Has anybody had any experiences with recruiters or recruiting companies? I have an opportunity to meet with one and was wondering if anyone had any good insight into there positives and negatives.
Make sure they understand what an industrial designer does. Over half of the recruiters I’ve dealt with think we’re some type of engineer. At least that’s been my experience.
Good luck…
I’ve only ever had 1 experience and decided to not use them. I applied for a position, a ‘senior consultant’ deemed my work not suitable to show the potential employer, even though, through the set criteria I had everything they wanted. I’d prefer someone in the employers office to tell me I’m not what they are looking for rather than a middle man.
I kind of figured, but this is one of those Industrial Design specific recruiters. Like Rita Sue Siegal or Yeh Ideology. Does anyone have any experience with them?
wasn’t happy with Yeh. Rita Sue will help you if you’re a rockstar. everyone else is small potatoes for them. i don’t even consider them.
working with recruiters can be advantageous, but like mentioned, you have to make certain they understand your job function. try to get in contact with the director of design or company personel asap when working with a recruiter. they will know if you are what they are looking for.
Here’s my brief experience with a major recruiter from UK(or that he claimed to be).
I got a phone call one day from a guy who claims to be from XYZ recruiting firm who said saw my work on coroflot. He was wondering if I was looking for a job.
blah blah
So I sent him my teaser, which he used as promotional graphics to show his “infantry”. He did ask me for permission which I thought was ok.
He said he contacted 2 major studios and one of them seemed to be interested, and was asking what my conditions are and so on.
Then one day, he stopped all contacts, and I had no way to follow up with the process. So basically, from the start, I didn’t know if he is real. I didn’t know if his contacts were real. The only thing I knew was real, was that I gave him my teaser which he used.
Not saying that he is not real, but I just hated the fact that he had control over everything and I am just hoping that he’s doing what he said he was.
Such a good point!!! Dave you remember CAROL RING… yikes!
From the end of the employer, most small companies can’t afford an employee from a head-hunter. I had one ask for 15% of their clients annual salary. If you’re looking to start selling pharmaceuticals, then its in your best interest to use one.
It helps to point them the the IDSA definition of Industrial Designer, And yes trying to get these people not to send you to death by autoCAD is like smashing your head against the wall.
I’m a creative recruiter who specializes in placing candidates in the creative space; graphic and web design, marketing and communications, etc etc. Most of the time, I don’t deal with IDers, but have an open position right now, and came to this site to do some research.
Many people have had bad experiences with recruiters, unfortunately, which give us a really bad rap but I think it depends on the specific recruiter you are working with, not our industry, per se. But many times, these “bad experiences” have come because of situation uncontrollable by the recruiter. Sometimes our clients just don’t get back to us, however many times we try- one of the top complaints I’ve come across when speaking to candidates. Other times, people complain that I don’t call them enough- because I am reactive to what my clients need, I can’t specifically look for a position for every single candidate. If this is the type of service you are looking for, you, the job seeker, would have to pay a fee. The way we are structured, it costs nothing for the candidate to register.
There are many reasons why using a recruiter is beneficial to your job search. For instance, I have many established relationships with many of the top firms in the Baltimore area, and I am able to call on them and introduce a great candidate. If you were to try and contact this person on your own and present your work, they might not take the call or answer the email because they may not know you.
If you want to improve your experience with a recruiter, I would suggest following up on a regular basis to make sure the recruiter knows you are still looking. Constantly check in with them, be proactive about your job search. If you sit around waiting for an opportunity to come to you, you may be sitting around for a long time.
You mean like as if you were looking for a job? Great advice;)
You mean like as if you were looking for a job? Great advice;)
You’d be surprised how many people literally sit around and wait for me to call them and then wonder why they aren’t working! 
The candidates that are most likely to get a position are those who are constantly calling and checking in with me, as well as looking on their own. I always tell candidates, use me as a resource, but don’t depend on my solely to find you a job. Sometimes they get it, sometimes not.
Thanks for the great post. I am an Executive Recruiter for the Action Sports industry and work with a lot of Industrial Designers.
It was interesting learning about some of the misconceptions and opinions people have about our industry. As was mentioned before, all industries have their quality folks and also the ones that give the industry a bad name.
I am involved in the Action Sports industry because it is my passion. I grew up surfing, skateboarding, snowboarding, and vertical rollerskating. I am still a vertical rollerskater and just love interacting with the people in my industry.
Recruiters can be such a valuable resource for you. Companies will pay the fees and do pay them. The reason companies use me is because I can bring them a candidate and not an applicant. I network through out the industry and let people know about opportunities that they never may have known about.
I suggest that if you plan on making a move from a current employer that you look while you have a job. You should also avoid putting your resume on line because it lowers your perceived value and unethical recruiters will use that resume and shop you all over town. A good recruiter will keep your information confidential as well as spend the time needed to get your information in front of the right person.
If I have a great candidate and they tell me they want to work for a particular company, I can get them in the door. Companies receive thousands of resumes and HR just does not have time to view them.
If anyone has any questions or would like advice, feel free post on here or pm me.
Also, I had read the post about showing portfolios to exployers and Michael gave awesome advice. I know that I was presenting an amazing candidate to one of my companies and this person’s portfolio only had finished products. The Director of Design wanted to see how my candidate thought, see sketches and concepts. I was fortunate enough to get around this by setting up a phone interview so that he could explain how he works.
Recruiters are like real estate agents. There are a few good ones who will really get to know you, what you are looking for and work for you. The vast majority are mediocre. They are only interested in making the their sale and will jump to the easiest target, usually misrepresenting you or them. My experience with NY recruiters like RSA and Yeh: they dont spend much time getting to know you ar what you are about. The time I have spent in front of recruitment agents has rarely paid off.
Ultimately your success with them depends on your personal connection- yours and theirs.
try wert & co as well, they focus on design
http://www.wertco.com/home.html
browse their link library under resources or links to get an idea of schools, magazines, sites they recommend
that usually will give you an idea of an organization’s focus
Infini,Thanks for sharing the link…
great …resource section …