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Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!cbosgd!ihnp4!inuxc!iubugs!iuvax!lwm
From: lwm@iuvax.UUCP
Newsgroups: net.jobs
Subject: Re: AI search and recruitment
Message-ID: <4300008@iuvax.UUCP>
Date: Sat, 14-Dec-85 13:20:00 EST
Article-I.D.: iuvax.4300008
Posted: Sat Dec 14 13:20:00 1985
Date-Received: Tue, 17-Dec-85 04:41:47 EST
References: <153@mdee.UUCP>
Lines: 56
Nf-ID: #R:mdee:-15300:iuvax:4300008:000:3164
Nf-From: iuvax!lwm    Dec 14 13:20:00 1985


I think I can understand why this type of posting makes some people nervous.
However, I think it is worthwhile if we pause and reconsider before kindling
too many flames.

The posting from mdee!root is basically a product anouncement.  Product
announcements are nothing new on the net.  Since the product in question is
employment services, it should not be surprising that it is posted here.  All
product announcements are invitations to people and/or companies to buy a
product which benefits the manufacturer financially.

Postings of job openings by companies are not purely information offered for
the benefit of job seekers; there are financial benefits here too.  It costs
little or nothing to post a job opening on the net.  It saves the company with
the opening considerable money though.  A wide audience of potential employees
can be reached without having to purchase newspaper ads in all the cities
reached by usenet.  It takes man-hours of work on the part of the people in
a company's personnel office to get the word out all over the country if it
is done without the net.  A penny saved is a penny earned.

Postings by job seekers are similarly of a commercial nature.  A job seeker
is selling his services and advertising them on the net.  No one can
deny that considerable time (time is money) is saved by job seekers by
using the net to send out resumes.  Don't forget postage saved either.

As far as headhunters in particular, I know many of us do not have good
impressions of them.  I have had my share of annoyances with some of them too.
The tactics used by some of them can be truly offensive.  They are not all
like that though, and many professionals actually like to use headhunters.
Likewise, many companies like to use them.  They consider it an extension of
their personnel departments (which are just in-house headhunters after all).
Many start-up companies don't have a real personnel department yet, but may
have some excellent job opportunities to offer.  They have to rely on someone
else to find employees for them.  Additionally, all companies with attractive
openings are not on the net.  Having mdee on the net may allow us to hear of
an interesting position we wouldn't otherwise know about.

As far as tactics go, I would rather have a headhunter post a job opening
on the net for me to consider at my leisure than call me in my office or,
worse yet, at my home.  I think postings of job openings in net.jobs is
appropriate no matter who does it.  If anyone has an aversion to dealing
with headhunters, the posting can be ignored, just as one would ignore a
posting from a company for whom one doesn't want to work.  Granted, it would
be better form for mdee!root to post specific job openings rather than a
general announcement which, unfortunately, cannot be seen as anything other
than an advertisement.  I consider this to be an error in "netiquette"
rather than a gross offense.  I'm sure mdee!root will take note.

			 	Larry Meehan

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