In this week’s blog post, I will give you tips I have learned over the past 15 years on how to deal with recruiters.
Do Not Post Your Resume Online
Rule #1: DO NOT POST YOUR RESUME ONLINE! I cannot stress this enough. If you post your resume on a job board, you will get endless calls offering sales jobs. You will also get calls and emails from the worst type of recruiters. There are good recruiters out there and it is your job to seek them out, not vice versa. You should submit your resume for individual job posts on job boards instead.
Know the Difference Between Web and Software Development
Rule #2: Know the difference between web and software development. An ASP.NET Developer can do both or specialize in one or the other. I am specialized in web development and it is very important to make that known to recruiters who do not know the difference. If a job description contains things like WPF and WCF, I am not a good fit for that job because that is software development. A web development job description will include things like HTML5, CSS3, JavaScript, JQuery, Node.js, Bootstrap, and AngularJS.
Do Not Speak With Multiple Recruiters From the Same Company
Rule #3: Do not speak with multiple recruiters from the same company! A good technical recruiting company will not allow multiple recruiters to contact you. I see a red flag when multiple recruiters contact me from the same company because they are literally competing against each other to place me to get their commission. Most of the time, they are trying to sell me on not only the same job, but also why I should go with them instead of their colleague. When I talk to these types of recruiters, I imagine myself in a shark tank while they circle around me.
Keep a Record of Jobs and Recruiters
Rule #4: Keep a record of jobs and recruiters. Hiring managers generally farm out their recruiting efforts to multiple recruiting agencies so you will get calls from multiple agencies about the exact same job. It is very important for you to keep a record of each job you apply for and what recruiter you worked with for that position. Otherwise, you could get into a situation where multiple recruiters submit your resume for the same job. If a recruiter calls you about a job you already applied for, you should always let them know that you already applied.
Get a Full Job Description Before You Apply
Rule #5: Get a full job description before you apply. Some recruiters will try to get you to apply after just a phone conversation. You should never apply for a job until you have seen the full job description complete with the company name. Remember to log it in your record (from rule #4) if you do apply!
I hope this information is helpful to you in your job search!