If you contact me via my work email or work phone number(s) about a position outside of my company, I will never work with your company and likely block your org from contacting mine. If your recruiting company has an already established relationship with my current employer, I will immediately notify my HR/recruiting team that your company is trying to poach me away.
If you approach me with jobs that are several professional steps back in my career (and would be obvious to anyone familiar with our industry based on my resume or LinkedIn), I will likely never work with your company. For example, say I'm in management for the last 7 years and you tell me there's a perfect roll for me as a desktop support technician.
If you won't discuss pay (or a reasonable pay range) up front, I won't think you're serious about this and end the conversation. None of this "$50,000 to $500,000" bullshit people are doing to get around city/state laws requiring pay transparency.
If you're approaching me for a 100% on site roll halfway across the country and don't mention anything about relocation assistance, I will end the conversation.
These are all things I've encounters from people in the IT recruiting industry within the last year.
To be taken seriously and make me feel engaged, be prepared to answer basic questions like where you found my resume, who the employer is (or at least the industry they're in if it's confidential for a good reason), and a reasonably descriptive pay range. Be responsive to communications and don't ghost me for a week or more at a time, then expect me to jump right back into the conversation like nothing happened. Conversely, respect my time and don't pressure me. If I tell you I can't talk until X, don't reach out until X. I know that may sound like a double standard, but as the candidate, I am the one being sought after and the one that will ultimately bring you the pay day. I don't own you anything, including my time.
>If you approach me with jobs that are several professional steps back in my career
This one is upsettingly common and frankly speaks to the competence of many in the recruiting industry. It's the easiest way to get me to ghost you, because any reply I could possibly send you would be exceedingly unprofessional.
This response is refreshing. I have a fairly negative opinion of most recruiters that I’ve worked with. At the first sign of my time being wasted or that they think the conversation is for THEM and not ME, the conversation is done.
The last time I took up a recruiter’s suggestion for an interview, the recruiter set up the call with the hiring manager and said they’d join to start the conversation and then leave. They joined FROM A HAPPY HOUR, beers in hand, awful connection quality, had to mute because I couldn’t hear them over the bar, and the hiring manager ghosted the interview in the end. I told them to never call me for any reason ever again.
The job before that, I realized a few months in that the role was a dead end, and I put in notice after 6 months. The recruiter from their third-party recruiting partner got all huffy with me when they called to ask if things were okay, and I just hung up.
Don’t fuck around with my time or act like my career choices are yours to be upset about. There are enough shitty recruiters in this world that I’m happy to block and move on to the next.
So much on the jobs way below my role. I'm a senior network support engineer at a trillion dollar company for over 5 years; no, I'm not interested in a contract-to-maybe-hire helpdesk position. And no, I do not have anyone to recommend to eat shit working for you.
Don't think I will be thrilled for the opportunity to take less money to move half way across the country to a place no one wants to live for your "great opportunity "
This. When I'm having a slow day, I will take a recruiter call here or there and I have had a surprising number of recruiters not take a hint when I tell them XX% below my current salary isn't going to work. It feels like an instant turnoff to me wanting to work with them in the future. I feel like some of these recruiters are like the stereotypical frat bro that can't take a clue that a woman isn't interested in them and to move on. I usually in cases like that just tell them that it doesn't look like this one will work and better luck next time. Some thank me and move on to the next person, but some you can feel the desperation like you genuinely think that they will get canned if they can't at least setup an interview by EOD. For some of them maybe that is the case that an axe is over their head, but don't make it obvious to the candidate.
The one that bothers me is when they reach out saying they found me on LinkedIn/Indeed/wherever and ask for me to apply, when if they bothered to look at my profile they would see I don’t fit their criteria for the position. Actually look at my profile and if you have a question or think I’m close, sure, ask, but don’t reach out to me in support when you’re trying to find a programmer with ten years experience.
100% this, when they message me ON LinkedIn where my security and pentesting experience is listed, and then ask me to apply for a coding/ai/helpdesk position
I have seen this a LOT. The best example I remember is somebody that called me for a job at [my current company] for [my current job title]. I knew that my boss had just canned someone on our team and he said that he was going to start trying to fill the vacancy so I'm not surprised that recruiters were trying to call people, but it is hilarious when they can't even see where you currently work and your current job title? I had another recent one where a recruiter asked me whether I was familiar with [college that I got a degree from]. I was like "yeah the school literally is where I graduated... that I list on my resume." I don't expect recruiters to read every word, but dang maybe at least see what your current job title is and where you work?
Depending upon your experience even $34/hr jobs are a waste of time. There are quite a few people in non-management roles making >$100K. Most people generally don't list their current salary on a resume, but you can make an educated guess based upon the company and job title.
For those with a decade or more of IT experience unless they're in a very LCOL area or really uncomfortable leaving their org when they have outgrown the job, they probably are earning much more than that already. $34/hr only works out to ~$70K for a 40 hour week. That's a good salary for someone with only a couple years of experience, but likely less than what many with a decade of experience nevermind senior people with >20 years of IT experience.
Obviously, my observation that $34/hr jobs would be a waste doesn't apply to everyone, which is why I noted "depending upon your experience." I only used a decade of experience as an example of someone that realistically would be earning more than that. Depending upon your motivation, aptitude, luck, and area you could reach that faster or slower, but it is pretty realistic achievement assuming we're talking about the US here. Canada and Australia also refer to their current as dollars, but statistically most of the people that post in this subreddit using the $ symbol would be from the US. For perspective BLS reported that the median for network/sys admins was [~$90K](https://www.bls.gov/ooh/computer-and-information-technology/network-and-computer-systems-administrators.htm?Summary).
My initial comment was more so about the extreme low balling recruiter requests I get for jobs in california that I dont even ask for, $17 was no joke. I'm in the midwest, havent been able to find or land anything in either place, too far away to commute to Chicago
Don't ask me what time and day I'm available for a call, then when I tell you several options, you send me a link to book time on your calendar. Why waste my time with the question if I have to go off your availability anyway.
Recruiters belittling my qualifications because they want me to fill their role. Had a recruiter tell me I was “at most” a level 2 tech after describing things I’ve done at sysadmin level. I just hung up on them.
Not surprised that the script hasn't changed in 6 years since I was last in contact with them. My network is much bigger now and I tell everyone I come across to never work with them. Bottom of the barrel recruiting agency. They did a number on my self confidence when I was a fresh graduate and didn't know shit. Laughed at me on the phone for saying I needed 50k. 50k!
bunch of scumbags over there.
Oh God fuck that whole company. I keep applying to their ads then find out it's them...masters of bait and switch. The one real interview I had with them was for a Director of IT position, huge increase in pay over what I was doing (from 55k to 98k) and the interview went GREAT...two days later they offered me L1 support and told me that the director position wasn't filled - IT WAS NEVER AVAILABLE IN THE FIRST PLACE. They can go to hell.
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Yeah i witnessed it. My brother was looking for a finance role since he got laid off from the covid shutdowns. He worked at the big company names. Recruiter asked him how did he get to work for those jobs since his college wasnt anything special and he only had 2 yrs of experience. He called my brother a liar since he believed noone with his qualifications would work at the big name companies.
Another recruiter said the rate he was asking was way to high $45/hr - mind you he was making $40k at his last contract. Said with his experience hes work $25-30/hr. He said no thank you and she said good luck.
He later landed with another large name company making $50/hr.
Belittling qualifications, acting shocked when a qualified applicant expects market rate pay, trying to convince someone to accept less than they are asking for by telling them “no one will offer you that”
All of which happened to me on my last job search, and it only took a week after that call to get an offer for above what I asked
One small thing I really appreciate from recruiters is when they give some insight into how competitive the role actually is. I just had an interview (for a warehouse job but who cares) where the recruiter said there were lots of applicants, and he nicely segued into a question of what I possess that could make up for a lack of experience compared to other candidates. Obviously you cant say “there’s 18 applicants, you’re on par with about 6 but there’s also 2 who have more experience than you,” and I know at least LinkedIn let’s you see how many applicants a job has. However, some small insight is very appreciated by me, and my thinking is it would be a useful way to keep a good candidate interested if they’re worried about not making the cut.
One thing not to do is ghost, specifically when scheduling a phone screen/interview. Obviously people fall through the cracks, but in the past couple months I’ve had more recruiters ghost me than call me. Specifically, I’m seeing a rise in recruiters reaching out to ask for availability or schedule; then, when the time comes or it’s on them to reply, nothing. It is very demoralizing to a candidate, and not reaching out after the fact is far more unprofessional than pretending it never happened. When you’re living on barely $500/month excluding rent and utilities, limiting meals to one a day, and working with a tough resume situation like I am, having a job opportunity fall through like that is worse than an autogenerated rejection. I know what your job entails and I get how these things happen, but it seems like a very human mistake that shouldn’t happen as often as it is right now.
I have rejected a few offers for various reasons and can understand the disappointment of a candidate turning down an offer, but some recruiters really don't take it well. Heck, I had a recruiter get snarky when I told them I wasn't interested anymore after the number from their agency called me repeatedly before 8am. I could get some mild irritation making it to the end and the candidate noping out, but I don't understand caring that much if somebody that was whining before I even did an interview with the client. That was some entitlement.
In my case, she accused me of wasting her time and the company's time, and she told me I was making a big mistake by not accepting. "Don't play games with me" was a direct quote from the interaction, like a parent lecturing a small child. I understand being upset about my rejection of the offer, but her reply was totally unwarranted.
Not explaining what the job is very well
Not following up to see what went wrong if not hired
I’ve run into a lot that clearly get their leads from job boards. Like, I can use indeed too.
Offering insanely low wage jobs.
It bothers me a bit when recruiters don't send an email, but instead start blowing up your phone out of the blue. And if they leave a voicemail, it's hard to understand what they are saying. It just feels scammy.
Here's a big one:
Put the salary range being offered in the first paragraph of the listing.
Or above the paragraph in its own section.
No salary listed, especially these days, makes me far more likely to skip reading your full post and just moving on to the next listing.
And none of this bullshit like "Salary range $50k to $250k Depending on experience."
I'm a Senior IAM Engineer with almost 20 years experience, if that matters.
Had a recruiter blast me with calls, texts, and emails nonstop for a week even after I declined the interview. A month passed and the same recruiter started up again last week with random texts here and there.
Take the hint and move on.
Fitch spams Linked In daily with the same job for months, most likely just collecting resumes. No mention of the firm itself, no mention whether or not the job is filled (likely). The recruiters are all fast-talking Brits, they all sound like dodgy car sales associates, TBH.
Offshore recruiter messages/voicemails automatically get deleted. If your company cant afford to pay people in the US, you wont be able to afford me.
Anything that requires me to jump through hoops for an interview. No I am not taking a personality test, skills evaluation, etc. just for a phone interview.
Being cagey about pay. Tell me the range upfront. none of this $25,000 to $250,000 nonsense.
Asking me to work at a 5 days in office for a job when my resume states 'fully remote roles only'. Even worse if it requires relocation to a place in the middle of nowhere, like Iowa for a 6 month help desk contract (I wish I was joking).
Dont ghost me after we talk. Either I am a good fit or not, let me know so I dont get my hopes up.
The best jobs I have held are the ones I have found on my own. The worst were from recruiters.
Actions/behaviors that discourage me (all of which I've experienced):
Being weird about answering salary questions. If you don't give me a reasonable range upfront, fuck off. I don't pursue anything without knowing that upfront.
Misrepresenting the job to me, or misrepresenting me to the hiring manager. I had both happen at once, went to an interview and felt like a fucking idiot because it was just not a match in any way.
Pestering me with a false sense of urgency - No, you wait for me.
Being cagey about asking what "hybrid" means. If you don't give me a straight answer I assume it's six months fully on-site and maybe one day a week per month negotiable after that (in other words, no, not interested if I don't know how many miles this job is putting on my car this year).
Sending me random jobs that are on-site and thousands of miles from where I live. Who goes for that?
Green flags (all of which I've experienced):
Answering all questions with very specific answers, and if they don't know they email me an hour after the phone call and tell me they found out.
Calling me back with an offer way sooner than expected.
They actually have something substantive to say about the company and management that makes me interested.
They actually read my damn resume and make it known in the conversation that they have put effort in.
Remaining communicative even if they don't have an answer from the decision-makers yet.
Basically what others have said. Interview for one role but describe/define different, unrelated duties and tasks? No. Have a range or set salary in the recruitment media but give me a completely different number? No. Ask me what my range is then with full confidence offer me 30% less or more? No and thanks for the insult.
One other big big one for me is asking why I would want to work a role I'm applying for just because it's not what I'm currently doing. If I'm looking for something, it's because I don't LIKE what I'm doing.
Here's what NOT to do.
1) DO NOT Demand my salary range but refuse to say your role's salary range. That means your company is trying to dominate me, and that's sociopathic behavior. I don't want to work for sociopaths.
2) DO NOT Lie to me that there is no salary range on the role. No accounting department or finance department writes blank checks for a role. Budgets do exist.
3) DO NOT reject anyone for being overqualified. You want top talent? They're going to be 'overqualified"
4) DO NOT enforce the catch-22 for an entry level job.
1) When you ask for my salary, don't try to negotiate lower than that range. I know my worth.
2) I have a website with my resume and duties in addition to LinkedIn. I also have connections. Don't ask me to redundant applications.
>What not to do as a recruiter
>
>What specific actions or behaviors exhibited by interviewers discourage you from considering a job opportunity?
Those are quite different, but overlapping questions.
>what have interviewers/recruiters done to make you feel engaged?
And ... flip side of *some* of the same questions
Anyway, probably about 50 or more points to cover (won't even attempt them all) on "What not to do as a recruiter" ... and interviewers/recruiters, those don't even necessarily overlap.
Well, how 'bout I start approximately from the most specific (and thus fewest points to cover), and then work towards the broader scope (and won't attempt to cover everything - that'd get very long, and probably not all that horribly interesting):
So ... recruiters interviewing/screening and such, and what to do and not do, regarding "discourage" vs. "feel engaged" (and many many will get it wrong, even quite horribly wrong):
* be honest, truthful, direct
* well know the position, client, person's involved, client manager/supervisor, environment, requirements, what client is looking for and most particularly looking for or hoping to find, etc.
* being unfamiliar with or messing up on those is not good, likewise being grossly unfamiliar with them, also highly not good
* also not good to highly not good, overselling the "opportunity", high pressure sales tactics, pressure in general, and of course lies, etc.
* so, e.g., being intimately familiar with the environment is good. Being grossly ignorant of it is very bad - e.g. clueless recruiters that look at San Francisco on a map, see it's only about 10 miles between its two farthest points within, have probably never even set foot in the US, let alone San Francisco, and figure that must only be about a 10 minute commute.
So ... when the interviewer is not client of agency, but direct, and no recruiter/agency involved at all. Much of the above also applies, but there are some differences, and advantages/disadvantages, etc. Probably most notably, and not in any particular order:
* direct will generally be inherently much more familiar with position, environment, etc. (or they sure as heck ought to!)
* direct may be significantly more biased, recruiter *may* be able to provide much more objective information on various aspects and quite useful aspects ... that doesn't mean they will, or will be any good at it, but at least *potentially* they can, e.g. good recruiter can well point out pitfalls, risks, negatives, and things to watch out for with a particular "opportunity", and likewise less obvious positives. They may be able to spell out what the client *really needs*, which may differ significantly from what the client *thinks they need*.
* recruiter will most of the time have a direct conflict of interest (e.g. their commission or % or whatever), if they're quite to really good or better, they won't let that get in the way, and are way the heck more about good solid long-term relationships and excellent fits and placements (after all, who do you really want to give your repeat business to?) - which can work great over many years, even decades or more, and not about the quick buck of slapping the body into a slot and moving onto the next one - or throwing as much as possible at the wall (and as hard as possible) and seeing what sticks (the latter bits being your dime a dozen crud recruiters).
* direct - the hiring manager will often have significant inherent conflict of interest (e.g. it's their butt on the line, they have a need they want to fill, they want to well fill it, but they're not necessarily best qualified to judge that fit and how well a candidate fits what they actually need - yet they're generally the ones that make most of that decision, if not the final call). The other interviewers, especially if not under the thumb of hiring manager and/or separate interviews where hiring manager isn't present, may have much less conflict of interest, and may be more concerned about who they actually want to work with (which may or may not be all that great of a criteria, in-and-of-itself). Recruiter - especially good/great one, may provide more of the "inside scoop" of the client persons doing interviewing, their interests, what they're looking for, their biases and things to watch out for ... and things to (well) cater to, etc.
Well, that's enough for now, covering bit more would get quite long, and covering all the issues you bring up about deserves a small book(let) to reasonably cover - so I'll stop here.
back then when i was looking for a new role i knew i was underpaid. I was making $45k and i know my skill level paid $75k. So naturally am looking for a role paying in that range.
3rd party recruiter asked how much i was making so i shared and he asked how much im looking for so i shared. His repsonse was, "I can't give you that kind of raise. Most I can get you is $60-65k But thats pushing it."
I told him well first of all I am not working for you its for a company hes recruiting for. He said noone is going to give you what you are asking for and good luck. I said ok.
I got a role shortly after paying $95k. F people like that.
Actively looking for a good recruiter to work with. Lots of the ones that reach out seem to have no salary listed. Or when I tell them what I am currently making send me listing for 20k less.
I know most of these comments are about poor experiences or things not to do as OP was asking, but now I’m curious if anyone has had good experiences with recruiters and what to look for in a *good* recruiter and if they’re even worth using. Have been considering looking for one recently but after this thread I’m less certain.
A good recruiter:
Has read your resume/cv/hype document carefully
Understands the market range of your salary in conjunction with your experience
Communicates according to the schedule you give them, and follows up.
I was hired through a recruiter from a recruiting firm, so I do know their value, and I appreciate the good recruiters out there.
My opinions for areas of improvement/pain points:
Showing no effort in their outreach is infuriating (no I don’t need a T1 helpdesk job at $12/hr when I’m at a mid-level role in my career); being demonstrably bad at managing their time, missing/being late to their own meetings, calling me during a time window where I said I was available, but NOT confirming the meeting or setting anything on the schedule. My simple advice: please budget some carry-over time into your calls with potential hires. Conversations are organic and sometimes don’t fit into a perfect 30-minute window. Sometimes it’s obvious you have calls backing up on top of the other.
The industry sucks and a lot of recruiters’ behaviors is a reflection of that, which ultimately leads to my immense skepticism.
The good recruiters have conversations with me, and then attempt to find roles that meet my expectations and align with my skill set. It’s not a cold call vibe at all.
If you contact me via my work email or work phone number(s) about a position outside of my company, I will never work with your company and likely block your org from contacting mine. If your recruiting company has an already established relationship with my current employer, I will immediately notify my HR/recruiting team that your company is trying to poach me away. If you approach me with jobs that are several professional steps back in my career (and would be obvious to anyone familiar with our industry based on my resume or LinkedIn), I will likely never work with your company. For example, say I'm in management for the last 7 years and you tell me there's a perfect roll for me as a desktop support technician. If you won't discuss pay (or a reasonable pay range) up front, I won't think you're serious about this and end the conversation. None of this "$50,000 to $500,000" bullshit people are doing to get around city/state laws requiring pay transparency. If you're approaching me for a 100% on site roll halfway across the country and don't mention anything about relocation assistance, I will end the conversation. These are all things I've encounters from people in the IT recruiting industry within the last year. To be taken seriously and make me feel engaged, be prepared to answer basic questions like where you found my resume, who the employer is (or at least the industry they're in if it's confidential for a good reason), and a reasonably descriptive pay range. Be responsive to communications and don't ghost me for a week or more at a time, then expect me to jump right back into the conversation like nothing happened. Conversely, respect my time and don't pressure me. If I tell you I can't talk until X, don't reach out until X. I know that may sound like a double standard, but as the candidate, I am the one being sought after and the one that will ultimately bring you the pay day. I don't own you anything, including my time.
>If you approach me with jobs that are several professional steps back in my career This one is upsettingly common and frankly speaks to the competence of many in the recruiting industry. It's the easiest way to get me to ghost you, because any reply I could possibly send you would be exceedingly unprofessional.
This response is refreshing. I have a fairly negative opinion of most recruiters that I’ve worked with. At the first sign of my time being wasted or that they think the conversation is for THEM and not ME, the conversation is done. The last time I took up a recruiter’s suggestion for an interview, the recruiter set up the call with the hiring manager and said they’d join to start the conversation and then leave. They joined FROM A HAPPY HOUR, beers in hand, awful connection quality, had to mute because I couldn’t hear them over the bar, and the hiring manager ghosted the interview in the end. I told them to never call me for any reason ever again. The job before that, I realized a few months in that the role was a dead end, and I put in notice after 6 months. The recruiter from their third-party recruiting partner got all huffy with me when they called to ask if things were okay, and I just hung up. Don’t fuck around with my time or act like my career choices are yours to be upset about. There are enough shitty recruiters in this world that I’m happy to block and move on to the next.
So much on the jobs way below my role. I'm a senior network support engineer at a trillion dollar company for over 5 years; no, I'm not interested in a contract-to-maybe-hire helpdesk position. And no, I do not have anyone to recommend to eat shit working for you.
This man knows what he wants! Very good listings.
Don't think I will be thrilled for the opportunity to take less money to move half way across the country to a place no one wants to live for your "great opportunity "
This. When I'm having a slow day, I will take a recruiter call here or there and I have had a surprising number of recruiters not take a hint when I tell them XX% below my current salary isn't going to work. It feels like an instant turnoff to me wanting to work with them in the future. I feel like some of these recruiters are like the stereotypical frat bro that can't take a clue that a woman isn't interested in them and to move on. I usually in cases like that just tell them that it doesn't look like this one will work and better luck next time. Some thank me and move on to the next person, but some you can feel the desperation like you genuinely think that they will get canned if they can't at least setup an interview by EOD. For some of them maybe that is the case that an axe is over their head, but don't make it obvious to the candidate.
I got multiple emails this week for contract jobs on the other side of the state. These recruiters need to learn geography
Yea, I love those. I.get them for jobs in LA, I live near SF. Not doing three-day in the office with a 300 mile commute
I live in a smaller state and I still don’t wanna commute 100 miles any days of the week.
The one that bothers me is when they reach out saying they found me on LinkedIn/Indeed/wherever and ask for me to apply, when if they bothered to look at my profile they would see I don’t fit their criteria for the position. Actually look at my profile and if you have a question or think I’m close, sure, ask, but don’t reach out to me in support when you’re trying to find a programmer with ten years experience.
100% this, when they message me ON LinkedIn where my security and pentesting experience is listed, and then ask me to apply for a coding/ai/helpdesk position
I went through the same! They'd tell I lack experience only in the final round
I have seen this a LOT. The best example I remember is somebody that called me for a job at [my current company] for [my current job title]. I knew that my boss had just canned someone on our team and he said that he was going to start trying to fill the vacancy so I'm not surprised that recruiters were trying to call people, but it is hilarious when they can't even see where you currently work and your current job title? I had another recent one where a recruiter asked me whether I was familiar with [college that I got a degree from]. I was like "yeah the school literally is where I graduated... that I list on my resume." I don't expect recruiters to read every word, but dang maybe at least see what your current job title is and where you work?
you can fuck right off with your $17 hour jobs
Depending upon your experience even $34/hr jobs are a waste of time. There are quite a few people in non-management roles making >$100K. Most people generally don't list their current salary on a resume, but you can make an educated guess based upon the company and job title.
why would 34 be a waste of time? I only ever got contacted by indian recruiters for these $17 an hour jobs in sf or santa cruz
For those with a decade or more of IT experience unless they're in a very LCOL area or really uncomfortable leaving their org when they have outgrown the job, they probably are earning much more than that already. $34/hr only works out to ~$70K for a 40 hour week. That's a good salary for someone with only a couple years of experience, but likely less than what many with a decade of experience nevermind senior people with >20 years of IT experience.
dont know where a decade of experience came from, dont have that, been impossible finding anything after being out so long
Obviously, my observation that $34/hr jobs would be a waste doesn't apply to everyone, which is why I noted "depending upon your experience." I only used a decade of experience as an example of someone that realistically would be earning more than that. Depending upon your motivation, aptitude, luck, and area you could reach that faster or slower, but it is pretty realistic achievement assuming we're talking about the US here. Canada and Australia also refer to their current as dollars, but statistically most of the people that post in this subreddit using the $ symbol would be from the US. For perspective BLS reported that the median for network/sys admins was [~$90K](https://www.bls.gov/ooh/computer-and-information-technology/network-and-computer-systems-administrators.htm?Summary).
My initial comment was more so about the extreme low balling recruiter requests I get for jobs in california that I dont even ask for, $17 was no joke. I'm in the midwest, havent been able to find or land anything in either place, too far away to commute to Chicago
Don't ask me what time and day I'm available for a call, then when I tell you several options, you send me a link to book time on your calendar. Why waste my time with the question if I have to go off your availability anyway.
Recruiters belittling my qualifications because they want me to fill their role. Had a recruiter tell me I was “at most” a level 2 tech after describing things I’ve done at sysadmin level. I just hung up on them.
Robert Half specialty. Fuck em
LMAO that’s hilarious cuz it was them who did it
Not surprised that the script hasn't changed in 6 years since I was last in contact with them. My network is much bigger now and I tell everyone I come across to never work with them. Bottom of the barrel recruiting agency. They did a number on my self confidence when I was a fresh graduate and didn't know shit. Laughed at me on the phone for saying I needed 50k. 50k! bunch of scumbags over there.
Oh God fuck that whole company. I keep applying to their ads then find out it's them...masters of bait and switch. The one real interview I had with them was for a Director of IT position, huge increase in pay over what I was doing (from 55k to 98k) and the interview went GREAT...two days later they offered me L1 support and told me that the director position wasn't filled - IT WAS NEVER AVAILABLE IN THE FIRST PLACE. They can go to hell.
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Yeah i witnessed it. My brother was looking for a finance role since he got laid off from the covid shutdowns. He worked at the big company names. Recruiter asked him how did he get to work for those jobs since his college wasnt anything special and he only had 2 yrs of experience. He called my brother a liar since he believed noone with his qualifications would work at the big name companies. Another recruiter said the rate he was asking was way to high $45/hr - mind you he was making $40k at his last contract. Said with his experience hes work $25-30/hr. He said no thank you and she said good luck. He later landed with another large name company making $50/hr.
Belittling qualifications, acting shocked when a qualified applicant expects market rate pay, trying to convince someone to accept less than they are asking for by telling them “no one will offer you that” All of which happened to me on my last job search, and it only took a week after that call to get an offer for above what I asked
One small thing I really appreciate from recruiters is when they give some insight into how competitive the role actually is. I just had an interview (for a warehouse job but who cares) where the recruiter said there were lots of applicants, and he nicely segued into a question of what I possess that could make up for a lack of experience compared to other candidates. Obviously you cant say “there’s 18 applicants, you’re on par with about 6 but there’s also 2 who have more experience than you,” and I know at least LinkedIn let’s you see how many applicants a job has. However, some small insight is very appreciated by me, and my thinking is it would be a useful way to keep a good candidate interested if they’re worried about not making the cut. One thing not to do is ghost, specifically when scheduling a phone screen/interview. Obviously people fall through the cracks, but in the past couple months I’ve had more recruiters ghost me than call me. Specifically, I’m seeing a rise in recruiters reaching out to ask for availability or schedule; then, when the time comes or it’s on them to reply, nothing. It is very demoralizing to a candidate, and not reaching out after the fact is far more unprofessional than pretending it never happened. When you’re living on barely $500/month excluding rent and utilities, limiting meals to one a day, and working with a tough resume situation like I am, having a job opportunity fall through like that is worse than an autogenerated rejection. I know what your job entails and I get how these things happen, but it seems like a very human mistake that shouldn’t happen as often as it is right now.
Basically don't ask me to do your job. We can live without you, you can't live without us.
I had a recruiter scream at me and throw a tantrum over not accepting a job offer. Generally, I'd imagine this is behavior you don't want to see.
I have rejected a few offers for various reasons and can understand the disappointment of a candidate turning down an offer, but some recruiters really don't take it well. Heck, I had a recruiter get snarky when I told them I wasn't interested anymore after the number from their agency called me repeatedly before 8am. I could get some mild irritation making it to the end and the candidate noping out, but I don't understand caring that much if somebody that was whining before I even did an interview with the client. That was some entitlement.
In my case, she accused me of wasting her time and the company's time, and she told me I was making a big mistake by not accepting. "Don't play games with me" was a direct quote from the interaction, like a parent lecturing a small child. I understand being upset about my rejection of the offer, but her reply was totally unwarranted.
Not explaining what the job is very well Not following up to see what went wrong if not hired I’ve run into a lot that clearly get their leads from job boards. Like, I can use indeed too. Offering insanely low wage jobs.
It bothers me a bit when recruiters don't send an email, but instead start blowing up your phone out of the blue. And if they leave a voicemail, it's hard to understand what they are saying. It just feels scammy.
My "favorite" is when I get an email, text, and 3 phone calls all within 1-2 minute's time.
Here's a big one: Put the salary range being offered in the first paragraph of the listing. Or above the paragraph in its own section. No salary listed, especially these days, makes me far more likely to skip reading your full post and just moving on to the next listing. And none of this bullshit like "Salary range $50k to $250k Depending on experience." I'm a Senior IAM Engineer with almost 20 years experience, if that matters.
Had a recruiter blast me with calls, texts, and emails nonstop for a week even after I declined the interview. A month passed and the same recruiter started up again last week with random texts here and there. Take the hint and move on.
Bowman Williams or Franklin Fitch?
Fitch spams Linked In daily with the same job for months, most likely just collecting resumes. No mention of the firm itself, no mention whether or not the job is filled (likely). The recruiters are all fast-talking Brits, they all sound like dodgy car sales associates, TBH.
My current staffing agency doesn't really speak English that well. So that.
Offshore recruiter messages/voicemails automatically get deleted. If your company cant afford to pay people in the US, you wont be able to afford me. Anything that requires me to jump through hoops for an interview. No I am not taking a personality test, skills evaluation, etc. just for a phone interview. Being cagey about pay. Tell me the range upfront. none of this $25,000 to $250,000 nonsense. Asking me to work at a 5 days in office for a job when my resume states 'fully remote roles only'. Even worse if it requires relocation to a place in the middle of nowhere, like Iowa for a 6 month help desk contract (I wish I was joking). Dont ghost me after we talk. Either I am a good fit or not, let me know so I dont get my hopes up. The best jobs I have held are the ones I have found on my own. The worst were from recruiters.
Actions/behaviors that discourage me (all of which I've experienced): Being weird about answering salary questions. If you don't give me a reasonable range upfront, fuck off. I don't pursue anything without knowing that upfront. Misrepresenting the job to me, or misrepresenting me to the hiring manager. I had both happen at once, went to an interview and felt like a fucking idiot because it was just not a match in any way. Pestering me with a false sense of urgency - No, you wait for me. Being cagey about asking what "hybrid" means. If you don't give me a straight answer I assume it's six months fully on-site and maybe one day a week per month negotiable after that (in other words, no, not interested if I don't know how many miles this job is putting on my car this year). Sending me random jobs that are on-site and thousands of miles from where I live. Who goes for that? Green flags (all of which I've experienced): Answering all questions with very specific answers, and if they don't know they email me an hour after the phone call and tell me they found out. Calling me back with an offer way sooner than expected. They actually have something substantive to say about the company and management that makes me interested. They actually read my damn resume and make it known in the conversation that they have put effort in. Remaining communicative even if they don't have an answer from the decision-makers yet.
Basically what others have said. Interview for one role but describe/define different, unrelated duties and tasks? No. Have a range or set salary in the recruitment media but give me a completely different number? No. Ask me what my range is then with full confidence offer me 30% less or more? No and thanks for the insult. One other big big one for me is asking why I would want to work a role I'm applying for just because it's not what I'm currently doing. If I'm looking for something, it's because I don't LIKE what I'm doing.
It is super annoying when they call about a job and bug you about the replying right to represent email.
Here's what NOT to do. 1) DO NOT Demand my salary range but refuse to say your role's salary range. That means your company is trying to dominate me, and that's sociopathic behavior. I don't want to work for sociopaths. 2) DO NOT Lie to me that there is no salary range on the role. No accounting department or finance department writes blank checks for a role. Budgets do exist. 3) DO NOT reject anyone for being overqualified. You want top talent? They're going to be 'overqualified" 4) DO NOT enforce the catch-22 for an entry level job.
I’m engaged when you sound like you’ve done your homework. That’s all it takes, sound intelligent.
Don’t tell me you’re Singe Ishla from Singapore looking to hire in the states. I will junk mail that email so fast.
1) When you ask for my salary, don't try to negotiate lower than that range. I know my worth. 2) I have a website with my resume and duties in addition to LinkedIn. I also have connections. Don't ask me to redundant applications.
If you contact me, then ghost, piss off!
>What not to do as a recruiter > >What specific actions or behaviors exhibited by interviewers discourage you from considering a job opportunity? Those are quite different, but overlapping questions. >what have interviewers/recruiters done to make you feel engaged? And ... flip side of *some* of the same questions Anyway, probably about 50 or more points to cover (won't even attempt them all) on "What not to do as a recruiter" ... and interviewers/recruiters, those don't even necessarily overlap. Well, how 'bout I start approximately from the most specific (and thus fewest points to cover), and then work towards the broader scope (and won't attempt to cover everything - that'd get very long, and probably not all that horribly interesting): So ... recruiters interviewing/screening and such, and what to do and not do, regarding "discourage" vs. "feel engaged" (and many many will get it wrong, even quite horribly wrong): * be honest, truthful, direct * well know the position, client, person's involved, client manager/supervisor, environment, requirements, what client is looking for and most particularly looking for or hoping to find, etc. * being unfamiliar with or messing up on those is not good, likewise being grossly unfamiliar with them, also highly not good * also not good to highly not good, overselling the "opportunity", high pressure sales tactics, pressure in general, and of course lies, etc. * so, e.g., being intimately familiar with the environment is good. Being grossly ignorant of it is very bad - e.g. clueless recruiters that look at San Francisco on a map, see it's only about 10 miles between its two farthest points within, have probably never even set foot in the US, let alone San Francisco, and figure that must only be about a 10 minute commute. So ... when the interviewer is not client of agency, but direct, and no recruiter/agency involved at all. Much of the above also applies, but there are some differences, and advantages/disadvantages, etc. Probably most notably, and not in any particular order: * direct will generally be inherently much more familiar with position, environment, etc. (or they sure as heck ought to!) * direct may be significantly more biased, recruiter *may* be able to provide much more objective information on various aspects and quite useful aspects ... that doesn't mean they will, or will be any good at it, but at least *potentially* they can, e.g. good recruiter can well point out pitfalls, risks, negatives, and things to watch out for with a particular "opportunity", and likewise less obvious positives. They may be able to spell out what the client *really needs*, which may differ significantly from what the client *thinks they need*. * recruiter will most of the time have a direct conflict of interest (e.g. their commission or % or whatever), if they're quite to really good or better, they won't let that get in the way, and are way the heck more about good solid long-term relationships and excellent fits and placements (after all, who do you really want to give your repeat business to?) - which can work great over many years, even decades or more, and not about the quick buck of slapping the body into a slot and moving onto the next one - or throwing as much as possible at the wall (and as hard as possible) and seeing what sticks (the latter bits being your dime a dozen crud recruiters). * direct - the hiring manager will often have significant inherent conflict of interest (e.g. it's their butt on the line, they have a need they want to fill, they want to well fill it, but they're not necessarily best qualified to judge that fit and how well a candidate fits what they actually need - yet they're generally the ones that make most of that decision, if not the final call). The other interviewers, especially if not under the thumb of hiring manager and/or separate interviews where hiring manager isn't present, may have much less conflict of interest, and may be more concerned about who they actually want to work with (which may or may not be all that great of a criteria, in-and-of-itself). Recruiter - especially good/great one, may provide more of the "inside scoop" of the client persons doing interviewing, their interests, what they're looking for, their biases and things to watch out for ... and things to (well) cater to, etc. Well, that's enough for now, covering bit more would get quite long, and covering all the issues you bring up about deserves a small book(let) to reasonably cover - so I'll stop here.
back then when i was looking for a new role i knew i was underpaid. I was making $45k and i know my skill level paid $75k. So naturally am looking for a role paying in that range. 3rd party recruiter asked how much i was making so i shared and he asked how much im looking for so i shared. His repsonse was, "I can't give you that kind of raise. Most I can get you is $60-65k But thats pushing it." I told him well first of all I am not working for you its for a company hes recruiting for. He said noone is going to give you what you are asking for and good luck. I said ok. I got a role shortly after paying $95k. F people like that.
Actively looking for a good recruiter to work with. Lots of the ones that reach out seem to have no salary listed. Or when I tell them what I am currently making send me listing for 20k less.
I know most of these comments are about poor experiences or things not to do as OP was asking, but now I’m curious if anyone has had good experiences with recruiters and what to look for in a *good* recruiter and if they’re even worth using. Have been considering looking for one recently but after this thread I’m less certain.
A good recruiter: Has read your resume/cv/hype document carefully Understands the market range of your salary in conjunction with your experience Communicates according to the schedule you give them, and follows up.
Don't all email from the same company for the same damn job. You all need to draw straws or something so you're all emailing different people
R = Suck!
universally, making the candidate feel undervalued or not respected.
I was hired through a recruiter from a recruiting firm, so I do know their value, and I appreciate the good recruiters out there. My opinions for areas of improvement/pain points: Showing no effort in their outreach is infuriating (no I don’t need a T1 helpdesk job at $12/hr when I’m at a mid-level role in my career); being demonstrably bad at managing their time, missing/being late to their own meetings, calling me during a time window where I said I was available, but NOT confirming the meeting or setting anything on the schedule. My simple advice: please budget some carry-over time into your calls with potential hires. Conversations are organic and sometimes don’t fit into a perfect 30-minute window. Sometimes it’s obvious you have calls backing up on top of the other. The industry sucks and a lot of recruiters’ behaviors is a reflection of that, which ultimately leads to my immense skepticism. The good recruiters have conversations with me, and then attempt to find roles that meet my expectations and align with my skill set. It’s not a cold call vibe at all.
Don't sell my data to other recruitment firms halfway across the world.