Tag: recruiters

Every once in a while, I get a recruiter sending me an e-mail or pinging me on Skype. I turn most of them down simply because they fail at reading; it shouldn’t be hard to understand the simple sentence “I am only available for contractual or part-time work”.

But what irks me the most is how they follow up the inquiry:

Do you know of anyone who is available that you can refer for recruitment?

At this point, I politely respond that everyone I know is busy with their own work and hopefully the conversation ends there.

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Why am I so annoyed at random people asking me for referrals?

First of all, I’m not lying with my “polite” answer. In the cutthroat market today for senior developers, you probably won’t find an available developer. At least, not for cheap.

But the real reason is that my conscience cannot allow me to refer other people to a company whose culture and practices I am not familiar with.

I came from a company who milked me for what I was worth then fired me for insubordination. Even now I am still suffering from the psychological effects of the whole ordeal.

So why would I risk dooming someone I know to a similar fate?

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In short, if I am not familiar with you or your company, don’t expect any referrals from me anytime soon.

Whenever I get a random call or e-mail from a recruiter, I tend to think about Van Halen and brown M&Ms. Here’s the Snopes page for those of you who aren’t familiar with the connection between the two.

TL;DR:

• Van Halen’s concert contract contains a clause that requires a bowl of M&Ms in the backstage area with the brown ones removed.
• Turns out there’s a reason for that clause (unlike some celebrities’ riders): it’s an easy way to detect if the promoters have read and followed the terms. When dealing with tonnes of expensive equipment, failing to follow just a single part of the contract can lead to life threatening situations.

I have my own brown M&Ms clauses that let me check if a recruiter is worth my time.

The first is pretty obvious. I haven’t uploaded my profile or resume at any job hunting site so that should mean that I’m not looking for work. Thus, I ignore any recruiter who simply assumes that I’m looking for a job.

The second one is somewhat trickier, but it’s still pretty easy to see. The hint is there on top of my CV: a link to my website. There’s a wealth of information there and it, along with my CV, give you enough info to see if I’m a good match to your position opening.

There’s also a couple of lines there (and a couple of clicks away) that will make me bluntly ignore you if you blatantly ignore them.

I don’t care about your high compensation package, your career path, or your laid back environment; if you can’t answer that single request, I have no use for your company and your company has no use for me.