?wonderful opportunities?

I know a few really good headhunter types here. The thing that they all have in common is that they treat the potential candidate with respect. Unfortunately there are just so many out there that do not.

Good to know that there are a few of the good guys left- probably everywhere.

I know that you guys have had some unique challenges in the past few years- vendor management systems being on teh top of the list. You can't get a candidate in the door if the "Keywords" don't indicate a match. Sheesh!

Ever run into anything in the Twin Cities metro, I would welcome your contact. Sounds like you have a clear understanding of what we are going through too.

[i]For God's sake, learn the language before you come here, will ya?!?[/i]

But they [b]are[/b] in India! Just ask them what their [i]real[/i] name is, not the "John" or "Cathy" that's been assigned to them. Ask them how they enjoy the midnight shift in a boiler-room operation in Bangalore.

[i]I live in Delaware and none of these people seem to know where I am. Delaware is NOT a "part" of Maryland![/i]

It isn't? :-) Just teasin'! Cut 'em a break -- Delaware and NYC are only an inch apart on the map they're looking at. I'll bet most [i]Americans[/i] couldn't tell you where Delaware is, either! :-( Besides, can you tell me offhand how far apart Mumbai, New Delhi, and Bangalore are?

[i]I am not going to uproot myself to the rudest city in America[/i]

Odd. There was a recent survey that found that New York was one of the [i]nicest[/i] cities in the country! No kidding.

[i]like Arizona or Nevada or San Francisco or Palo Alto... I don't want to go someplace where a decent apartment will cost me 20,000 dollars a month and a hamburger costs 35 dollars![/i]

Have you seen the price of living (and real estate) in S.F. or the Bay Area? It makes NYC look like East Houndstooth, Kentucky in comparison.

Although Alaska is futher north, Anchorage is on the coast and the weather is better than here in MN... I would have taken the job, but thats me!

Outsourcing is normally a GOOD idea, but somehow these companies saw it as a panacea. It's amazing how many highly experienced IT folks are back in school.

I just met a guy with 15 years of experience in IT with great people skills and an uber programmer...but he can't find a dev job to save his life, so he's back in school.

[i]I met the guy that won the contract and we talked the summer after. He was from southern India and firmly convinced that the weather in Maine is comparable to the weather on Pluto.[/i]

Nah. It's [b]colder[/b]. I spent most of my childhood there and speak from experience. There's nothing so invigorating as spending a winter in an uninsulated summer cottage (with a small kero heater) when it's [i]at least[/i] -40 at night for a solid week. How cold was it? I don't know -- the mercury in the thermometer literally froze. We later moved to near the coast -- I remember standing in toasty -26 F weather waiting for the school bus. Ah, those were the days!

For someone from subtropical southern India, that must have been one interesting experience.

That was well thought out and I think it explains a lot of what is happening now. Your point B really opend my eyes as to WHY it is happening and your points C and D make a lot of sense too.

I do have a question. I have a large number of students that have experience, but headhunter pass them up because their degree is "new." Is there anything they can do to help get over that hurdle?

Damn you for making sense and sounding like a nice guy...I wanted to yell at you ;-)

* edited to add the thing for my students

I've been emailed for "exciting opportunities" as a machinist or as a [i]school bus driver[/i]. Doesn't anyone actually [i]read[/i] a resume before blasting out "exciting offers" to me? They want me to be a customer service rep for a health insurance company! They want me to be a traveling salesman!

Does anyone want to start up a thread on "What was the most ridiculously out-of-your-field job prospect that you were ever contacted for?". Something that was a 100% mismatch with your stated skill set and/or totally beneath your dignity?

[i]I didn't know that New Guinea was that advanced to have mainframes.[/i]

Sure -- they're not electrically powered though. You slide coconut beads up and down these vines...

Headhunters and cannibalism -- the first image that always pops into my mind when someone says "Human Resources". That's why Scott Adams found [i]Cat[/i]bert to be perfect as the head of HR. "Cats don't care whether you live or die, and they enjoy playing with you before they downsize you."

I am a mainframe programmer and the most unusual place that contacted me was the Marshall Islands. It was tempting since I scuba dive but the time away was unappealing.

... or at least check with the placment office.

Or eventually teach. Not the smae as doing, but it pays the bills.

Why did you move to a state with no opportunities?

I was asked in an interview (Japanese owned manufacturing plant in the US for the IT department) how I would explain something to aperson who did not speak English.

I don't think they liked my answer. I allowed as how someone who did not speak the native tongue was an absolute hazard to everyone within a 5-mile radius of the plant if he was allowed loose in the place.

Come to find out that the plant manager was from Japan getting his ticket punched at this place on his way up the corporate ladder, and had a translater tagging along everywhere he went.

I have watched my last 4 positions be outsourced to India. Not because of the available skill set but their willingness to work for $5/hour.

During Y2K as soon as they learned to spell COBOL they were applying for H1B visas. What a joke.

I have over 28 year of experience in COBOL/CICS and am worth every penny I was ever paid.

I am now working on a degree in Network Security. Hoping that maybe corporations are not willing to outsource the security portion of their business. Keep in mind India has no laws covering data and identity theft. This is becomming a large issue.

I hope that corporations will soon discover that sometimes paying for the best is better than buying a K-Mart priced programmer.

Network Security is for the moment not outsourcable per current standards. Especially in the Financial sector.

Take a look at CISSP along with Network security. Even if you don't go the route of certifying, you at least get a LOT of good information. Google on CISSP and check some of the hits.

Good luck!

OK! I wont ask about Jan or Feb... how about December or a long winter lasting into May. Walker MN, are you consulting for casino? Or are you working for yourself? There can't be to much stuff going on up there.....

I love when they say that "can you be flexible on your rate". Let's see you want to offer me less money than I am making now and you wan't me to "work with you". How about when pigs fly.

" We had to find something for them to do so we invented recruitment."

I thought that was why people are promoted to managers.

Close enough to keep an eye on but far enough away from the real work not to screw it up.

The Tex-Mex crap they sell here in NYC sucks. I can't tell you badly I want a true burrito with some real HOT SAUCE!

That deends upon your situation. In 2003 I was informed by my now former employer that they were reducing workforce and I was affected. I'd been with my employer for over 17 years.

To make a long story short, it took me five months to find a new job. The job was a 2-month contract position near Dallas, TX which was over 1000 miles away from my home. I decided to take the position. The 2-month contract position was subsequently extended to 7 months and then extended further. Before the contract with the client company expired, the client offered me a full-time position. The contracting firm for which I was working didn't have a non-compete agreement so I hired on with the client company.

Admittedly, this may not be the norm. However, it shows that temporary positions can become full-time positions given the right circumstances.

It doesn't matter if the person is from the US or not. On average, Americans in general do not know where the 50 states are located on a map (much less able to tell distances on it). If you ask anyone to find China on a map, they probably couldn't. We are all guilty of being ignorant on some level. I'm use to call center reps of my own company sending me out on a call that was not only NOT in my area... Hell... it wasn't even in my state!! Morons! I use to have a boss that would tell me, "Pay minimum wage... GET minumum wage."

I am a hispanic with some college and lots of OJT in computer and telecomm. I speak 4 languages. I usually get looked over for some positions simply because the person has a college degree, but I have personal experience with bosses who had a degree (but didn't have a degree in the field) and couldn't turn a wrench (much less do the job) and they would provide text book responses (which didn't really answer my questions). I know that I should get some more college under my belt, but getting back to school is next to impossible (unless you're a foreign student, in which case the US just opens up its purse strings). Don't get me started on that one.

I do the low to mid-level dirty hands kinda work and am good and happy with my work. In my community, even if you have a degree, it doesn't even guarantee you a job in your field, since some foreigner (or even some college kids) are willing to do the job half-assed for a fourth of the price. Where does that leave experienced people? In a world of hurt. Almost every job I've had in the last 5 years was based out of somewhere else. Generally, east coast. I've actually had it to where I was offered a job in which I was turned down by the company I applied to, but then a headhunter called within the month offering me the exact same position at a higher rate (without the bennies of course) thru a 3rd party. Insane.

I think that if you are working (hell, just communicating with people on just about any level) in the US, you should speak English. Keep your heritage out of the workplace.

Outsourcing may make financial sense, but do these people look at the long-term ramifications of these acts? It undermines America at the deepest levels. We need Americans (of all ethnicities) (sp?) to help make a stand for ourselves. Soon, so many upper-level jobs will leave the US and that everyone is going to have to make due with Wal-Mart wages (for jobs that are well above the pay-grade).

The IT world sucks right now and something needs to be done or all our upper-level high tech jobs are going to be controlled by foreign interests. Is that really in the best interests of the US? One day, the United States of America is going to have a little note at the bottom of every dollar bill saying, "IN GOD WE TRUST" and then "a subsidiary of SONY" or some other thing. Americans first. If you are in a position to hire... hire Americans. That's not saying that you should hire any yutz, but choose Americans first. Is that racist? Nope. Americans come in all flavors. I'm just saying that no matter the race or ethnicity, give Americans the chance first. If foreigners don't like it... tough. America for Americans!

Yeah, it's "wonderful opportunities" for those headhunters. I've experienced the same thing you have with these people. They say that they pulled your resume from Monster or Dice. Well if they actually took the time to read your profile they would see that you ARE NOT WILLING TO RELOCATE. So I guess headhunters are not only geographically challenged but can't read as well. From my experience, some of them can't even speak English correctly.

For the most part though, I think it's all a numbers game for them. The more people they call, the better chance they'll have of maybe finding someone to fill their employment hole and get paid since they work off of commission. But they could do their job better and find more qualified people if they did their homework.