If you work in tech and have a Linkedin account, the probability that you receive daily messages from recruiters is pretty high.
While a few might be interesting and realistic proposals, I would say most of them could be considered close to SPAM and show a lack of preparation and understanding of the field. (Like saying that are looking for Java devs, for someone who has Javascript in their profile).
This morning, I was reading my Twitter feed and saw this tweet:
Recruiter also in GitHub opening PRs on my personal open source project, that's next level for me.13:55 PM - 04 Jul 2019
A guy who was contacted by a recruiter via a Pull Request in one of his Open source repos!
It seems that recruiters are getting more and more "creative" and start using all the possible means just to get your attention!
While I understand creativity is important to get noticed in a very crowded field like tech, some actions might be too much invasive.
This inspired me to write this post and to talk about which was probably my worst experience ever with a recruiter.
Some years ago, It was another normal working day at my company when the receptionist came to me saying I had a phone call from someone saying claiming to be from the University where I graduated some years ago.
I was very surprised but went to the phone.
When I pick it up, the guy starts talking that he had an opportunity for me and if I want to schedule an interview and so on.
I ended up not understanding If he really worked at the university or not, but I believe it was a just bait to get my attention. He probably got that info as well as the company info by looking at my Linkedin profile.
He also gave me a name that I couldn't find anywhere on Linkedin, so I believe it was fake too.
And by his voice, seemed very anxious and not really secure of himself.
What can lead to someone to have this kind of behavior? Calling to your work with a bunch of lies just to grab your attention?
I believe there are good and professional recruiters out there and that they have an important role, but I think the image of the field is getting very damaged by examples like these.
So, What are your experiences with recruiters?
If you work in the recruiting field and are reading this, please also feel free to share your opinion on the topic.
Top comments (4)
I once had an email from reception saying "your guest has arrived" but I was in a meeting and didn't see it for over an hour.
Later on when I did see it I was in a panic thinking "oh no I hope I'm not meant to interview someone!"
Run to reception and they say "it's weird, she didn't stay long but left her number to call"
Turned out to be a recruiter.
I often wonder what I would have done if I'd see the message right away
Last year I was asked to see if anyone I knew was available to help out on a freelance basis with some front end work, so I posted a tweet saying to DM or reply if they were available.
A couple of hours later a recruiter phoned me to offer to act as a middleman. Turns out he'd seen the tweet, looked me up on LinkedIn, seen where I worked and phoned reception. I found this hugely inappropriate.
I had a recruiter call, text and email me in less than 5 minutes. He wanted to see if I was interested in a 4-week contract at $25 an hour in West Virginia. I live in Chicago lol.
I had a recruiter call my workplace's direct dial before. That was weird.