Yes, it is the case. If you have established skills, a lot of places will hire you in a heartbeat.
Note, though, that that if is a big if. It is always difficult to get your foot in the door because everyone knows that it takes a lot of energy to get a new programmer up to speed on programming and your environment, and there is a high possibility of it not working out.
If anyone has gone through a recruiter, can you comment here on your experience with them? Was it a cold call (you or them) or did you already know that particular recruiter?
I have never been placed through a recruiter, but I just had a fun experience with one that bears sharing. A while back, a woman named Gina Storey from EdgeLink called me about a job that involved an AJAX library I have fairly strong experience with (Ext-JS). It was a short-term contract without health insurance, and as I have a child on the way, I wasn't particularly interested in giving up the insurance from my current job. I told her that I'd be much more interested in it as a side-gig in addition to my day job, but she said that none of her clients have ever been interested in such an arrangement and asked how much money it would take for me to give up my insurance. I gave her an "f off" figure and we left it at that.
Soon after, I got an invitation to complete a survey regarding my experience and what they could do better. I haven't had that much fun filling out a survey in years. I told them that, in the 3 months since that conversation, I had started checking craigslist ads once a week for additional side work and had found 4 clients who paid me for exactly the sort of after-hours work that Gina said "nobody was intersted in." With an average of 30 minutes searching a week, I found a paying client every 3 weeks and they were getting 0% of the money I was making just because she was unwilling to pursue the work arrangement I was interested in. I cc'ed her manager (he had contacted me previously) on the e-mail and made it clear I couldn't recommend them to anyone I knew largely because of her unwillingness to compromise on what she thought her customers wanted.
In general, I don't mind recruiters in the same way that I don't mind garbagemen, stevedores and pharmaceutical reps - they're easily ignored and have little impact on my professional life. However, this was an opportunity that I couldn't pass up on. I still smile to think about it.
Honestly, you came off much worse in that story than Gina.
According to your story, she said "none of her clients have ever been interested in such an arrangement" - not that NOBODY IN THE WORLD was interested.
Going to her manager was VERY low, I actually feel bad for the recruiter for the way you handled this.
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[ 6.0 ms ] story [ 54.5 ms ] threadNote, though, that that if is a big if. It is always difficult to get your foot in the door because everyone knows that it takes a lot of energy to get a new programmer up to speed on programming and your environment, and there is a high possibility of it not working out.
Soon after, I got an invitation to complete a survey regarding my experience and what they could do better. I haven't had that much fun filling out a survey in years. I told them that, in the 3 months since that conversation, I had started checking craigslist ads once a week for additional side work and had found 4 clients who paid me for exactly the sort of after-hours work that Gina said "nobody was intersted in." With an average of 30 minutes searching a week, I found a paying client every 3 weeks and they were getting 0% of the money I was making just because she was unwilling to pursue the work arrangement I was interested in. I cc'ed her manager (he had contacted me previously) on the e-mail and made it clear I couldn't recommend them to anyone I knew largely because of her unwillingness to compromise on what she thought her customers wanted.
In general, I don't mind recruiters in the same way that I don't mind garbagemen, stevedores and pharmaceutical reps - they're easily ignored and have little impact on my professional life. However, this was an opportunity that I couldn't pass up on. I still smile to think about it.
According to your story, she said "none of her clients have ever been interested in such an arrangement" - not that NOBODY IN THE WORLD was interested.
Going to her manager was VERY low, I actually feel bad for the recruiter for the way you handled this.