Holiday Parties Offer Job-Hunting Opportunities

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Author: Palms

Quick Hires

After the party, Cha hired two engineers it had been wooing. One says that while the work and pay were Cha's primary selling points, the party delivered the final nudge that convinced him to take the job. "There was great food, great people. I was bowled over by the entire scene," says the 28-year-old new hire. "The whole package and the people I met there sealed the deal." Cha insisted that the recruit not be identified, citing fears someone else will try to steal the engineer away.

The parties are a big deal because trolling for talent isn't always easy in Silicon Alley. Young programmers often spend 15 hours a day cloistered in their cubicles. New York doesn't have the constant schedule of industry events that draw techies out into the open in California's Silicon Valley.

So when the holiday party season arrives, headhunters prowl for hot talent and clients. Cash-starved entrepreneurs come to hook up with venture capitalists. And people routinely crash their rivals' parties to steal ideas, clients and prize employees.

Interactive media firm Agency.com had recruiting in mind when it threw its Christmas party in a Tribeca loft, with a lavish outer-space theme. As videos of the space shuttle flashed on the walls, caterers scurried around in white jumpsuits that resembled something aerospace workers would wear. Party favors were glow-in-the-dark yo-yos and silver headbands with bouncing antennae.

"It definitely helps us with recruiting. It piques people's curiosity," says Rosemary Haefner, Agency.com's vice president of human resources. "It is so hard to find good talent, but if your reputation is built up, you get more interest."

At a bash hosted by sixdegrees Inc., an Internet company that links people through chat rooms and message boards, recruiting was more explicit. While guests took in the sweeping views of the Hudson River from the chic Day for Night photo studio in Chelsea, they could also peruse posters advertising more than 30 jobs open at the company.

Despite the swanky venue, the atmosphere was more playground than ballroom. While some guests munched on Thai spring rolls, smoked salmon and mini cheeseburgers, others blew soap bubbles or danced to a nine-piece swing band. Each party-goer left with a gift bag containing candy cigarettes, lollipops, a music CD -- and a list of sixdegrees's job openings.

'Many New Faces'

Andrew Weinreich, chief executive of sixdegrees, says he is close to landing at least one important hire from the event. "It was a major decision to host a big party," he says. "You get to see so many new faces."

Some of the faces aren't entirely welcome. DoubleClick Inc., one of the largest Internet advertising-sales firms, spotted interlopers from rival 24/7 Media Inc. at the "Enchanted Forest" bash it threw recently, also at Day for Night. Guests downed sangria served from bubbling silver fountains and danced feverishly while trying not to choke on piped in "fog" intended to heighten the festive mood. But the 24/7 visitors weren't there just to party. Some came armed with business cards.

Although aware that his clients and employees might be courted, Kevin Ryan, president and chief operating officer of DoubleClick, says he kept his cool. "I don't worry at all," he says. "Anytime they feel a need to come to our party to meet clients, it is really more of a positive reflection on us."

The incursions, it seems, go both ways. 24/7 says that an estimated 40 DoubleClick employees sent online acceptances to 24/7's most recent party at an art deco restaurant in lower Manhattan -- even though they weren't invited. Gripes Leslie Howard, a spokeswoman for 24/7, "It's in poor taste to keep them out, but we prefer they don't come." DoubleClick declined to comment on 24/7's claim.

Bonnie Halper, a new-media headhunter, says that during the holiday season she sometimes attends seven parties a night looking for clients and new hires. "I do a lap and see who is there," she says. "CEOs come up to me and say, 'Don't steal my people.' "

In two weeks of holiday party-hopping, Ms. Halper says she has snared ten good job candidates -- from senior sales people to computer programmers -- that she hopes to place soon. She also landed one new client, Bluewave Ltd., a London Web-design shop that recently opened a New York office and is now looking for sales people, project managers and graphic designers.

Jonathan Perkel, a 31-year-old lawyer in New York, attends at least one event a week in the hopes of getting a job in the new-media industry. "I'm trying to meet people," he says. "By going to these events I can do that and have fun at the same time.

Think New Ideas Inc., a diversified Internet services firm, held its holiday party at a restaurant in Manhattan's Chelsea neighborhood. Instead of just making the event an intimate employees-only affair, after a couple of hours the company opened the party to others in the industry.

David Kidder, vice president of strategic operations for Think New Ideas, says the company wanted to use the occasion to court some people it is considering for jobs. It also wanted to scout for new prospects among its employees' friends. "The talent we have to gain and retain is so critical to the services we provide," says Mr. Kidder. "The best recruiting vehicle is to go to your assets. If you have quality people, they are going to have quality friends."