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Messing with recruiters

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Re: Messing with recruiters

#11

Post by sanswork »

itmag wrote: post #4
nicklovescode wrote: post #2

I once responded to a tech recruiters question of if I was a JavaScript programmer with "so like, on a computer?". Conversation ended quickly. I want to keep a list of recruiters who call me, then suggest each of them as possible hires

What, do recruiters just call you out of the blue like that in the US?

Happens in Australia quite a bit too. We use to get near daily calls at my last office from various recruiters asking to speak to anyone in technology pretending to be clients/partners then try to fish them for information on positions and people in the company who they would then follow up on directly.

Re: Messing with recruiters

#12

Post by arethuza »

itmag wrote: post #4
nicklovescode wrote: post #2

I once responded to a tech recruiters question of if I was a JavaScript programmer with "so like, on a computer?". Conversation ended quickly. I want to keep a list of recruiters who call me, then suggest each of them as possible hires

What, do recruiters just call you out of the blue like that in the US?

It's fairly common in the UK - I get a few calls a month (largely because of big-ticket keywords on my CV that I've not got a huge amount of desire to work with again).

Re: Messing with recruiters

#13

Post by cornet »

Never underestimate the stupidity of some recruitment companies.

Get a phone call one day, the usual "we have a great opportunity for you"....

Sounds great: it's in the same city I work already, same industry, same sort of work, same...... hang on a minute.

After stringing them along for a while, I finally ask them to compare my name, phone number and location to that of the person who submitted the job spec only an hour earlier.

I only wish I'd seen their face when they realised they were trying to offer me the job I had advertised with them. Especially considering they had grossly inflated the salary expectation.

Re: Messing with recruiters

#14

Post by cstuder »

itmag wrote: post #4
nicklovescode wrote: post #2

I once responded to a tech recruiters question of if I was a JavaScript programmer with "so like, on a computer?". Conversation ended quickly. I want to keep a list of recruiters who call me, then suggest each of them as possible hires

What, do recruiters just call you out of the blue like that in the US?

Switzerland too, as soon as you open a Xing-account. I had to explicitly forbid recruiters calling me.

Re: Messing with recruiters

#15

Post by adrianb »

I always wanted to add a section to the bottom of my CV titled "Technologies I know nothing about" listing everything I can think of, say .NET. Then wait for recruiters calling / e-mailing with messages like "I noticed you have experience working with .NET"...

Re: Messing with recruiters

#16

Post by itmag »

Nate75Sanders wrote: post #6
itmag wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What, do recruiters just call you out of the blue like that in the US?

Yes, this is quite common. For a while I was getting contacted almost exclusively through my Dice profile and even with a note that they should email me first, I'd still get called first extremely often.

Isn't it a good thing, though? 'Cause it means you are in demand.

Re: Messing with recruiters

#17

Post by rmc »

itmag wrote: post #4
nicklovescode wrote: post #2

I once responded to a tech recruiters question of if I was a JavaScript programmer with "so like, on a computer?". Conversation ended quickly. I want to keep a list of recruiters who call me, then suggest each of them as possible hires

What, do recruiters just call you out of the blue like that in the US?

Crazy. In the EU there is law against cold calling for marketing purposes.

Re: Messing with recruiters

#18

Post by rmc »

arethuza wrote: post #12
itmag wrote: post #4

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What, do recruiters just call you out of the blue like that in the US?

It's fairly common in the UK - I get a few calls a month (largely because of big-ticket keywords on my CV that I've not got a huge amount of desire to work with again).

Sounds like that might run afoul of data protection acts. You should read up on your data protection laws and start quoting them to the recruiters who call, and possibly make complaints.

Re: Messing with recruiters

#19

Post by Peroni »

Nate75Sanders wrote: post #5
Peroni wrote: post #3

It's recruiters like this that remind me I'm fighting a losing battle. Interestingly, I would be very surprised if 'Steve' and 'Tina' were in fact their real names. They obviously aren't native English speakers. Are recruiters that desperate in the US that they will go to the extent of adopting a more American sounding name simply to increase their chances of picking up business? If these kinds of emails are the norm…

I've met exactly one recruiter out of literally hundreds that I've interacted with who was worth a crap. I looked him up and found out he had participated in the International Obfuscated C Code Contest. The problem is that there is no barrier to entry to becoming a tech recruiter. Or maybe there is, but that barrier to entry is previously selling cell phones or something -- I'm not sure. I don't talk to 3rd party rec…

The problem is that there is no barrier to entry to becoming a tech recruiter.

That's the issue, there is a barrier to entry but it's in the wrong place. The requirement is strong sales skills and a hunger to earn money. I've yet to come across an agency that hires people purely because they are former developers.

Re: Messing with recruiters

#20

Post by mathattack »

I am very surprised that many of these recruiters can stay in business. Even if internal HR departments are lazy, how do they get candidates that actually pass interviews? Sometimes I wonder if it's a field with a low barrier to entry, that just weeds people out. It's relatively easy to be a stock broker, but hard to stay in it and make money. Similar with Real Estate.

The one caveat on this... Recruiters are also people working for a dollar. One day many of us will need them too. Burning bridges with anyone in the hiring process has limited upside, and potentially large downside. That said, if someone rejects both the polite "I'm not interested" and the less polite, "I mean I'm really really not interested" then it does become fair game.

In this case, it's hard to imagine they're much more than a quarter step up the food chain from the folks spamming me about viagra.

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