

Ask HN: How to respond to recruiters who barely speak English? - feybay

I&#x27;m currently in the process of looking for a junior development job. As such, I have my resume up on a bunch of different sites (Monster, indeed, etc.)<p>I&#x27;ve lately been getting many calls from recruiters I think are in California (that&#x27;s what caller ID said) who can barely speak English.<p>I&#x27;m having a hard time understanding what they are saying or asking me, and talking to them seems like a waste of time. Would it be poor form to tell them I don&#x27;t want to chat, or what?
======
JSeymourATL
> How to respond to recruiters who barely speak English?

Ignore them; overseas recruiters are indicative of low-rent clients and bottom
feeders. Having your CV associated with them damages your brand.

A few suggestions-- Remove your resume from the job boards immediately.
Instead, focus your search on companies and senior executives who you can
help. Linkedin is good for this. (BTW, I'm assuming you've punched up your
profile.) Do look for seasoned, established stateside recruiters who focus on
your industry or market. Reach out to them selectively. One way to get on a
serious recruiters side-- show interest in what they are working on, ask how
you may be able to help them. There is power in a networking relationship.

~~~
feybay
Alright, thanks for the advice. I had similar thoughts but wasn't totally
sure.

------
informatimago
Ask them their native language, and start talking in it, of course.

------
gesman
One of the best job offer I got was from recruiter that was exactly like that.
He was some sort of front line caller that was hired by pretty decent
enterprise.

In fact some of my worst interactions (lots of time wasted) were from
perfectly english speaking, good looking recruiters.

Go figure, but as a rule of thumb there are not hard and fast rules here :)

------
chrisbennet
"I'm sorry, I can't understand you. Just send me an email thanks. Gotta go.
Click"

------
sarciszewski
The correct answer is to not respond.

Seriously, they're not going to be able to sell you to a prospective client if
their English is clearly that terrible. It does more harm than good to have
your name associated with them.

------
notahacker
Don't?

