An open letter to IT recruiters
From the translator:
The original of this text was written by Swiss software developer Adrian akosma Kosmachevsky. His other text “What it is like to be a developer when you are forty” has already been translated for Habr. First of all, everything written below is addressed to recruiters "for hire" - recruitment agencies that provide search services for employees to other companies. But in general, it is applicable for ordinary HR departments in our region.
Enjoy reading.
My work day always starts with browsing websites to keep abreast of the latest troubles and disasters that our world suffers from, but today I discovered one of these troubles in my email inbox. It was another letter from the recruiter.
')
Sometimes it seems to me that the pursuit of recruiters of all stripes is an integral part of being a software developer. I receive three or four letters a week to my e-mail address, constantly answer phone calls and even receive mail (you know, these good old packages, envelopes with such stamps on them), with job offers throughout Europe.
My skills are in demand and I think I should be happy about this. But there is a problem, and it consists in the fact that 99% of all attempts at contact with me by recruiters were somehow failed. For 19 years of work as a software developer, I haven’t got a good idea of all these “possibilities”, appeals of “industry” and all methods connected with it.
So, ladies and gentlemen (recruiters), honoring the standard style of your messages, please check out my Top Five List of incorrect recruiter communication models with software developers.
Any message consists of a form and content. Let's start with the basics. If you, dear recruiter, start contacting with the phrase “I have a serious offer for you, please call back to find out more,” you have already lost an employee. You know why? Because each of you does the same. You think you're so special that I'm going to call in person to find out what else for the crappy position you're going to offer me there? Imagine not going. It really annoys me that you, the recruiter, consider yourself so special. Why not describe the position right away? Why are you, recruiters, trying to shift your job to me? If you all think that I deserve only to send me an e-mail, then please kindly say straight away what you want from me.
You should not use the strategy of "lure and change" to contact me. It is necessary to clearly and clearly describe your proposal, for example: “Hi, I have a vacancy SAP consultant in London. Salary will be 50-70 thousand pounds per year. A valid work permit is required (in the EU, - approx. Lane), experience with SAP for at least 5 years, there is no possibility to work remotely. If you are interested in this job, then here are the full requirements, here is my email address and telephone number. Thank you. ”As you can see, your e-mail should contain information about salary, location, requirements and information about possible employee expectations. It would be nice to say which company you are from, but if you cannot provide such information at this stage, this is normal, it happens and you will tell about it later. Do not use the word “senior” in the job description yet: it simply does not mean anything. Just tell me how many years of experience with technology is required. Everything. The end.
A very important sign of good tone is the absence of (cold) calls. Seriously. I hate phone calls. And you know why? Because it is a synchronous method of communication, which blocks any of my actions and makes me completely focus on the conversation with you. And I know that in 99% of cases I won’t be interested in what you tell me. E-mail or even a paper letter is quite acceptable, but do not call. Do not send messages of any other kind through other channels of communication (yes, imagine, I received messages in WhatsApp from some of your fellow recruiters. Seriously? What do you think there?).
Finally, please refrain from useless praise and adulation: “I saw your profile on GitHub and your contribution to this area and I think that you are ideally suited to us ... (the author emphasizes the insanity of the original expression„ your contribution to the field “, Which he actually somehow heard from one of the recruiters in his address, - lane comment. )”. You know, it doesn't work. It sounds fake - but in fact this is a fake and this is another problem. Such behavior further undermines your position in my eyes.
Previously, from 1997 to 2006, I worked as a developer for the Microsoft platform (ASP, IIS, .NET, C #, VB and VB.NET). In 2006, I stopped because iOS and other things related to mobile phones (Objective-C, mobile web, Swift, and even Android) entered my professional life.
So when I read about the position of the .NET architect, whose offer came to my email, I really lost my patience. Because you did not even bother to get acquainted with the information on my LinkedIn profile, which is completely open and accessible to anyone. And all this so that those who wish can find out whether I am suitable for the role of the one they are looking for or not. What did I see in the case of this job? "Yes, I shit on you." That's what I saw in this letter to the recruiter.
I understand that the technology industry is an excellent opportunity for recruiter self-realization, but it is also a very complex and constantly changing environment. I am sure you can easily achieve your goals by getting annual bonuses for a couple of developers hired by you here and there. Lucky for you! I hope that Santa will bring you this year under the Porsche tree, a fast and furious Porsche, and you will behave accordingly to the received “gift”.
But you know what? You should pay more attention to the area that contains you. It’s not even understanding the words you write (Xcode? What is it?), Much more important is the understanding of the age and interconnection of technologies among themselves.
Consider the situation with the age of technology. If your email contains the phrase “five years of experience with Swift”, you have already failed. Because Swift was released only about two years ago (at the time of writing this publication in 2016, of course). And this is a mistake I see again and again. In 2002, I saw a job posting for C # developers with five years of experience. Catch the relationship? You could (damn it, I'm sure that it was), lose potential employees just because of this.
Pay attention to the fact that technologies are dying: finding developers on WebObjects, COM +, J ++ or Delphi will not only be difficult, it is quite possible that for some markets this is an impossible task.
The saddest thing is that your messages are a jumble of buzzwords. Make sure that the real software developer subtracts your letter in order to avoid using strange or just meaningless combinations. For example, if you are looking for a .NET backend developer, it may make sense to include requirements for working with databases (some Oracle or NoSQL) in the job description, but this makes no sense at all if there is a requirement for possession of CoreBluetooth, GCC or Gradle.
In addition, the use of the word "Agile" will not help you. It doesn't help anyone at all.
I understand that you are looking for a mythical 360-degree developer with a “T” -shaped profile, capable of knowing a lot of little things, while specializing in some other big thing, but your combination of technologies is often completely meaningless. And sometimes they are ridiculous. This is what leads us, developers, to avoid your vacancies.
And what is better to do in this case? In my opinion, it is not necessary to add "related" technologies to your text vacancies. Good developers can learn something new faster than you eat your breakfast, so you need to focus on the basic technology that your client needs. Leave the rest for a telephone interview or a personal interview.
All of the above brings me to the heart of the problem being described: we, the developers, had the impression that you were talking to us as if you were just marking items on your to-do list. And you know what? We hate it. With all my soul. We are not machines that are devoid of everything except skills that are in demand: we have our passions, personal preferences, and we chose this craft because we love it. We learn fast. We are moving fast. And we could use your help and services if you saw that you are actually trying to listen to us.
We know what pushes you to offer positions that do not fully match our skills: you just want to get your next quarterly bonus. We know that. Let's not pretend that we are not able to understand how your (recruiting) industry works. Of course, you make money on us.
The only thing I ask of you is not to be hypocrites. Be frank for your purposes. And we can trust you, and you can build good relations with us, which in the end will bring many, many bonuses and Porsche cars for many years of this cooperation.
And finally, the biggest problem I see in your approach to recruiting developers is that you don’t help anyone in the long term. You do not help the business, because you still don’t find the right people. Yes, just not helping. You mark your flags and proceed to the next victim. Want evidence? The fact that large companies end up creating internal recruitment teams shows how lame and unviable your method is.
You do not help developers, because we ultimately find ourselves out of place: open-up spaces, disconnected and inoperable teams, head-hypocrite, pronouncing the word “Agile” every three seconds, lack of career prospects, contempt and refusal from the practice of control quality, as you call it (quality management techniques, orig. - approx. Lane).
Worse, you are not helping the industry as a whole: you are not helping to increase the depressingly low level of penetration in our area, because you perpetuate the false belief that development is a sphere for a young white man. You cut off the development of women. You are squeezing out disabled people. You exclude old developers, specific ethnic groups and many more. And you don't even understand it. When I heard from a recruiter who, at a telephone interview, said that young white men are the best developers, I wanted to vomit.
Dear recruiters, you are not helping anyone. You are a key element in this industry, but regardless of whether you like it or not, the rest of the industry makes fun of you.
I am writing this message in the hope that some of you will read it and, perhaps (only possible), will react to what has been written and will change their attitude and methods of work. Your field of activity is ripe to be destroyed, and then rebuilt. This area has great potential, that is, you still get your Porsche under the Christmas tree at Christmas, but seriously, you are causing chaos.
And I fear that it may be too late for a change.
The original of this text was written by Swiss software developer Adrian akosma Kosmachevsky. His other text “What it is like to be a developer when you are forty” has already been translated for Habr. First of all, everything written below is addressed to recruiters "for hire" - recruitment agencies that provide search services for employees to other companies. But in general, it is applicable for ordinary HR departments in our region.
Enjoy reading.
My work day always starts with browsing websites to keep abreast of the latest troubles and disasters that our world suffers from, but today I discovered one of these troubles in my email inbox. It was another letter from the recruiter.
')
Sometimes it seems to me that the pursuit of recruiters of all stripes is an integral part of being a software developer. I receive three or four letters a week to my e-mail address, constantly answer phone calls and even receive mail (you know, these good old packages, envelopes with such stamps on them), with job offers throughout Europe.
My skills are in demand and I think I should be happy about this. But there is a problem, and it consists in the fact that 99% of all attempts at contact with me by recruiters were somehow failed. For 19 years of work as a software developer, I haven’t got a good idea of all these “possibilities”, appeals of “industry” and all methods connected with it.
So, ladies and gentlemen (recruiters), honoring the standard style of your messages, please check out my Top Five List of incorrect recruiter communication models with software developers.
1. Manners
Any message consists of a form and content. Let's start with the basics. If you, dear recruiter, start contacting with the phrase “I have a serious offer for you, please call back to find out more,” you have already lost an employee. You know why? Because each of you does the same. You think you're so special that I'm going to call in person to find out what else for the crappy position you're going to offer me there? Imagine not going. It really annoys me that you, the recruiter, consider yourself so special. Why not describe the position right away? Why are you, recruiters, trying to shift your job to me? If you all think that I deserve only to send me an e-mail, then please kindly say straight away what you want from me.
You should not use the strategy of "lure and change" to contact me. It is necessary to clearly and clearly describe your proposal, for example: “Hi, I have a vacancy SAP consultant in London. Salary will be 50-70 thousand pounds per year. A valid work permit is required (in the EU, - approx. Lane), experience with SAP for at least 5 years, there is no possibility to work remotely. If you are interested in this job, then here are the full requirements, here is my email address and telephone number. Thank you. ”As you can see, your e-mail should contain information about salary, location, requirements and information about possible employee expectations. It would be nice to say which company you are from, but if you cannot provide such information at this stage, this is normal, it happens and you will tell about it later. Do not use the word “senior” in the job description yet: it simply does not mean anything. Just tell me how many years of experience with technology is required. Everything. The end.
A very important sign of good tone is the absence of (cold) calls. Seriously. I hate phone calls. And you know why? Because it is a synchronous method of communication, which blocks any of my actions and makes me completely focus on the conversation with you. And I know that in 99% of cases I won’t be interested in what you tell me. E-mail or even a paper letter is quite acceptable, but do not call. Do not send messages of any other kind through other channels of communication (yes, imagine, I received messages in WhatsApp from some of your fellow recruiters. Seriously? What do you think there?).
Finally, please refrain from useless praise and adulation: “I saw your profile on GitHub and your contribution to this area and I think that you are ideally suited to us ... (the author emphasizes the insanity of the original expression„ your contribution to the field “, Which he actually somehow heard from one of the recruiters in his address, - lane comment. )”. You know, it doesn't work. It sounds fake - but in fact this is a fake and this is another problem. Such behavior further undermines your position in my eyes.
2. Check out my LinkedIn profile before asking questions.
Previously, from 1997 to 2006, I worked as a developer for the Microsoft platform (ASP, IIS, .NET, C #, VB and VB.NET). In 2006, I stopped because iOS and other things related to mobile phones (Objective-C, mobile web, Swift, and even Android) entered my professional life.
So when I read about the position of the .NET architect, whose offer came to my email, I really lost my patience. Because you did not even bother to get acquainted with the information on my LinkedIn profile, which is completely open and accessible to anyone. And all this so that those who wish can find out whether I am suitable for the role of the one they are looking for or not. What did I see in the case of this job? "Yes, I shit on you." That's what I saw in this letter to the recruiter.
3. Technology
I understand that the technology industry is an excellent opportunity for recruiter self-realization, but it is also a very complex and constantly changing environment. I am sure you can easily achieve your goals by getting annual bonuses for a couple of developers hired by you here and there. Lucky for you! I hope that Santa will bring you this year under the Porsche tree, a fast and furious Porsche, and you will behave accordingly to the received “gift”.
But you know what? You should pay more attention to the area that contains you. It’s not even understanding the words you write (Xcode? What is it?), Much more important is the understanding of the age and interconnection of technologies among themselves.
Consider the situation with the age of technology. If your email contains the phrase “five years of experience with Swift”, you have already failed. Because Swift was released only about two years ago (at the time of writing this publication in 2016, of course). And this is a mistake I see again and again. In 2002, I saw a job posting for C # developers with five years of experience. Catch the relationship? You could (damn it, I'm sure that it was), lose potential employees just because of this.
Pay attention to the fact that technologies are dying: finding developers on WebObjects, COM +, J ++ or Delphi will not only be difficult, it is quite possible that for some markets this is an impossible task.
The saddest thing is that your messages are a jumble of buzzwords. Make sure that the real software developer subtracts your letter in order to avoid using strange or just meaningless combinations. For example, if you are looking for a .NET backend developer, it may make sense to include requirements for working with databases (some Oracle or NoSQL) in the job description, but this makes no sense at all if there is a requirement for possession of CoreBluetooth, GCC or Gradle.
In addition, the use of the word "Agile" will not help you. It doesn't help anyone at all.
I understand that you are looking for a mythical 360-degree developer with a “T” -shaped profile, capable of knowing a lot of little things, while specializing in some other big thing, but your combination of technologies is often completely meaningless. And sometimes they are ridiculous. This is what leads us, developers, to avoid your vacancies.
And what is better to do in this case? In my opinion, it is not necessary to add "related" technologies to your text vacancies. Good developers can learn something new faster than you eat your breakfast, so you need to focus on the basic technology that your client needs. Leave the rest for a telephone interview or a personal interview.
4. “Checkbox” approach
All of the above brings me to the heart of the problem being described: we, the developers, had the impression that you were talking to us as if you were just marking items on your to-do list. And you know what? We hate it. With all my soul. We are not machines that are devoid of everything except skills that are in demand: we have our passions, personal preferences, and we chose this craft because we love it. We learn fast. We are moving fast. And we could use your help and services if you saw that you are actually trying to listen to us.
We know what pushes you to offer positions that do not fully match our skills: you just want to get your next quarterly bonus. We know that. Let's not pretend that we are not able to understand how your (recruiting) industry works. Of course, you make money on us.
The only thing I ask of you is not to be hypocrites. Be frank for your purposes. And we can trust you, and you can build good relations with us, which in the end will bring many, many bonuses and Porsche cars for many years of this cooperation.
5. Lack of long-term prospects
And finally, the biggest problem I see in your approach to recruiting developers is that you don’t help anyone in the long term. You do not help the business, because you still don’t find the right people. Yes, just not helping. You mark your flags and proceed to the next victim. Want evidence? The fact that large companies end up creating internal recruitment teams shows how lame and unviable your method is.
You do not help developers, because we ultimately find ourselves out of place: open-up spaces, disconnected and inoperable teams, head-hypocrite, pronouncing the word “Agile” every three seconds, lack of career prospects, contempt and refusal from the practice of control quality, as you call it (quality management techniques, orig. - approx. Lane).
Worse, you are not helping the industry as a whole: you are not helping to increase the depressingly low level of penetration in our area, because you perpetuate the false belief that development is a sphere for a young white man. You cut off the development of women. You are squeezing out disabled people. You exclude old developers, specific ethnic groups and many more. And you don't even understand it. When I heard from a recruiter who, at a telephone interview, said that young white men are the best developers, I wanted to vomit.
Conclusion
Dear recruiters, you are not helping anyone. You are a key element in this industry, but regardless of whether you like it or not, the rest of the industry makes fun of you.
I am writing this message in the hope that some of you will read it and, perhaps (only possible), will react to what has been written and will change their attitude and methods of work. Your field of activity is ripe to be destroyed, and then rebuilt. This area has great potential, that is, you still get your Porsche under the Christmas tree at Christmas, but seriously, you are causing chaos.
And I fear that it may be too late for a change.
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/322292/
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