Headhunters

Today I got an email message from a headhunter that was mistakenly addressed to a faculty member at NC State. Classy. Anyway, this isn't the first that I have heard from a headhunter (that is to say, employment recruiters) looking for leads on graduates that might be looking for work. It is becoming more common in both the LA and the GIS fields for me to get emails or calls from headhunters trying to place someone at a firm that is hungry enough for talent that they are relying on something more than word-of-mouth or ads in the newspaper.

I think it is a great sign that larger firms are ready to use these firms as aggressive talent scouts to fill positions. It demonstrates that as a profession we've grown to a serious level and it also shows that talent is a resource that is valued in the marketplace. It might show that Universities are not graduating enough LAs. But it also made me wonder how good these firms really are. As I Googled around on it I found this firm's page which was so dreadful that it was hard to believe anyone could trust them with a search for a designer. It appears that they are using cheap off-the-shelf landscaping software (and pixelated fonts) to market themselves to sophisticated designers and firms.

After looking around some more I really wonder how successful headhunters are going to be in a field where so many employers are still so particular. I mean, we haven't become like accounting yet, have we?

BTW, know anyone that wants an LA job in Raleigh?