I almost started to cry last week when I had to explain the difference between Java and javascript to a recruiter that had found my resume online and called me. She couldn't make up her mind about what the client was looking for. I tried explaining they were vastly different technologies but I still don't think she got it though :(
Tell HN: Tech Recruiters have no clue
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Re: Tell HN: Tech Recruiters have no clue
#22Her insistence on getting managers for references makes me wonder whether she wasn't mining you for new prospective customers (on the employer side).
Therefore, TamDenholm should get back to those people and warn them that this recruiter is not likely to do a good job for them.
Re: Tell HN: Tech Recruiters have no clue
#23I almost started to cry last week when I had to explain the difference between Java and javascript to a recruiter that had found my resume online and called me. She couldn't make up her mind about what the client was looking for. I tried explaining they were vastly different technologies but I still don't think she got it though :(
The safest thing is to just say "yes, yes, yes" and let the actual interviewer sort it out.
Re: Tell HN: Tech Recruiters have no clue
#24You have failed to understand her job. Her clients are requiring these things. I know this, because the company I work for has had to draw hard lines on recruiters. Before that, they would send us utter crap and waste our time. Now, we don't get many hits, but most of them are actually worth talking to. She asked you all those questions because when she assumes things, her customers get really angry. Sending bad recr…
If the recruiting company sends you utter crap and wastes your time, why put up with it? Would you do the same for a hosting company who had crappy servers and didn't know PHP from Python? Fire them, and hard.
Re: Tell HN: Tech Recruiters have no clue
#25Her insistence on getting managers for references makes me wonder whether she wasn't mining you for new prospective customers (on the employer side).
This is probable. If I ever give a reference to a recruiter, I will also warn the reference of this possibility, so as to make it harder for the recruiter to pull this trick.
Re: Tell HN: Tech Recruiters have no clue
#26I almost started to cry last week when I had to explain the difference between Java and javascript to a recruiter that had found my resume online and called me. She couldn't make up her mind about what the client was looking for. I tried explaining they were vastly different technologies but I still don't think she got it though :(
The safest thing is to just say "yes, yes, yes" and let the actual interviewer sort it out.
One recruiter once sent me an email for a position in "the Nordic countries". At the time, I was looking into working in either Finland, Denmark or Sweden so I replied the guy I was interested.
He called me back straight away and when I have asked him in which city the position was, he replied "Brussels".
After my initial silence of disbelief, he went on explaining that he had to write "nordic countries" because Brits don't want to go to Brussels, but they consider Nordic countries more attractive because girls are supposedly hot.
Re: Tell HN: Tech Recruiters have no clue
#27I've just started working with a recruiter a former manager introduced me to. While I appreciate what they are doing, as jrockway pointed out with playing hardball regarding salary, I often feel that they don't have any interest in me whatsoever. Communication is, at best, sporadic and every time I've been to their office, I hear a bunch of yelling, see paper airplanes flying and general lackadaisical attitudes. This…
Recruiters work on commission, so they're in the same boat as real estate agents and used car salesmen. There are good ones out there, but they're all constantly looking for the next payday. It's like sharks - they have to keep swimming or they die. If you're not likely to get them cash in the immediate future, then you're exactly right - they don't care.
Re: Tell HN: Tech Recruiters have no clue
#28Just yesterday I received an email from a recruiter saying that she had come across my resume and I looked like a great fit for a position she's hiring for. She asked me if I'd give her a call to chat about my experience and so she could tell me about the position. She obviously didn't remember that five weeks ago we talked for 30 minutes on the phone when I explained what I've done and exactly what I'm looking for. As I recall from that conversation, I kept telling her what type of company I was looking for, and she seemed to ignore me and ask me repeatedly if I knew .NET, which it clearly states on my resume that she liked so much that I do. Are recruiters incentivized to ignore everything you say?
Re: Tell HN: Tech Recruiters have no clue
#29I recently applied for a programming position with some knowledge of maths. The recruiter phoned me up and asked me if I was good at maths. I explained that it depended on the subject area because, although I have just finished a PhD involving mathematical modelling (as stated in my CV and cover letter), I wasn't a mathematician by training and it would depend on what methods the company were using. I learnt an impor…
That doesn't sound like an issue of honesty. Context is important. Questions must always be answered from the questioner's point of view.
If you've finished a PhD involving mathematical modelling, from the recruiter's perspective you are definitely good at maths.
So the correct answer to "Are you good at maths?" from a recruiter is simply "Yes". If he wants more details then he'll ask for it. The correct answer is not a really long winded answer which the person who asked the question will not be able to understand because he doesn't know what mathematical modelling is.
Most people give long winded answers when they're trying to weasel out of giving the straight answer that they don't want to give because it'll make them look bad. Listen to any politician, for example. I think it's perfectly reasonable for the recruiter to come to the conclusion he did given that he didn't understand your answer.
Whether you think that recruiters should be able to understand your answer is another matter. We all know that most don't have sufficient domain knowledge, so the best thing to do is to answer appropriately.
Re: Tell HN: Tech Recruiters have no clue
#30...i say to her that if the company likes the look of my CV then i'd be happy to provide references but i dont just hand out peoples details on a whim because i'd hate people to do that to me. You are right. She is wrong. It's that simple. To you, TamDenholm, and anyone else here at hn: Feel free to use me as a technical reference whenever you run into this illogical and ridiculous road block. Just email me one line…
Now that's a generous and tempting offer, but how would it actually work? First, they usually want to know about the work relation you had with the reference. Just inventing something is dangerous and ethically questionable, recruiters or not. Then, what if the hiring company actually contacted you?