I come across this all the time from job seekers, and it’s really annoying. I send out a mailer via email to people who have specifically asked to be contacted about positions in their area. Initial reach outs are very broad, that’s just the nature of the game. Here’s examples of how people often respond that should be avoided at all costs if you ever want to work with that agency at any point in the future.
“No thanks, I don’t want to work at…,” at which point they put the company name they think is correct.
This response is the smart ass, the guy who thinks he knows what job you’re asking about, and since the client is almost always kept confidential, decides to one-up you by showing he knows more than you about the jobs that are open in the area. The problem is, job descriptions get copied, quite often in fact. Need a job description for a shit shoveler, and someone has likely written it up already, so you can just go on the web and find it. Well over nine times out of ten, they’re wrong about which job I’m talking about. However, the smart ass response annoys me, and most other recruiters, and we’ll just leave off after that. It’s indicative of an attitude problem, not a good start. Now, if you don’t care about ever having any kind of relationship with that recruiter, go for it. However, there’s always the possibility that this person will be a gatekeeper for a job you may want in the future, so answer at your own risk.
“Do I look like I’m…?!?!” followed by indignation that you’d contact them for this particular job.
This is the pissed off candidate, one who doesn’t seem to realize that we, as recruiters, often have to contact hundreds of people and then whittle that down to a few. The initial reach out will be broad, it will be keyword based, and it will unfortunately hit people who are too senior or junior for particular roles. Yes, this sucks. However, if it pissed you off that much I might suggest you have other issues to tend to, because it really shouldn’t. If you want to answer, a polite no will do. Again, this is indicative of an attitude problem and…
Then, there are the psychotic callers. You send out one email and this person calls you thirty times over the course of the next hour. Answer in kind, one call is enough. This is indicative of a borderline psychotic and we simply will not want to deal with you. Ever. There is such a thing as too aggressive.
Then there is the snorting exacerbated job seeker. This guy gets on the phone with you in response to the email, you ask one simple question and the answer is, “Well, let me tell you…,” followed by several snorting laughs, followed by their entire life story and indignation at how hard it is to land a job. They never answer questions, ever. They dominate the entire conversation with their tale of woe and indignation. They’re being discriminated against! Or, maybe they just come across as assholes, honestly bemused by why the world doesn’t recognize their brilliance. Whenever I hear that distinctive, snorting laugh this guy invariably follows. Don’t be this guy. Please, for the love of god, I understand how hard it is to get a job these days, you don’t have to tell me. Just answer the fucking questions I ask so I can tell if this job I have right now is the right one. It may be, but if you don’t answer the questions and instead regale me with the finest but ultimately irrelevant details of the last six months of your life, I am just going to give up. I only have so much time in my day, as I’m sure you do. Please stay on point.
The best advice I can give any job seeker is ATFQ: Answer The Fucking Question! And for the love of god stop getting pissed off because you got an email you didn’t want. Ask to be removed from the list, you will be. You never know who is on the other end of the email chain, or the phone, and what that person may be able to do for you in the future. If you want to sour the relationship through rudeness or very often misplaced arrogance, well that’s your prerogative. But you might want to consider just why the hell you’re so pissed off… over getting an email.
