I generally like working with recruiters. When I'm in a time-crunch to make a particular hire and there's not a virtual bench of candidates to pull from, a quick email is often followed a few days later by a list of resumes that are minimally good and sometimes great. Candidates are usually pre-screened, the process is efficient, my time is reclaimed, and the 20% fee is well worth the investment.
But not all recruiters are equal. Some are downright creepy.
A few days ago I received a call on my personal cell – a private number I rarely share – from an unrecognized source. While I typically ignore calls like this, I decided to answer, and was immediately greeted with a high-octane intro: "Hi Jason! This is Jenny from Recruiters-R-Us! Can we talk about your open positions?!?". The name and agency have been changed to avoid public shaming, but my anger and frustration in that exact moment was quite real. I had received over 10 emails from this recruiter in the last two months and hadn't responded to any of them.
I hung up the phone, blocked that recruiter and her agency in my email settings, and added both to a recruiting blacklist that I unfortunately have to reference more than I'd like. And then, in a moment with a meteoric lack of self-awareness, another email hits my inbox 30 seconds after I promptly ended the call: Hi Jason! Sorry if I called at a bad time! Please give me a call at your earliest convenience so we can discuss how Recruiters-R-Us can meet your staffing needs!
Jason Voorhees would be smitten at this level of stalking.
I struggle to understand why recruiters would even pursue this route of networking – this was the third time this year I received such a call from separate individuals. I'm sure my personal number was legally purchased from a data aggregator and made available in the agency's database for cold calling, but is it really worth the scorched-earth strategy of outreach just to try and land a single hiring gig? How about trying authentic networking? Find a mutual connection and ask for an intro. Meet up for coffee or lunch a couple of times and don't push the business talk too early. Build trust – some of those relationships turn into longterm friendships. The first recruiter I met in Nashville was Scott Gordon, and he and I have remained great friends for nearly 13 years.
I realize recruiting is hard and often a feast-or-famine career in terms of compensation. But that doesn't excuse invasive behavior. If a hiring managed doesn't answer after three emails, change your strategy and try to have someone facilitate an intro. If that connection isn't available, move on and focus your energy towards the next opportunity. And if you're an agency that promotes this type of behavior – especially calling people's private numbers – then shame on you. I'll feel no remorse if you close your doors due to a lack of business, although I will feel sympathy for the employees you pushed this type of toxic behavior on.
But not all recruiters are equal. Some are downright creepy.
A few days ago I received a call on my personal cell – a private number I rarely share – from an unrecognized source. While I typically ignore calls like this, I decided to answer, and was immediately greeted with a high-octane intro: "Hi Jason! This is Jenny from Recruiters-R-Us! Can we talk about your open positions?!?". The name and agency have been changed to avoid public shaming, but my anger and frustration in that exact moment was quite real. I had received over 10 emails from this recruiter in the last two months and hadn't responded to any of them.
I hung up the phone, blocked that recruiter and her agency in my email settings, and added both to a recruiting blacklist that I unfortunately have to reference more than I'd like. And then, in a moment with a meteoric lack of self-awareness, another email hits my inbox 30 seconds after I promptly ended the call: Hi Jason! Sorry if I called at a bad time! Please give me a call at your earliest convenience so we can discuss how Recruiters-R-Us can meet your staffing needs!
Jason Voorhees would be smitten at this level of stalking.
I struggle to understand why recruiters would even pursue this route of networking – this was the third time this year I received such a call from separate individuals. I'm sure my personal number was legally purchased from a data aggregator and made available in the agency's database for cold calling, but is it really worth the scorched-earth strategy of outreach just to try and land a single hiring gig? How about trying authentic networking? Find a mutual connection and ask for an intro. Meet up for coffee or lunch a couple of times and don't push the business talk too early. Build trust – some of those relationships turn into longterm friendships. The first recruiter I met in Nashville was Scott Gordon, and he and I have remained great friends for nearly 13 years.
I realize recruiting is hard and often a feast-or-famine career in terms of compensation. But that doesn't excuse invasive behavior. If a hiring managed doesn't answer after three emails, change your strategy and try to have someone facilitate an intro. If that connection isn't available, move on and focus your energy towards the next opportunity. And if you're an agency that promotes this type of behavior – especially calling people's private numbers – then shame on you. I'll feel no remorse if you close your doors due to a lack of business, although I will feel sympathy for the employees you pushed this type of toxic behavior on.