Illustration by Tetley Clarke
The nature of the love-hate relationship between tech recruiters and professionals (especially developers) is a complicated one. On one hand, developers love recruiters because recruiters might hold the key to career-changing opportunities. On the other hand, developers hate the uncaring, “i-just-want-my-commission” approach some recruiters may have. So how can both parties work in harmony?
Don’t get us wrong — we understand that not all recruiters are the same. In the tech industry which features a large number of opportunities and not enough talent, we also know that recruiters try very hard to create incentives to acquire and retain more tech talent. However, no matter how hard the recruiter works, the whole process could fail at any point. Getting a qualified developer in front of the hiring manager means that the recruiter must pitch the role to the developer, and this key step could make or break the process.
Some weeks ago on our Facebook group we had an open, honest discussion about this exchange between tech recruiters and developers, which helped us compile a collection of mistakes recruiters make when approaching developers online. Our aim in putting this together was to approach the problem from the perspective of the developers, gather some input and hopefully help the guilty recruiters improve their practice.
1. Not revealing the name of the company you are hiring for
It can be difficult for us to make informed decisions about job positions when we don’t really know whom we are dealing with — the hiring company may well be one that we’re not interested in working for! Without a name, we feel robbed of the option of checking the company out on Glassdoor or similar platforms to protect ourselves. It’s always useful to have this information.
2. Asking us to call you without sharing anything relevant about the job (like the role description or salaries)
We understand the need for confidentiality in certain recruitment contracts, but at some point it’s important to disclose the details. We need to know that we are not applying for a job where the salary doesn’t meet our expectations, or even for a role that doesn’t match our skills.
3. Matching us to the wrong skill set
We know that matching a candidate to a role that perfectly complements their current skills and abilities requires a super specific knowledge of this field, and this may not be easy. But the problem with getting this wrong is that we could mistakenly be assigned to a role that has nothing to do with our skills. A more effective approach to this could be to first try to gain a thorough understanding of the job role, the industry and related skill sets before setting out to identify appropriate candidates.
4. Having multiple recruiters from the same company approaching us with the same job opportunity within a short space of time
Recruitment is competitive — we know that. But from our end of the table, multiple unnecessary contacts demonstrate a lack of internal communication and co-ordination. This could give the recruitment agency a bad image even though this may not be the case.
5. Starting the message by calling the candidate a wrong name
Calling someone by the wrong name is a mistake that could happen to anyone — especially if you send hundreds of e-mails daily as part of your job. It may even be as a result of a software error. However, this is one mistake that can have a negative impact on a prospective candidate, especially if you have both been in contact for a significant amount of time.
6. “I came across your profile and was very impressed with your background.”
So cliché. While we understand that you probably approach hundreds of people each day, it would really make a difference (not just for us, but for you as well — I guarantee you’d have more positive results!) if you took an extra few minutes to personalize your email. The time spent in tailoring your e-mails to your recipients could pay off as your recipients feel appreciated and valued (who doesn’t like to feel special? 🙂 )
7. Initiating contact on LinkedIn, then asking how we found the job
This simple act of thoughtlessness can be so irritating, but we would usually just play along to find out more details about the position before making a decision. .
8. Ghosting
After applying for a position, whether or not we are successful, it is always nice to hear some feedback, news etc even though this might sometimes come across as stalker-ish. When we don’t get the information we want however, we feel used. It is not ok to reach out and then disappear without so much as a warning. It’s always nice to have an answer (and this goes both ways!).
9. Offering a lesser qualified or unsuitable role — and being pushy about it
The increased incidence of “title bloats” among start-ups could be a valid explanation for this practice, but it’s also important to know how and when to use this sort of approach. If I’m being approached via LinkedIn, information about my current role and professional path is publicly available so there is no reason to put me forward for the wrong role. Alternatively, this may be cause by a problem with the CRM you could be using, but this can be very irritating — especially when after many years of proven experience we are approached for junior positions. It is important to check that your software interprets keywords correctly; otherwise developers could be receiving requests to work in sales etc!
In addition to this, persistence about offers that aren’t relevant to us can have a negative impact on you. It is true that people change their minds, and job offers could be made to become more attractive. However, it is bad practice to continue to persist, especially if we have previously specified what kind of projects we’re interested in, or if the offer remains unaltered.
10. Asking for my CV and contact details immediately after introducing yourself, without offering any backing information
From the perspective of a potential candidate in the dark about a job position, this can sound sketchy at best and could create instant mistrust. How can we be sure that you are not harvesting our details, with no intention of helping us to find a new job?
11. Saying that someone referred you to us, when we know darn well you found us on LinkedIn.
It’s true that this isn’t always the case, but when it does happen, it makes us feel “played”. If in fact a referral did exist to begin with, it may be common not to be able to disclose details but in situations where the communication continues, it is good practice to share information about the referral to demonstrate trustworthiness.
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