Recruiters: Who's Who?
"Headhunter" has a savage connotation, and "recruiter"
might suggest Uncle Sam summoning you to military service,
but don't overlook these two categories in your job search.
A headhunter is a person or agency hired by a company to
find candidates for a specific opening. With today's low unemployment,
headhunters place anyone from computer programmers to CEOs.
In the past, headhunters were typically called upon to find
high level executives and were known as "executive search
firms."
Many headhunters specialize in particular industries or job
types. Does that mean they won't place you? Not necessarily.
You can approach a headhunter and explain what you're looking
for, and they may either add your resume to their database
or refer you to someone who handles jobs at your level.
Recruiters, on the other hand, tend to be internal company
employees. They often attend career
fairs to attract job seekers to their company. Their twin
goals are to promote their company and to collect as many
resumes as possible to beef up the company's database. Recruiters,
therefore, aren't the most direct route to finding a job,
but it certainly doesn't hurt to meet someone who can answer
your questions and convey your resume back to the company.
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