Used it as both an employer and job-seeker, and have been very happy on both sides.
As an employer, application quality was fantastic - for 3 different technical roles, a majority of applicants in the final round of interviewing, and the eventual hires themselves, all came from Stack Overflow.
Also, the cost was a lot lower. Typical cost from a recruitment agency would be around £3-5K for a junior developer, £5-10K for a mid-level developer. StackOverflow was £250. The results from StackOverflow were also better - the recruitment agency sent Java developers for JavaScript roles, and all those usual horror stories. The only advantage of the agencies was that they found more applicants, but typically, they sent more chaff than wheat.
Sorry if it sounds like I work for the PR team, but if you're looking to hire I can't see the downside of advertising on StackOverflow.
As an employer, application quality was fantastic - for 3 different technical roles, a majority of applicants in the final round of interviewing, and the eventual hires themselves, all came from Stack Overflow.
Also, the cost was a lot lower. Typical cost from a recruitment agency would be around £3-5K for a junior developer, £5-10K for a mid-level developer. StackOverflow was £250. The results from StackOverflow were also better - the recruitment agency sent Java developers for JavaScript roles, and all those usual horror stories. The only advantage of the agencies was that they found more applicants, but typically, they sent more chaff than wheat.
Sorry if it sounds like I work for the PR team, but if you're looking to hire I can't see the downside of advertising on StackOverflow.