Don’t Be a Stalker

Seriously.  There’s a line between getting noticed, and getting blocked.  If you’re right for the job, and you do the right things to get your resume/ blog/ whatever in front of the right person, they’ll call you.  If you know they’ve seen your information, and you don’t get the call – well, all the repetitive e-mailing/ insisting on “networking over coffee”/ yada-yada isn’t going to change the fact that you’re not right for the job.

What it will do is burn you into the memory of the people you’ve harassed – in a bad way.  If/ when a job comes up that you’d actually be a fit for, you won’t get called.  You might get slapped with a restraining order, but you won’t get called….

Right now, there are a lot of people – understandably desperate and scared, and I feel for them – who are going overboard.  They’re spamming every opening they can find, applying & reapplying for the same jobs, calling and insisting they’re a direct fit, etc.   This is a true story from a friend of mine, that I’ve modified: “I’m perfect for this job!” (despite the fact that it’s in Miami, and the dude lives in Duluth, and requires an in-depth knowledge of selling social networking tools) “But, I use Twitter, that qualifies me!”.  Then, he called my friend the next week.  And the next.  And… you get the picture.

Here’s a secret: recruiters talk.  A lot.  Mostly to each other.  Don’t get known as a stalker.  That said: if you’re good, but not a fit, we talk. A lot. To each other.  If we know of someone good we can’t hire, and hear that one of our buddies is looking for someone like that, we’ll pass that person’s name along.

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