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Show HN: My reply to LinkedIn recruiters

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Re: Show HN: My reply to LinkedIn recruiters

#61

Post by joezydeco »

dorfsmay wrote: post #18

Are recruiters that big of an issue for you guys? I do not get that many emails/contacts from recruiters, and I find a quick polite email exchange or one phone call allows to quickly clarify the situation and we're done. I actually welcome recruiters contacting me, it keeps me in the loop of what's going, market rate etc... and sometime help me finding new gigs. EDIT: It seems that where you are located makes a big d…

I don't mind either, but what's annoying is how frustratingly vague they are when they are contacting me first. A typical example:

Recruiter: "I have a great senior engineering position and you're a perfect match!"

Me: "Great. Can you send me a job description and tell me more about what field they're in? I'm an embedded guy and I'm going to want to know if this is (for example) medical, automotive, HMI, or something else."

And this is where things completely go to hell. The typical response is a job description that reads as "must know how to write software" and I've even gotten repsonses like "the client is starting in a new sector and is so stealth they can't talk about it." Seriously?

The other annoying trend now is the marketing and sales types that are scraping LinkedIn for buzzwords and cold calling you based on that. Don't believe me? Put the word "IoT" somewhere in your top description block and watch your inbox and voicemail over the next two weeks.

Re: Show HN: My reply to LinkedIn recruiters

#62

Post by codingdave »

dorfsmay wrote: post #18

Are recruiters that big of an issue for you guys? I do not get that many emails/contacts from recruiters, and I find a quick polite email exchange or one phone call allows to quickly clarify the situation and we're done. I actually welcome recruiters contacting me, it keeps me in the loop of what's going, market rate etc... and sometime help me finding new gigs. EDIT: It seems that where you are located makes a big d…

I don't mind emails from recruiters. I normally have enough info to know there is no reason to talk to them, and just delete the email without replying, and once in a while I'll respond if it does have promise. But nothing has yet pulled me away from my current gig.

The ones that I don't understand is the people who ask to connect on LinkedIn, with no explanation of who they are or why they want to talk to me. For those, I send a generic email telling them that if they want to say something to me, feel free to send an email. None ever have actually done so.

Re: Show HN: My reply to LinkedIn recruiters

#63

Post by dragonwriter »

xofer wrote: post #55
calcsam wrote: post #23

Mine: "The next time a recruiter pings you, ask them how much you're worth." https://medium.com/@calcsam/the-next-time-a-recruiter-pings-...

There's a problem with asking how much they're willing to pay up front: It's a negotiation and in order to get an actual number, you have to sell yourself first. If you seriously want to know what they're willing to pay, you'll have to go through the whole hiring process.

> There's a problem with asking how much they're willing to pay up front: It's a negotiation and in order to get an actual number, you have to sell yourself first.

Only because enough people accept that to shift the power away from would-be employees. If there is really a shortage of good tech workers, as employers keep claiming, then they have the power -- all they have to do is choose to exercise it. Make the would be employers (and the recruiters acting as their agents) establish that its worth your time to even bother considering the work they want done by putting numbers on the table first.

Re: Show HN: My reply to LinkedIn recruiters

#64

Post by rekwah »

3princip wrote: post #30
dorfsmay wrote: post #18

Are recruiters that big of an issue for you guys? I do not get that many emails/contacts from recruiters, and I find a quick polite email exchange or one phone call allows to quickly clarify the situation and we're done. I actually welcome recruiters contacting me, it keeps me in the loop of what's going, market rate etc... and sometime help me finding new gigs. EDIT: It seems that where you are located makes a big d…

It seems to have gotten a lot worse lately, and the recruiters all seem to copy each other now: Recruiter: You seem to be a perfect candidate for job A. Really? That's nice. I'll read on to see the offer... Recruiter: The position is a senior role using X, Y, Z Wait a minute, I don't use X, I've only seen Y once and haven't worked in Z for years. What makes this person think I'm right for this position? Recruiter: Ca…

I've also noticed that Linkedin profile scraping has become more prevalent over the years. I've countered this by adding a few fake skills to my profile.

> "With your underwater basket-weaving chops, the team will surpass its goal of exceeding 100M users by 2015."

These, usually more subtle markers, are helpful to scan for when glancing through any recruiter emails.

Re: Show HN: My reply to LinkedIn recruiters

#65

Post by LargeCompanies »

dorfsmay wrote: post #18

Are recruiters that big of an issue for you guys? I do not get that many emails/contacts from recruiters, and I find a quick polite email exchange or one phone call allows to quickly clarify the situation and we're done. I actually welcome recruiters contacting me, it keeps me in the loop of what's going, market rate etc... and sometime help me finding new gigs. EDIT: It seems that where you are located makes a big d…

Yeah, I don't get the hate for recruiters and find the attention flattering. A lot of my friends who are not in our industry find in foreign that I get so many emails and LinkedIn messages from headhunters on a weekly basis.

Further, when I respond to recruiters I tell them that I'm making a ton more then I am and in doing so, I get interviews where the offers are paying tons more then my current salary.

Why not use them to get a better deal? The majority of the notices you get go nowhere, while some do and you then get a new gig that pays you almost double from what you were making.

Re: Show HN: My reply to LinkedIn recruiters

#66

Post by joezydeco »

Methusalah wrote: post #47

I had one track down the phone number for my employer, call here, and ask the secretary to speak with me while refusing to say what the reason was until he spoke with me.

BTDT too, and our office admin works directly for my boss. And she has Caller ID. It pisses me off to no end.

Re: Show HN: My reply to LinkedIn recruiters

#67

Post by [deleted] »

mathgeek wrote: post #25
rilita wrote: post #20

Regarding your choice of fields: 1. Name - This is already in emails I get from recruiters 2. Email - Useful since LinkedIn emails typically don't include their actual email 3. Phone Number - Ditto to #1; they typically include it 4. How did you find me - Considering you stated this is in reply to LinkedIn recruiters; LinkedIn?? ... 5. Name of the company - Most recruiters will not share this information until you ha…

> You should be more interested in the opportunity not the exact pay. This looks like a money grab. Having a good career is more important than a dollar figure. If you're already in a position that you enjoy, the dollar figure is certainly one of, if not the most important items on a cold call job offer. Asking them to open the discussion with a rough number is more than fair, in my book.

[deleted]

Re: Show HN: My reply to LinkedIn recruiters

#69

Post by ubernostrum »

rrrx3 wrote: post #19
dorfsmay wrote: post #18

Are recruiters that big of an issue for you guys? I do not get that many emails/contacts from recruiters, and I find a quick polite email exchange or one phone call allows to quickly clarify the situation and we're done. I actually welcome recruiters contacting me, it keeps me in the loop of what's going, market rate etc... and sometime help me finding new gigs. EDIT: It seems that where you are located makes a big d…

Suppose it depends on the market/job role. I'm a Designer with some developer skills and I get spammed constantly for having things like "Javascript" et al on my profile. My true developer friends seem to get it even worse. Around here, Java is the big need, so if you've got it on your profile, expect constant recruiter spam.

I've been doing Python for a living for a decade now.

I get recruiter-spammed for C++ positions.

Re: Show HN: My reply to LinkedIn recruiters

#70

Post by endymi0n »

copsarebastards wrote: post #50
Methusalah wrote: post #47

I had one track down the phone number for my employer, call here, and ask the secretary to speak with me while refusing to say what the reason was until he spoke with me.

I had the same experience. Luckily for me the secretary at my work politely declined to pass on the call.

Same thing here - on top he was talking in English (I'm German) and didn't even ask if I was in a good position to talk. Talk about awkwardness to my colleagues.
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