Friday 7 June 2013

Thought Picnic: Discussions with recruiters of my ire

Don’t they just irk you?
Daily, one is presented with opportunity for some decision-making as to whether it would be worthwhile or just another waste of time.
Here, one has to engage with supposed professionals who do not bother to skim talk less of read the profiles they have harvested off the Internet before they are on the telephone to suggest a general consider become a corporal for their convenience and in the hope that the general has no guiding principle apart from a mercenary quest for filthy lucre.
Half this stuff amounts to adding insult to injury as one bites the tongue to avoid the much deserved expletive if you are wont to being that expressive without reservation.
It is no favour
The other day, the conversation went along the lines of the recruiter hoping to negotiate on my behalf whether the employer will up the rate from 50% of what I am currently on to possibly 60% - the effrontery.
Without being as terse as I was at rights to become, I informed him that there was no need to negotiate because we were nowhere near the spectrum of acceptable remuneration to give it any consideration apart from the fact that he should not be deluded into thinking he was doing me a favour when he was not recognising my particular interests.
The conversation ended as I drew a sharp intake of breath at having to run the gauntlet of the most atrocious engagement I have had in quite a while.
Get me the job first
In other cases, these people want to have references long before they have committed to anything, I have come to the knowledge that they use that to obtain names of contacts they can harangue for other positions they want to fill.
I do not want to bother my referees for references if the job is not yet in the bag that when my referees ask at some future time they realise it has been a waste of their time, I have many times been embarrassed by this that I have been firm – get me the job first and references will follow.
Building solid bridges
However, the best legacy one can leave at the completion of a contract is the willingness for your ex-colleagues to have you return to work with them if another opportunity arises.
I might well be that within a week of completing one tenure that started as a 6-week engagement and ran for 2 weeks short of 5 months, they might want me back if the funds can be sorted out – a bit of waiting as I brush up on some theory and practice, I am amazed about what new stuff I have learnt of what I was doing before – I am ready to go. That’s excitement.

1 comment:

Boso said...

Those guys drive me mad. They have all sorts of tricks to get contacts. I like you do not give names of references until they get me a job.

The other trick is "Who did you work with at Company A? I used to recruit for them. Did you report to John Smith?", hoping that you'll reply "John Smith, never heard of him. I worked for Charles Taylor".



Idiots.

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