I am continuously reading bad comments about head hunters in the careers forum. I just started my job-hunting. I guess that not all are rubbish. Any good experiences with h-h in London? I have a PhD in finance and an MSc in financial mathematics. I am looking for a quant-type of role. Any suggestions? Thanks

We're evil, ncompetent, and people want us dead.That being said, we're marginally less evil and incompetent than the rest, and some people only want to break our legs.

QuoteOriginally posted by: DCFCWe're evil, ncompetent, and people want us dead.That being said, we're marginally less evil and incompetent than the rest, and some people only want to break our legs.No wonder DCFC's cat logo comes with only three legs :)BTW, what should I do if I want to get the Paul & Dominic's Guide to Getting a Quant Job? I've sent my CV to p&d a couple of weeks ago.

You're not on AOL are you ?

QuoteOriginally posted by: DYQuoteOriginally posted by: DCFCWe're evil, ncompetent, and people want us dead.That being said, we're marginally less evil and incompetent than the rest, and some people only want to break our legs.No wonder DCFC's cat logo comes with only three legs BTW, what should I do if I want to get the Paul & Dominic's Guide to Getting a Quant Job? I've sent my CV to p&d a couple of weeks ago.They ignored your application!

Btw, have you heard about Carrington Fox and what do you think about them?

QuoteThey ignored your application!Well, we all know how the process is like in order to secure the first job in this area (random walk ??). That's exactly why it is important to figure out what can be done to maximise the success rate.To DCFC: my email is not an AOL one. But, a gmail one. I hope it won't be filtered on....

QuoteOriginally posted by: wallclimberI am continuously reading bad comments about head hunters in the careers forum. I just started my job-hunting. I guess that not all are rubbish. Any good experiences with h-h in London? I have a PhD in finance and an MSc in financial mathematics. I am looking for a quant-type of role. Any suggestions? ThanksDCFC is actually a nice guy. Recommendedif you ever be able to meet him you could even hear very interesting tales

HiI think if you are looking for quant jobs its best to get in touch with the Huxley Associates... they are specialist quant recruiters...Hope this helps

QuoteOriginally posted by: RandomnessHiI think if you are looking for quant jobs its best to get in touch with the Huxley Associates... they are specialist quant recruiters...Hope this helpsJust wondering how Huxley allocates a junior applicant to a consultant. I was allocated to a IT consultant although I expressed my interest in Quantitative Analyst. Big bosses just deal with senior positions, applicants for entry/junior roles are thrown to entry level consultants. And they tried to push me to accept an offer from a small hedge fund. Got frequent calls regarding what other HH or IBs I was interviewing with last week and what the interviewers' names are. When I refused to disclose the names, they threatened me that 'other candidates are qutie open to this sort of questions'.

Do good headhunters typically ask these questions? Is it good to stonewall like you did?

Do good headhunters typically ask these questions?P&D don;t.Obviously we want more names, but threatening newbies is simply wrong. It's simply not in tyour interest to give names of managersyou are currently interviewing with. Some HHs carpet bomb managers with CVs, and you are in effect massively increasing the number of the peoplecompeting for that job. It is not impossible that they will include your CV in that shitstorm, and that does not help your case at all.Threats do happen. Had it happen to me when I had a proper job. The best response is to say something like "I was told this information in confidence, and I have to respect that, in just the same way I'd keep confidential anything you tell me." If they keep on needling you , stonewall, they're a jerk and you have to ask yourself whether you want to put your career in the care of a jerk.Names are assets, both you and the HH. So you may decide to trade with them, and you may choose to use them as an incentive. If you know you aren't going to get a particular job, then it doesn't matter to you who fills it. You can say to the HH "if you get me an interview for that good job at JPM, i'll give you the name of the manager at CS". But actually affecting the chances of getting put forward, either postively or negatively, is quite hard.On the face of it a HH has considerable power over you. He has to decide whcih CVs to fire at the hiring manager, if he doesn't send you in you don't get that job.But HHs only get paid when they fill a job. Thus it is normally quite irrational for a HH who threatens not to send you in for a job to actually carry out that threat. He loses potential money. In some cases he has an exclusive for that job, but certainly for most junior jobs there are several different firms going for it, so if he passes on a good shot he may not get any money at all.In some firms tghey have so many junior HHs he may actually be competing with his team mates. I've had that happen to me was quite funny to hear the HHs squabbling. Don't think it helped me get a job though.Short version: A HH who threatens not to send you to a job is a bullshitting jerk.As a worked example, what P&D do is stuff like offer advice. Last week helped one guy decide between two offers and how to get the most out of them in terms of the actual work. Neither was through us But the deal is that when he makes his final decision, we get the name of the manager he turns down. That's a good lead for us, since we know he needs someone, and to good approximation the sort of person he wants.This tactic has worked well for us in the past, and also builds goodwill for 2-3 years time when he might look around again.That last term is important. We own the firm, we care about what it's position 2,3, and 10 years from now. Most HHs change job frequently, and thus care about this month's commission a lot more than the firm's reputation in years to come.

What happens when the previous HHs spam your CV to all the HRs without your knowledge? Does that disqualify all the new HHs from making their pitches to the hiring manager? Surely, this can't be, otherwise no one is going to get jobs?I went to an interview today and apparently, they tried to cancel at the last minute because the HH representing me to the hiring manager is not the same one as the one on the HR database. Is this common? The interview went ahead but it was truncated because they couldn't find someone to conduct one part of it.

QuoteOriginally posted by: spiceWhat happens when the previous HHs spam your CV to all the HRs without your knowledge? Does that disqualify all the new HHs from making their pitches to the hiring manager? Surely, this can't be, otherwise no one is going to get jobs?I went to an interview today and apparently, they tried to cancel at the last minute because the HH representing me to the hiring manager is not the same one as the one on the HR database. Is this common? The interview went ahead but it was truncated because they couldn't find someone to conduct one part of it.HHs usually talk to a recruiting manager directly, not HR people. I have a strong impression that HR people are stupid!!!

QuoteOriginally posted by: DCFC Do good headhunters typically ask these questions?P&D don;t.Obviously we want more names, but threatening newbies is simply wrong. It's simply not in tyour interest to give names of managersyou are currently interviewing with. Some HHs carpet bomb managers with CVs, and you are in effect massively increasing the number of the peoplecompeting for that job. It is not impossible that they will include your CV in that shitstorm, and that does not help your case at all.Threats do happen. Had it happen to me when I had a proper job. The best response is to say something like "I was told this information in confidence, and I have to respect that, in just the same way I'd keep confidential anything you tell me." If they keep on needling you , stonewall, they're a jerk and you have to ask yourself whether you want to put your career in the care of a jerk.Names are assets, both you and the HH. So you may decide to trade with them, and you may choose to use them as an incentive. If you know you aren't going to get a particular job, then it doesn't matter to you who fills it. You can say to the HH "if you get me an interview for that good job at JPM, i'll give you the name of the manager at CS". But actually affecting the chances of getting put forward, either postively or negatively, is quite hard.On the face of it a HH has considerable power over you. He has to decide whcih CVs to fire at the hiring manager, if he doesn't send you in you don't get that job.But HHs only get paid when they fill a job. Thus it is normally quite irrational for a HH who threatens not to send you in for a job to actually carry out that threat. He loses potential money. In some cases he has an exclusive for that job, but certainly for most junior jobs there are several different firms going for it, so if he passes on a good shot he may not get any money at all.In some firms tghey have so many junior HHs he may actually be competing with his team mates. I've had that happen to me was quite funny to hear the HHs squabbling. Don't think it helped me get a job though.Short version: A HH who threatens not to send you to a job is a bullshitting jerk.As a worked example, what P&D do is stuff like offer advice. Last week helped one guy decide between two offers and how to get the most out of them in terms of the actual work. Neither was through us But the deal is that when he makes his final decision, we get the name of the manager he turns down. That's a good lead for us, since we know he needs someone, and to good approximation the sort of person he wants.This tactic has worked well for us in the past, and also builds goodwill for 2-3 years time when he might look around again.That last term is important. We own the firm, we care about what it's position 2,3, and 10 years from now. Most HHs change job frequently, and thus care about this month's commission a lot more than the firm's reputation in years to come."But the deal is that when he makes his final decision, we get the name of the manager he turns down." - Yes, it is a win-win situation!One friend of mine just got an offer from JPM, the pay is very close to the upper bound DCFC mentioned (40-60K), what a glorified day!