Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Don’t Feed the Beast – The Great Tech Recruiter Infestation

mocko.org.uk

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

81–90 of 335 posts

Re: Don’t Feed the Beast – The Great Tech Recruiter Infestation

#81

Post by onyxraven »

mbroshi wrote: post #34

I will admit I did not make it through this entire article, but it really did not ring true to me at all--just sounded like an unsupported, hostile, angry rant. >> “Fucked if we care” think the recruiters, “now grovel and be exploited”. ... >> You’re meat to them, a resource to be packaged and sold and exploited. Who's being exploited here? I think he's implying the programmers, but as someone who left academia for i…

Its an over-the-top, funny rant in prototypical UK style on the state of outsourced recruiting - not in house recruiting (which has its own, different issues).

A lot of the behavior mentioned here is awfully familiar in the US.

Re: Don’t Feed the Beast – The Great Tech Recruiter Infestation

#82

Post by mavdi »

hoorayimhelping wrote: post #28
dates wrote: post #17

This is mostly an angry rant, pretty amusing to me how upset the author actually becomes at times, I think its quite harsh. I did like this idea towards the end of it: "To employers – ask your staff to help find new hires. Offer a bounty – enough to get their attention, say a fortnight’s salary. It’s a lot less than [a recruiter] would cost. And their incentives are all positive: no-one will hire an idiot if they hav…

This is completely common in America. Is the London job market scene just messed up?

In London no one has any friends to begin with.

Re: Don’t Feed the Beast – The Great Tech Recruiter Infestation

#83

Post by [deleted] »

hoorayimhelping wrote: post #28
dates wrote: post #17

This is mostly an angry rant, pretty amusing to me how upset the author actually becomes at times, I think its quite harsh. I did like this idea towards the end of it: "To employers – ask your staff to help find new hires. Offer a bounty – enough to get their attention, say a fortnight’s salary. It’s a lot less than [a recruiter] would cost. And their incentives are all positive: no-one will hire an idiot if they hav…

This is completely common in America. Is the London job market scene just messed up?

[deleted]

Re: Don’t Feed the Beast – The Great Tech Recruiter Infestation

#84

Post by [deleted] »

hoorayimhelping wrote: post #28
dates wrote: post #17

This is mostly an angry rant, pretty amusing to me how upset the author actually becomes at times, I think its quite harsh. I did like this idea towards the end of it: "To employers – ask your staff to help find new hires. Offer a bounty – enough to get their attention, say a fortnight’s salary. It’s a lot less than [a recruiter] would cost. And their incentives are all positive: no-one will hire an idiot if they hav…

This is completely common in America. Is the London job market scene just messed up?

[deleted]

Re: Don’t Feed the Beast – The Great Tech Recruiter Infestation

#85

Post by UK-AL »

moron4hire wrote: post #59
geff82 wrote: post #52

It always depends on how you react, if you are passive (like the author of the article) or active. While I too get many mails/calls that are unnecessary, I like to keep active contact with some recruiters I came to like and call them/meet them on a regular basis, even when I have absolutely no need for a new contract. If you are a contractor, you are essentially owning a business and if you have a business, you shoul…

>> Crying like a baby about too much interest in your person is a loser attitude. I wonder why you thought this would be appropriate to post.

His saying when you're a contracter. The recruiters are your outsourced sales people

Re: Don’t Feed the Beast – The Great Tech Recruiter Infestation

#86

Post by mavdi »

untog wrote: post #54
protonfish wrote: post #4

And yet they are our only weapon against business owners who are just as clueless but lack the incentive to pay a competitive wage. When it comes to salary negotiation, it's nice to have Shithead in your corner.

Eh. If you can't negotiate yourself then you're still going to end up in trouble down the road when Shithead isn't there to negotiate for you in your job.

You simply find another shithead. ie: another job.

Re: Don’t Feed the Beast – The Great Tech Recruiter Infestation

#87

Post by Xylakant »

adrianb wrote: post #51
raverbashing wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I just left my old number (that I don't use anymore) in linkedin

That's still not good enough. I've had recruiters look at who my current employer is then call the public phone number of the company (the reception) and ask for my name. I'm not joking. Happened more than once.

I have UK recruiters calling the number listed on our website and try to get patched through to my employees. And when I tell them that they just called the boss, they're not even embarrassed and just try again the next day. Only stopped when I called their boss.

Re: Don’t Feed the Beast – The Great Tech Recruiter Infestation

#88

Post by joeyspn »

ryguytilidie wrote: post #70
mbroshi wrote: post #34

I will admit I did not make it through this entire article, but it really did not ring true to me at all--just sounded like an unsupported, hostile, angry rant. >> “Fucked if we care” think the recruiters, “now grovel and be exploited”. ... >> You’re meat to them, a resource to be packaged and sold and exploited. Who's being exploited here? I think he's implying the programmers, but as someone who left academia for i…

Honestly it seems like the author has some serious problems. I know hundreds of recruiters having been at Google and Facebook and not a single one of them thinks like this at all. To say "now grovel and be exploited" about a process where the person will almost certainly end up with a fantastic offer for an engineering job in a comfortable office with great pay and great working conditions may actually be the least s…

You clearly don't have a clue about how things are here in the EU. Few weeks ago one of these charitable souls deceived a co-worker offering him an incredible opportunity to move to London and the result was:

- £15k ($23k) less salary than advertised in the offer

- No benefits (healthcare, dental, etc)

- No free food/snacks/bevare at the company

- No perks (equipment, etc)

When questioned about this, the recruiter said: hey! impossible to get this, this is were I make my money you know!. How is this a "fantastic offer for an engineering job in a comfortable office with great pay and great working conditions"?

Re: Don’t Feed the Beast – The Great Tech Recruiter Infestation

#90

Post by ryguytilidie »

supercanuck wrote: post #78

You do realize that there is an entire IT Industry outside of Facebook and Google?

Snark for no reason? Check.

Somehow extrapolates me saying that I know lots of recruiters because I worked with recruiters at a large company means that I believe IT only exists within two companies on earth? Check.

Thanks, great response.

Post reply on HN