Diamonds In The Rough permalink

Hi Rob,

Recently, we came across your information and wanted to introduce our firm and an opportunity we are working on.

[Company Name Redacted] is a technical recruiting firm based in Chicago. Our client is a cloud-based solutions company who is passionate about cutting edge technology that delivers industry-leading enterprise solutions. Their team of super smart engineers with focus on cloud computing, is tackling the world’s most challenging tasks building highly scalable and available products.

We are looking for someone that comes from a Java, .NET, or C# development background. The ideal person would have experience in an Agile environment and be exposed to test-driven development.

If you have any interest in hearing more about this opportunity, it would be great to connect. Looking forward to hearing back!

I get a few of these emails every week. They’re overly broad, filled with buzzwords, and lack any real information about what the company does. I can’t stress that last one enough. What problem does the company solve? If the recruiter can’t actually present that to me, then it makes me think that they don’t really understand their client and what their client needs. And if that’s true, then what makes them think I’d be a good fit in the company and the company would be a good fit for me? What it seems like it boils down to is if you and their client use enough of the same buzzwords, catch-phrases, and technology names, they immediately turn around and hand you off to their client.

I recently fell for one of these emails and took a call from the recruiter. The recruiter immediately asked me to talk about myself. I gave my employment history and what I accomplished at each job (something you can easily glean from my resume), my strong points and weak points (honesty is the best policy), and what I thought I was looking for in any change of employment. (Keep in mind, this is all before I found out what the company actually does or who they were.) When I was done and the recruiter started talking about their client, it was like I had filled in an ad-lib with the spiel I just gave. The recruiter rattled off bland sentence after bland sentence repeating buzzwords I had just used - in order like they had written them down - and not really offering any more information than what I had already received. The recruiter then proclaimed with confidence that it seemed like I’d be a good fit, and asked me for an updated copy of my resume to send along to their client so I could get in and interview ASAP. I politely declined.

Now, not all recruiters are basic middle(wo)men. There are a select few that I work with that are AMAZING. They call or email periodically and keep in touch and better understand who I am and what I need. I have one that called me just to talk about the recent Oracle v Google decision because he knew it was something that I was following and extremely interested in. If they find a position I legitimately might be interested in or be a good fit for, they send me a really personalized email. Sometimes, if they know I wouldn’t be interested in a position but are having problems filling it, they’ll email me saying that and ask if there’s anyone I know. I forward those along all the time! Because I know that this recruiter is going to take care of anyone that contacts them. Finding those types of recruiters is like finding an honest mechanic - they’re a real diamond in vast, vast rough.