Recruiters

Recruiters...  You guys can really get under my skin.  I get that you have a job to do, and that job entails getting me to leave mine.  I know that you only get paid if I leave my job, and your bonus depends on how much in salary I get paid.  It is a tough job, because the work is on both ends, you need to sell the job to me, and then sell me to the employer.  There is a lot that can go wrong, and I understand that it can be frustrating for you.
HOWEVER, if you are a professional IT recruiter, you need to do a little bit of research in to the actual IT world to know what the hell you are talking about.  There are several things you do that drive me up a wall, and a few that will make me want to never ever use you to nail down an opportunity, no matter how lucrative.
Since this is my blog, and I am a nice guy, Imma give you all some great advice instead of a listing of my pet peeves about recruiters.  In all seriousness, this will help you do better at your job, and will help you gain the trust of your candidates.

• Know SOMETHING about the skills you are recruiting for.
• This has got to be my absolute biggest pet peeve about recruiters.  When they call/email me asking about my skill set, and have absolutely no clue about what they are asking about.  I loose all confidence in you representing me when you first ask me if I know .NET, then ask me if I know Visual Studio.  Visual Studio is the programming platform for .NET.  Yes, I know you could use something else to write code in, but NOBODY does.  Don't ask me if I have worked in the Windows Communication Framework, then ask me if I know WCF.  They are the same thing.  Don't listen to my expereince in designing service frameworks using WCF, and ask me if I have ever done SOA development.  Don't ask me if I have developed web parts for SharePoint, then ask me if I know ASP.NET.  SharePoint IS ASP.NET.  ARRRGGGHHH!!!!
• With just a little bit of reading, and I mean just a little bit, less than 1/2 hour, you could look up those terms on the internet and know, at a very high level, EXACTLY what they are about.  You are a damn professional, do your research!!!!
• I will forgive a recruiter a lot.  You are not truly IT people, so I don't expect you to know what the MVVM patter is, or where to go when implementing a Managed Metadata Taxonomy.  I do expect you to know the very very very basics so you don't ask any redundant or misguided questions.  If you don't know what my skills are, how can I trust you to find a position that I will fit in to?  If I am hiring you to find me someone, how can I trust you to find me the right person?
• Never cold call someone to ask them what a technology is.
• I must get one of these every month.  "Hey, this is Bob from Bob's Tech Recruiting Company.  I saw your resume on line and I wondered if you could tell me what 'SharePoint' is."
  This gives me NO confidence in you representing me.  I will politely direct you to Microsoft's web site for your information after a very short description of what SharePoint is.
  If you have a need for a SharePoint professional, simply come out and say it.  If you don't know what it is, GOOGLE!  Do your research.
• Look at the candidate's resume first to determine experience.  Make an educated guess as to weather the job that you are looking to fill will fit in to the candidate's experience level.
• I have written my resume to be very easy to go through.  You can easily see with just a glance that I have many years experience in the stated technologies.  You inspire very little confidence as someone who takes their job seriously if you submit to me entry level jobs when my experience is clearly senior level.  The same is true for an entry level guy getting submitted for senior level positions.
• Do not balk when you hear salary requirements. 
• Yes, I might make more than you do.  I also have more experience than you do.  Don't make snide comments, cough, say wow, or make any other comments.  I might be tougher to place than you think.
  I realize the difficulty of finding a job that will keep me in the same pay scale that I am accustomed.  I have been in that position before.     
• Never simply drop a correspondence if the employer isn't interested in the candidate.  
• Let me know that the client is no longer interested in me and the reason why.  It is a courtesy call.  It let's me know that we are in this together and that I can trust you to let me know the hard news.  Knowing the reason why helps me become a better candidate in the future, because I will know what I need to do to sharpen my resume, interview skills, or my personal attitude.
  Remember, the better candidate I am, the more likely YOU are able to place me.
• This is a business deal.  Do not take rejection personally.
• You are a professional.  You are working on sealing a business transaction.  If I don't like the job or company that you are submitting to me, how is that a personal attack on you?  Don't get upset if I am not ready to leave my current position, or I just don't like what you have put in front of me.  
• Money is not the only thing that will motivate a candidate to switch jobs.   
• I have had HUGE numbers thrown at me to work for companies.  I have turned them down.  The reason is that I didn't like the company culture, or some other facet of the job smelled wrong to me.
  I really hate it when recruiters ask over and over again, how much is it going to take to get you to move?  Or this employer is willing to pay more for you.  Blah blah blah.
  Find out what the candidate needs to move.  For me, I will take a significat hit on my salary if more vacation time is offered.  I will sacrifice salary AND vacation time if the opportunity will gain me experience in something that I really want experience in.
  I moved from my last job because my current job offered global deployment experience.  My last job didn't pay me more, but gave me a bunch of vacation time and full benefits.  I don't get benefits now.
  Find out what is important to that candidate and see if the employer will move their direction.