What in God’s name convinces some people that they would be good recruiters? I ask because I’m shocked by the behavior shown by a recent recruiter interaction.

Lest I make myself sound too good here: I admit that some part of this recruiter’s frustration is my own fault. I wasn’t prompt in replying, I didn’t provide this person with a CV after I decided the role wasn’t a fit, and (worst of all) I didn’t stand my ground very firmly in telling this person I wasn’t interested in the role.

Then again, it wasn’t until after I said I wasn’t intererested that the quality of the interaction really started to decline. This was when the tone started to shift from “professionals talking about a career opportunity”, to something a little closer to “trying to start a fight”. At best, it was unnecessarily pushy. At worst, it was aggressive and condescending.

Here’s a brief selection of quotes:

“Are you even being serious or what?

“I remember those days when the economy wasn’t so good and candidates were more sincere”

“Thats how you guys operate by evading, flaking and faking”

“You’d be less arrogant when the economy becomes worse”

Let me reiterate: these were messages sent after I indicated I wasn’t interested in the role we’d discussed. Moreover: I was very upfront with the fact that I am pretty happy with my current situation, and unlikely to move without a very good fit or a very good opportunity. As soon as it was clear to me that this role was neither, I tried to end the conversation.

I suppose I wasted a little of both of our time here, but in total that amounted to about 10 emails, and a 20 minute phone call. Hardly what I would consider a huge time sink!

I’m not Sherlock Holmes, but I know enough to figure out who the corporate client is. There are only so many companies that fit the mold of being a certain size, in a certain place, and working in a certain sector. I have zero doubt that client would shit a brick if they found out this was how a recruiter was representing their brand, even by proxy. (How the hell are you supposed to report a third party recruiter, anyway?)

On a professional level: I have an electrical engineering degree, and close to a decade of experience. I’ve been lead engineer on three consumer products. I can design electronics, sling code, manage projects, and meet deadlines. I have a high demand nexus of skillsets in a hiring market. Furthermore, I have a job that rewards me pretty handsomely for the value I create there. I can afford to be choosy.

I especially choose not to work with anyone who feels the need to denigrate me just because my skillset can’t be rolled over into a commission at a moment’s notice.

More succinctly: I don’t have to put up with this bullshit.