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Advice about headhunters in HK

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  1. #1

    Join Date
    Jul 2011
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    Advice about headhunters in HK

    Hi everyone, I am working in finance (equities) in HK and really want a change due to issues with my manager. Since I am not at such a senior level (4 years experience), I am not clear about how the game is played and probably not a prime candidate on the radar. I did meet a few people earlier, mostly nothing came out of it except for a discussion and it seemed they were trying to get information out of me. One person did say he would introduce me to his contacts at different banks and did arrange meetings at two places. There were positive discussions, but again nothing happened afterwards. Now the same headhunter told me there will probably be very little hiring until next year.

    I am not clear at this stage if these people have already shopped me around to different banks, in which case I am already familiar to potential employers. Should I continue talking to different headhunters, or will it just create overlap and make me seem desperate? Can a headhunter refer you to some place if another one has already done so? Also, is there much of a point job searching so aggressively during the down market?


  2. #2

    Join Date
    Feb 2010
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    7,441

    Get your linkedin page running sweetly and being active there will help alot.

    I don't think it harms to have an aggressive view of job searching.


  3. #3

    To begin, I don't have a lot of good things to say about recruiters in Hong Kong, better yet, in general. But I will try my best to be professional here. I found them not to be very knowledgeable in industries they cover. Try looking at LinkedIn, you can see some of their job experiences to be stewardess or working for Prada. The recruiters I have encountered in NY had been in the business, so the industry there is very competitive. I imagine their days are spent doing word match, if the job description matches x% of your resume, then you would be a good candidate. Then again, I have also met a few that are good at what they do. Be proactive in contacting them, don't wait for them to call you. Don't worry about being shopped around already, they need to be reminded when they are busy with their daily work flow.

    What I am trying to say is, it is your career, be active, talk to other recruiters, look on sites such as efinancialcareers.com or other job search sites, attend networking events or even directly contacting decision makers who might be interested in your resume. Update your resume according to keywords in the job description of jobs that you want to increase hits. Plus, it's not dating, so don't worry about being "desperate". However, always remain professional and you will find something. Don't let recruiters talk you out of searching during a down time or banks are not hiring at certain time. Good firms are always looking for talents, and so should you! Good luck!


  4. #4

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    Jul 2011
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    Thanks very much... I'm just not sure how the recruitment protocol works. If one headhunter has referred me to a firm, doesn't that preclude another headhunter from getting paid for placing me at the same firm? At this point I have met with people at 2-3 firms but have no idea how many other places I might have been referred to by the few headhunters I've met. Like you suggest, I can easily identify and contact decision makers directly, but I wonder if there is some risk... in this town you never know who is friends with who and the person could be your boss' tennis buddy. Also, a referral from a reputable headhunter should carry more weight than a direct approach from someone they haven't heard of? There are only so many decent brokerages in town and your options could narrow quickly if you make a bad approach.


  5. #5

    Join Date
    Apr 2011
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    2,446

    Okay, first lesson in dealing with headhunters (although in reality, they are recruitment agents/consultants not headhunters you are dealing with....headhunters do like their name suggests, they come looking for you with specific opportunities. This is usually at a senior level when you've made a name/reputation for yourself): insist that they get your agreement IN ADVANCE before referring you anywhere. You need to know exactly who you are being referred to. Make it clear that if you are not consulted before they refer you, you will not deal with them anymore. You need to take control of the situation rather than just sitting back and letting it happen.


  6. #6

    Good point bibbju, I forgot that they usually have to ask for your permission to release your name to the company. Usually they send out nameless resumes. I particularly agree with the last statement "You need to take control of the situation rather than just sitting back and letting in happen."


  7. #7

    Join Date
    Jan 2008
    Posts
    850

    I agree with everything deepfried said.

    My experiences have also been unfulfilling. Most of them seemed more intent on getting me to visit them in their offices so they could interview me. I understand the desire to meet me but I don't see why it can't be done over a phone. When I last looked for a job, I spent more time commuting to Central and in these interviews than I did in real interviews. I can't imagine how anyone could schedule all of that if they were already employed (it's already hard enough coming up with excuses to take days off to interview, let alone stupid fake ones with agencies).

    Just recently, I acquired a job and this one was quite different. An agency found me and emailed me about the job. They're located in Sydney so all communication was done via email or phone. Everything went smooth and I got the job. No need meet in person.

    I'll re-iterate the importance of making sure they get your approval before submitting your CV to a company. Technically, you can only be represented by one agency within most large companies. So if ShittyXYZ Agency represents you at a company today. they have the 'rights' to you for a year (i think). If another agency finds a job at the same company and presents it to you, you cannot apply to it through them. I've had this happen and then asked ShittyXYZ about the 2nd job and they said they were not aware of it and it must be with another department they're not connected with. So do this to protect yourself from having some crappy agency blindly send your CV out to every major bank out there and thus getting a lock on you as their commodity.

    Char Siu King likes this.

  8. #8
    Quote Originally Posted by wayland:
    I'll re-iterate the importance of making sure they get your approval before submitting your CV to a company. Technically, you can only be represented by one agency within most large companies. So if ShittyXYZ Agency represents you at a company today. they have the 'rights' to you for a year (i think). If another agency finds a job at the same company and presents it to you, you cannot apply to it through them. I've had this happen and then asked ShittyXYZ about the 2nd job and they said they were not aware of it and it must be with another department they're not connected with. So do this to protect yourself from having some crappy agency blindly send your CV out to every major bank out there and thus getting a lock on you as their commodity.
    @Wayland - just curious how you can avoid letting the ShittyXYZ claiming you for x amount of time. So assuming that the agency agreed to NOT release your information until they have your approval, but once you are interested in a position, you would authorize them to release your identification and then would have a claim on you from that point forward? Therefore, to avoid being claimed, we must be selective in when we allow ShittyXYZ to release our info? What happened to you when that agency has that claim on you but did not have the relationship for that position you were interested. Were you consider for that position?

    How do we avoid the said situation you have experienced? It is pathetic that they have a claim on you for the ENTIRE firm given they don't have relationship to all relevant groups (ie. Equity Research for IB and for Equity Research for Asset Mgmt for JPMorgan). Just trying to learn how to play the game according to their rules. Thanks.

  9. #9

    Whatever you choose to do, don't ever tell recruiters "I am not clear about how the game is played and probably not a prime candidate on the radar". They can smell fear. Before you establish a relationship with any recruiters find out exactly what their business model is. How do they make their money? Some solid advice in many posts above. You're swimming with sharks...


  10. #10

    Join Date
    Jan 2008
    Posts
    850

    @deepfried

    In my case, they did get my approval. But being naive and new to HK at the time, I was desperate to get a job and was ecstatic just to get leads at the time (summer 2008 when market sucked).

    I'm not sure how selective you can be. I think the agreements the agencies have with the HR departments are company wide. The point is, if you have more than one agency that you're working with. Quickly decide which one is more competent and try to have them rep you with the larger companies to be safe.


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