Now, many recruiters don't dare to spend more than a few hours away from their work. I'm always working,'' admits Ms. Hemmingsen, who says she usually doesn't go to sleep until after 3 a.m. In the current job market, recruiters are scheduling interviews at the candidate's convenience. In many cases, that means at night. Shari Miller, a recruiter for Elmhurst Group Inc., a search firm in Granite Bay, Calif., frequently phones East Coast prospects from her home at 3 a.m. her time, so she can catch them at home at 6 a.m. before they head to work.
Recruiters also stay up late wooing workers overseas.
Our research team is looking a little tired of late,'' admits David Perry, managing partner of Perry-Martel International, an Ottawa technology search firm. His team has a multiyear contract to find employees in Asia for a North American telecommunications concern. To reach potential hires in Japan and South Korea, his staff recruiters regularly work until 4 a.m. Techies tend to be night owls, and they often are impressed when recruiters keep the same odd hours. Elmhurst's Ms. Miller recently sent an e-mail at 2 a.m. to a software engineer whose resume she had spotted on the Web. He responded in seconds.