Outsourcing job hunting

October 10, 2006 6:36 PM

What would be the best way for a job searcher to outsource/delegate the job hunting process for an IT job?

How much can be delegated? Is it practical? Has anyone done such a thing before? Is it worthwhile?
Some tasks that might be outsourced: reviewing the CV text and design, filling forms in job websites, filtering for jobs offers that match my requirements and skills, writing customized cover letters, etc.

posted by Sharcho to work & money (7 comments total)

Uh, just call up a headhunter?

That's what they do for a living.
posted by tkolar at 6:46 PM on October 10, 2006

Headhunters are focused on filling the needs of the hiring company, not filling the needs of the job searcher. I don't even know if there are headhunters here in Spain.
posted by Sharcho at 6:56 PM on October 10, 2006

Okay, I found a few headhunters on Google, but I still not what what I'm looking for.

Say I submit my CV, the headhunter won't activlely search for a job based on my requirements; the headhunter has a position to fill, and he seeks candidates that match the requirements. In many cases I'll be excluded automatically for being an autodidact.
posted by Sharcho at 7:16 PM on October 10, 2006

You could hire someone in India to do most of the manual grunt work (filing in forms, filterting offers), and proberly most of the other stuff as well.

From what I recall it isn't terribly expensive either.
posted by oxford blue at 7:16 PM on October 10, 2006

Most placement companies will want you to be their employee, rather than that of the company AND they'll want you to do all the work if different covering letters or CVs need to be created. I'm not sure this is something you can "outsource".
posted by krisjohn at 7:40 PM on October 10, 2006

The company pays the headhunter's fee, so naturally that's who the headhunter is primarily interested in satisfying.

But they can't do so without people getting hired, so it's not like the situation is against you. If you think you're good and worth hiring, a headhunter is a good way to go.
posted by Steven C. Den Beste at 11:10 PM on October 10, 2006

Hmm, I don't know about Spain, but in the U.S. there are certain headhunters who effectively work freelance. They'll take your resume and shop it around to a variety of companies, with the understanding that the company will pay them a fee if you're hired.

Or maybe it's just a Silicon Valley thing. I dunno.
posted by tkolar at 12:13 AM on October 11, 2006