
Ask HN: Do you reply to recruiter emails? - drdrey
Is it rude to just ignore them? Do you use canned responses? I used to reply to each of them individually but it doesn&#x27;t scale. Now I tend to ignore them but it only seems to make the problem worse as some recruiters send multiple follow up pings.
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tboyd47
My rules of thumb:

This is business - it's never rude to just ignore something that you're not
interested in, unless it's from someone you know personally.

I always ignore the ones that seem like form letters. They are very
generically worded notices for a short-term contract in a faraway city (eg.
"Immediate opening for Ruby with ITStaffingPros at Portland, OH"). These
people don't usually ping twice, and if they do, they all look the same to me
anyway. They actually look so similar that I have filters in my email for
keywords that I've learned to associate with low-quality job notices to go
straight to spam.

I tend to answer or return cold calls only when I'm actively looking.
Otherwise I just ignore them, or at most I shoot them an email saying I'm not
currently in the market.

When I get a message from a recruiter who seems like they've actually done
some research on me as an individual (and not just someone spamming to a
database of leads), I'll usually respond to them even if I'm not actively
looking. I've noticed these recruiters tend to be the ones with the best
positions so I like to have them in my network.

I never speak in an impolite or rude way to a recruiter.

~~~
jermaustin1
I do a lot of consulting, so I'm always looking for short contracts,
especially if they are mostly remote.

I respond to almost every recruiter (even the generic emails) with something
like:

"Hey _____, I would like to discuss this project further. A little about
myself: I own a small consulting firm with 2 employees and depending on the
work load 1-10 contractors. When you hire me, you are actually hiring my firm.
We bill at $100 per hour plus T&E. If you would like to discuss this
possibility further, you can schedule an appointment with my assistant (her
email). Shoot over a few times, and she will get back with you if it works."

It gets rid of most of the riffraff and I don't have to put much thought into
proposals. I've only gotten 3 gigs this way, but I have grown my network of
contacts a bit.

BTW - My "assistant" is my sister-in-law who edits books and stories for a
side business of mine, and the only other W-2 employee beside myself (2
employees).

~~~
trcollinson
That’s honestly pretty fantastic. How do you generally find your consulting
work? Do you just use your existing network of contacts?

~~~
jermaustin1
Yeah, or I reach out to product developers I like to see if they need any
support, and sometimes product developers reach out to me thanks to my HN and
Quora comments.

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chrisbennet
I respond with something along the line of "I'm not looking right now but
thanks for thinking of me." if it's a recruiter I know or if they sending me a
targeted email. I ignore the spammers.

I _never_ add recruiters to my Linked network for the simple reason is that it
would give me a lot of 2nd level connections with people I have nothing in
common except that we both were contacted by the same recruiter once.

~~~
dabockster
I treat my LinkedIn connections like my Facebook friends list in the sense
that I delete people that reduce the quality of the service for me. In
LinkedIn's case, I will initially connect to avoid the InMail charges to talk
to them. However, if nothing happens because of the communication, I will
remove them.

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thatoneguy
Yes and even though I'm happy with my current position, I typically inquire if
the position comes with a semi-unreasonable but still believable salary to
help move the needle on wages for my fellow engineers.

~~~
horatiocain
holy shit this is amazing, thanks!

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mattbgates
They are sending hundreds of thousands of templates that all basically the
same thing.. I doubt they care if you respond or not. They are trying to
recruit you for their commission.

On LinkedIn, where recruiters are a dime a dozen, I am always willing to
network with anyone, BUT ... we're approaching the year 2018. If you don't
have a photo, I am suspicious of you on LinkedIn... no excuse to be a on
professional service and not at least have a photo of yourself.

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dabockster
I glance at them, but only respond if they've actually taken the time to reach
out in a personalized fashion. If the email reads like a mail merge, it's
going into the spam folder.

I've also learned the hard way to do my own homework. I will never reply to a
cold email until I have had a chance to look up details about the company, the
recruiter themselves, etc.

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corobo
Ignore completely if they get the skill match wrong or don't address me by
name, auto-delete filter set up if they chase up still with the wrong
skills/name.

Canned response if they don't list: Permanent role, Required skills, Location,
Salary, Perks/Benefits, Paid time off

Personal response if they do list those, the job looks interesting, and pays
well

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skate22
No, nor do I speak to people who cold call.

~~~
twobyfour
This.

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JSeymourATL
> only seems to make the problem worse as some recruiters send multiple follow
> up pings.

It’s an amusing problem, so many bozo recruiters – – only one of you. If you
ever aspire to a leadership role; pay attention to the ‘good ones’. You may
want to enlist their services to build your team.

~~~
AnimalMuppet
Even if you don't aspire to leadership, pay attention to the good ones. You
may want a new job someday. (I keep them in a file for exactly this reason.
Haven't used it in a long time. But if the day comes when I need it, I'll be
very glad to know some non-bozos.)

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DrNuke
Business is business and if the recruiter knows both his sh*t and mine (from
my profile) then game on.

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cableshaft
I mostly read, but ignore them. I have a hard enough time getting back to
friends and family. I do feel a little guilty about it and feel I should be
more proactive about it sometimes.

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rsbartram
Usually not. Most are generic and or automated. If I am contacted in a way
that makes it feel it is a unique and personal contact then yes. Otherwise no.

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matchmike1313
I don't think it is rude to ignore them. They are probably mass messaging
people anyway. If I do want to respond I use a short non-canned response.

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Ros2
I always respond to linkedin inmail because you're going to get deranked in
employer searches if you don't. Paying to contact someone is a decent
gatekeeper and means they were at least somewhat serious. I don't currently
care about inmail but I see the usefulness of the service and don't want to be
ranked out of it for being unresponsive.

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ericdlaspe
I generically but politely decline the ones I don't care for and respond to
the interesting ones. If I had ignored them all, I wouldn't have my current
job.

I also try to be open-minded about opportunities by occasionally interviewing
for positions I don't think I want. This helps me practice my interview skills
and keeps me open to surprises of fortune.

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juicy-fruit
If an Amazon recruiter emails you, just ignore them. Don't waste your time.

I've had three Amazon recruiters reach out to me (I have no idea how they
found my email since I never applied to Amazon), and every time I reply that I
AM interested, they never reply.

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fiftyacorn
yes, why not? i keep it polite. they are just doing their job

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throw_away2
I ignore them. In the past, whenever I've politely responded no, it seemed to
be a signal for them to keep trying to talk to me, or to try again in three
months, when the whole point was to get them to stop talking to me.

Worst, though, is when they somehow get ahold of your phone number (or, in a
recent case, call, then text about how they've just called). This is just
straight up creepy as I don't lightly give my phone number out. In these cases
I do take the time to ask them to please stop.

