction of job hunters actually find jobs through these databases. If they worked as well as claimed, why would companies spend huge fees on headhunters, but only $100 (a generous estimate!) for an online job posting?
The kind of placement you’re talking about (for a $120,000 job) will earn a headhunter around a $30,000 fee, and the headhunter will work for every nickel of it. So here’s the reality check I’ll suggest: Have you put $30,000 worth of effort into your job search? If you take the easy path and read job postings, mail out resumes, and wait for an employer to respond, you’re being lazy. At best, you will wind up with the wrong job working for the wrong people. More likely you’ll wind up with nothing but frustration.
How much work to get work?
$30,000 worth of work to land a job? Most people will see that as an incredibly daunting challenge, if not a silly idea. But, consider this. A company that can’t find good hires on its own will gladly spend that thirty grand on a headhunter. (That’s your competition!) You, on the other hand, will not find anyone to do that for you – headhunters don’t work for job hunters.
There’s only one thing left to do: $30,000 worth of work to land a good job yourself.
It doesn’t cost $30,000 to send out 400 resumes or applications, nor does waiting for the rejections. But do you get the idea? Productive job hunting requires a lot of smart work not a lot of resumes and applications!
Do the job to win the job
Ask The Headhunter is here to teach you how to “do it like a headhunter.” The suggestions readers will find in this website require a lot of work. Still think it’s crazy to do even half the things we discuss here? Still think it’s an unnecessary and inordinate amount of work to do to land your next job?
Then, I’ll leave you with a final thought. To an employer, the right job candidate is worth about $30,000, or around a 25% free based on the new hire’s salary. Of course, if you’re the candidate, that new job is worth $120,000 – your salary. So, maybe that means you ought to be willing to work four times as hard as the headhunter. Right?
To understand what “do the job to win the job” means, please read Kevin Kane’s synopsis of how this can work for you. But please don’t walk away thinking you’re going to pay someone to get you a job, or even to help you get a job. The market is full of career scammers.
I’ll ask you again: Is that job you want worth thirty grand worth of effort? Or, how much are you willing to invest to get the right job?
Am I nuts? Do headhunters really do $30,000 worth of work to fill a job? Should you? What’s really my point here?
: :
Even diamond thieves have to work hard to do their job (and it’s made harder by the risk of being caught).
This is spot on. Getting a good job is hard work and needs time and effort.
1. Pretty much any job with any employer will require $30,000 worth of work, stress, counseling, etc. Most jobs aren’t worth it.
2. Thirty years ago, I would have hired a good sports agent to find me a job with a good company and take a percentage of the final contract. Over time, I’ve discovered that most jobs aren’t worth that either.
The original poster is looking for a 120,000/year job. The company would pay $150,000 that first year to hire through a headhunter where the employee would only earn $120,000. So assuming that “working like a headhunter” the unemployed job seeker could probably convince the company to pay more than $120,000 since they are avoiding the headhunter fee. The savvy job seeker should understand that time spent doing the job search “like a headhunter” is like being self-employed and running their job search like an entrepreneur running their own company.
This article really hits the mark! The analogy of working like a headhunter is spot on. It’s frustrating how many people expect easy results from generic resumes. You definitely need to invest serious effort for a job worth $120k. Highly recommended for anyone serious about landing their dream job.