Let me start by saying that when I am looking for my next job I want to work with you. At the end of the day, we have a shared goal. I would like nothing more than to leverage your vast network of potential employers and array of business connections. In the interest of creating a mutually beneficial relationship, I would like to share the following recommendations for working with me (and probably most other technical people too).

Do not call me.

At this point, I'm not even sure how you got my number, I have my resume listed several places online, and nowhere will you find my phone number. What you will see is an email address, please use that. If I am at work there is 0% chance that I am able to talk about new positions while sitting less than 10 feet from my manager.

Unsolicited sales calls to my personal number, especially during work hours, are a step below spam. More recently I have received several calls from recruiters to my work phone. I really cannot comprehend the thought process that makes this seem like a good idea. If you do this, I will definitely remember you and your company. All future communications will be funneled directly to spam, and permanently blocked. Please don't let this be you!

Email Me

But not just to set up a phone call. Phone calls take time, and frankly any information needed can be relayed via email and responded to when convenient for both parties. At the very least an email should contain the job description, location and salary. Only those 3 things can tell me if I am interested in a position. If a there is a skills mismatch, salary discrepancy, or location issue a phone call would be a mutual waste of time.

If the position is "great", "awesome", or "one-of-a-kind", then tell me why. Without a bit of context those words are meaningless filler. If you can't tell me why, then it's best to leave them out and let me decide for myself. The important thing here is honesty, because if I get for enough along in the process I am going to find out the full details.

I think it's important to give all of this information upfront. Even with aggressive spam filtering and no solicitation, I receive, on average, 10-15 messages daily from recruiters. Having all the information in one place makes it much easier to know who I need to get in touch with.

One final note on emails: Personalized emails are far, far more likely to get a response. This is true even when I am not currently looking for a job. Someone who has taken a moment to look over my job history, location and skillset and can connect the dots on how a prospect will be a logical progression in my career will receive a response from me 10 times out of 10. Of the thousands of recruiter emails from over the years, I have exactly 5 such emails, and I reply to them first when looking for job.

I Will Not Refer a Friend or Co-Worker

Don't ask. Finding qualified candidates is your job. I'm not interested in a free iPad. If you are easy to work with, don't spam me, and find quality job prospects I will gladly refer someone to you for free! A good job where I am happy is worth far more than any referral bonus you may offer, and I think any one of my professional contacts would agree.

Related, I will not send you a list of references. Every time I have shared a co-worker or manager's contact information recruiters have misused them to sell their services and spam them. I will gladly send references to the employer, but not to a recruiter because of those negative experiences. If that's a prerequisite to speaking with the hiring manager then I will pass.

I hope this is helpful, and that the tone does not come across as condescending or disrespectful, because again, I have had positive experiences with professional recruiters and would gladly work with them again.

To recap, the best recruiters: Do not call, give me all the relevant personalized information up front via email, and are advocates for my best interests.

Thanks for reading!







