“Have you got a moment to talk?”
“Okay,” I reply reluctantly. I know what I’m going to say and that is “no”.
“This is *ACME Recruitment. We would like to talk to you about work.”
“I’m not looking for work.”
“We wonder if you would be interested in a contract….”
“Not really, I’m very busy. I’m currently taking bookings for September.”
“It would be a fixed term contract overseas.”
“I’ve no interest in working overseas.”
“That seems to be a common reaction.”
“I’m busy with what I’m doing and am not looking for work at the moment and do not want to work overseas.”
“The Middle-East.”
“Wild horses wouldn’t…”
“I’ll send you an email with the details in case you change your mind.”
Perhaps I wasn’t clear enough? And, this doesn’t even get to the little matter of me not being remotely qualified for any of the roles they are recruiting for. I seem to get a lot of these. They see “rail” in my CV or LinkedIn profile and just guess the rest. Which is why if I was looking for work, a recruiter is the last person I’ll call. I’ve never yet got any work through a recruitment agency. My work is too specialised and they just don’t understand niche markets.
*Name changed to protect the guilty.
The Middle East? Fixed term contract?
Maybe they were looking for a new Peace Envoy – after all, the last one didn’t do too badly out of the job, did he?
I tend to prefer work where there is at least a smidgen of a chance of success.
This is all about the trans-Arabian railway. I want nothing to do with it.
I learnt a long time ago that it’s best to have a specific phone & email for recruiters*. As a contractor looking for work, they’ll be switched on and monitored. If not – well I’ve missed nothing I care about.
To be fair to the person calling you – their job is to chase leads. And in sending you an email they have fulfilled this. Move onto the next. The best response is always “I’m not available for 12 months; You’re wasting your time” – they hate having their time wasted, and the sooner you get to this point, the sooner they leave you alone.
“I’m not interested” or “I’m busy”, etc are transient states which can change, and pressing you – annoying as it is for YOU – is not a waste of THEIR time.
*Yes, I realize that they probably got your main business number and cold called
I’ll try that response next time, although “wild horses wouldn’t get me to the Middle-East” and “I’m not interested in work overseas” strike me as being pretty final.
Given that these people do not read my CV or profile properly and always, without exception, approach me for entirely unsuitable roles, they are wasting their time as well as mine.
I would also add that I don’t use recruiters anyway. Partly because I operate in a niche market where work is gained via word of mouth and partly because when working with recruiters, I am not the client, I am the product and it is the client’s interests that are are paramount. I’m not much keen on being someone else’s product, so avoid it wherever possible.
“Have you got a moment to talk?”
“No.” Add own creative excuse – Funerals or having the family pet put down are generally very effective. I’ve also found; “The Police and paramedics are at the front door. Get off the bloody line.” Works very nicely.