Hard work does not pay off. Saw people work 10x harder than the people making the most $ in the office and they were making barely anything more than base salary(which is brutal). It's not about hard work, its about luck. You can call everyone on earth, but if they aren't looking for a new job you can't convince them. Just a terrible industry IMO due to the fact that it's all pressuring people to quit jobs for contract to hire which often does not leave them with a permanent role. Head hunter reputation is totally warranted.