Ask HN: do other developers just ignore all emails from recruiters too?

#1

Post by gvinter » Mon, Dec 02, 2013, 9:34 PM UTC

Whether it's a LinkedIn message or they somehow they got my email, with one exception, I never respond to recruiters. Their emails could be polite, personal, and non-aggressive. Or they could still have template placeholders (ie. "{{their name here}}") and tell me in my first year as a developer that I'm a great fit for a senior engineering role. I just don't respond, because otherwise it'd be hours/week of sending email.

Even if I had a template to respond with, it still would take up time. It's strange to get so many emails from people and never to respond, but to be fair, it's the equivalent of cold calling. Do you guys just ignore it too?

Re: Ask HN: do other developers just ignore all emails from recruiters too?

#2

Post by taproot » Mon, Dec 02, 2013, 9:49 PM UTC

I only reply when im pooking or its ones i like to keep in touch with. 9 times out of 10 youre just their product, ignore away, you wont burn any bridges. Yet you may not get the best job offers until you start acting which may not he what you want.

Re: Ask HN: do other developers just ignore all emails from recruiters too?

#3

Post by NonEUCitizen » Mon, Dec 02, 2013, 9:53 PM UTC

ok to ignore spam

Re: Ask HN: do other developers just ignore all emails from recruiters too?

#4

Post by gvinter » Mon, Dec 02, 2013, 10:00 PM UTC

taproot wrote: post #2

I only reply when im pooking or its ones i like to keep in touch with. 9 times out of 10 youre just their product, ignore away, you wont burn any bridges. Yet you may not get the best job offers until you start acting which may not he what you want.

"9 times out of 10 youre just their product" > Good point.

And I'm not looking, so not worried about burning bridges. Thanks for the back-up.

Re: Ask HN: do other developers just ignore all emails from recruiters too?

#5

Post by gesman » Mon, Dec 02, 2013, 11:35 PM UTC

I almost always reply with request for salary range (if recruiter has opened position).

If recruiter replies with usual salesmanship dance, such as "depends on experience" or "competitive" or alike, I usually ignore him for good.

Otherwise, if the pay range is reasonable I don't mind to communicate further, depending on my current situation.

Re: Ask HN: do other developers just ignore all emails from recruiters too?

#6

Post by tostitos1979 » Mon, Dec 02, 2013, 11:40 PM UTC

I'm curious about what other people have to say. I feel very bad for ignoring recruiter emails. But I really don't have the mental energy to do the dance.

Re: Ask HN: do other developers just ignore all emails from recruiters too?

#7

Post by eecsninja » Mon, Dec 02, 2013, 11:40 PM UTC

I added a note to my profile stating I wasn't interested in the area in which I get 90% of the recruitment emails (Linux kernel).

That's what happens when you get assigned to a field by your job and people assume you actually like it... sigh...

Re: Ask HN: do other developers just ignore all emails from recruiters too?

#8

Post by sylvainkalache » Tue, Dec 03, 2013, 1:18 AM UTC

I'm ignoring too. I was looking for a way to get value out of it but have not found. I'm surprise by the lack of creativity of those ones.

Re: Ask HN: do other developers just ignore all emails from recruiters too?

#9

Post by jobmatchbox » Tue, Dec 03, 2013, 3:56 AM UTC

NonEUCitizen wrote: post #3

ok to ignore spam

Recruiter messages are not spam. Crappy, generic messages from people who attempt to do recruiting but who don't read your profile at all is.

Re: Ask HN: do other developers just ignore all emails from recruiters too?

#10

Post by jobmatchbox » Tue, Dec 03, 2013, 3:59 AM UTC

taproot wrote: post #2

I only reply when im pooking or its ones i like to keep in touch with. 9 times out of 10 youre just their product, ignore away, you wont burn any bridges. Yet you may not get the best job offers until you start acting which may not he what you want.

The best job offers come when someone knows who you are. To get there you need to have some sort of presence on the radar of the right recruiters. I have jumped in and out of recruiting and development so I'm not guessing on this. The product is the chemistry and courtship assistance, not the person. A good recruiter can help, a bad one can waste time. The same is true with a good vs. bad developer.