Proud Spammers…

I’m doing something meta here. Just got spammed by a recruiting agency that’s clearly too fond of Constant Contact, and clearly doesn’t care to do research. So, writing them back, but via social. Because it was a social media job. So: meta. Right? Is that how it works? I have no idea. Anyways: bit of a rant, with some blue language. Just ‘cuz.

Since they decided it was okay to spam me by name, I feel like it’s okay to mention them by name. Since, you know: fairness.

Dear Entech Network Solutions:

Nope. I am not a social media strategist. Nor am I receptive to what is clearly a mass-mailing. Call me arrogant, call me an individual, or – crazy as this sounds – call me freaking human. Nobody appreciates random recruiter spam (no one – no one, at all). We all hate it. And, it doesn’t work – in fact, the more you do it, the more people come to hate recruiters, and the more likely it is they will refuse to engage with them.

In other words: you are spamming yourself, and so many recruiters who actually give a fuck, out of business.

Here’s the damned spam:

Hi Martin, I wanted to check in with you and see if you are open to new job opportunities! We currently have a client in New York City with an opening for a Social Media Strategist. We also have other similar opportunities for the same client in Austin, TX and San Francisco, CA. The ideal candidate would have a strong paid social media background. They should also be heavily client facing and be a key player in the clients’ social strategy to optimize performance marketing across all social channels. To find out more about this positions click below: Paid Social Media Strategist- New York, NY If this is not the right fit or time for you, we are offering a $500 referral payout bonus if the candidate you connect us with gets hired by our client. Please pass this message along as I would love the opportunity to partner with you. I hope to catch up with you soon!

Sincerely,

Blah. Bleck. Had to get that off my chest. If you’re reading this, and you’re not in recruiting, just know that not all of us are like this. Many of us love helping match people and jobs, it’s why we do it. We give a crap, in other words. But… clearly, not all of us do.

Also, Entech? The mid-90s called. They want their web site back.

*Update: I did email the recruiter back directly, and asked her to think about focusing on quality, as opposed to playing the numbers game (I may have said “this spray and pray approach doesn’t work”). Her response? “Spray and pray serves us well”. So… I guess they’re… proud of it..? FML

How We Harm Our Daughters’ Futures

Not to soapbox (I have Facebook status updates for that), but this is something that struck a chord with me. For the past few years, I’ve been involved formally as well as informally, in efforts to encourage more women to get involved with technology.

It’s not because I’m heroic – it’s because I’m selfish and lazy. The more women there are who get involved in technology, the easier my work as in talent acquisition becomes. Not simply because there are more tech candidates (since, I’m not always a tech-focused talent acquisition person), but at a more meta level: the more people there are working in tech, the more rapidly we advance. New tools for talent acquisition, Better medications and technology to help us live longer.

We get to build NASA’s warp ship sooner.

 

 

Ahem – sorry… I get a little excited when I think about how WE’RE TALKING ABOUT BUILDING A WARP SHIP THAT CAN GET TO ALPHA CENTAURI IN JUST A FEW WEEKS.

S0. Right. Important real-world stuff time.

Do the math: over 50% of the populace in the US is female. The majority of college students are women. And yet: only 18% of college engineering majors are female. That not only makes zero sense, it’s also a major blow to us COLONIZING PLANETS IN ALPHA CENTAURI.

Google just released their internal study about diversity within the organization – and, it’s depressing. Admirably, they admit as much, and are committing to correcting the issue. (The race issue is another, and I suspect driven by similar social behaviors, issue that should trouble you greatly – we are wasting talent in so many directions…)

Here’s the thing: it’s blow-by-blow, the way we limit our development as a species. By constantly trying to make our girls more “girly”, we are killing them. Limiting their chances at success, while also limiting our society. There’s a terrific video out by Verizon that illustrates this much better than I can – I’m embedding it below. You should watch it. And then: watch yourself. I think we’re all guilty of this at some level, and it’s time we did better. For everyone’s sake… (also, so we can go to Alpha Centauri)

I Was Thinking About Subban and Sterling…

It’s a funny thing, race in America. On the one hand, we urge all children to pull themselves up by their own bootstraps. On the other, we completely ignore the fact that a lot of those kids don’t even have boots, let alone straps (as an aside: what the hell is a bootstrap, and how do I get one?)

The last few weeks have been interesting, in terms of race and sports in my country. On the one hand, we have the multi-billionaire owner of a major-league basketball team telling his mixed race mistress* that he doesn’t want her seen in public with black people (after that, he gets really racist); on the other, you have Boston Bruins fans hurling racial slurs at a black hockey player who’s team had just beaten them during Game 1 of a finals series.

It’s all shameful. We’ll ignore the Europeans tossing bananas at black soccer players because…. well, because the European version of me can blog on that particular little bit of stupidity.

So, here’s what I think (in case you’re still reading and haven’t nodded off). To the people that are wondering why basketball seems to have a lot of blacks, while hockey is almost all white: it comes down to equipment. At the early ages. What’s lacking is leveling. As a modern society, that has aspirations at moral leadership globally, we need all children to have the same level of access to opportunity. Hockey equipment is incredibly expensive; basketball equipment is not. When you start out in poverty, as a disproportionate number of black children do, you never even get the chance to get on the ice. 

Now, extend that to technology. Wonder why there are so many white kids who become computer whizzes and make careers as developers? Access. They had access at an early age to tech. Not just in school, but around the house. Around their lives. It’s normal and comfortable to them. Kids raised in poverty generally don’t get access like that outside of the classroom, if they’re even lucky enough to have that. Consider this: in a fascinating analysis of AP CS placement exams, the number of black students taking the exams, state after state, is 30% of what it _should_ be based on percents of the population (I’m pleased that in Massachusetts it’s 50% of what is should be – but, not really pleased… more like, less ashamed than if I was from Mississippi).

The color divide of hockey and basketball is actually a grim reflection back on the fact that we haven’t summoned the courage up to take a generation of black kids up to the _average_ level of prosperity/ opportunity of a concurrent generation of white kids. If we did that – if we really invested in them, a moonshot mission to equalize access to tech, sport, literature, etc – I think we’d break a number of cycles, not just sports. And, as a society, we’d finally become whole, with all the incredible benefits a truly united “United” States could achieve.

Thus endeth the ran.

 

*btw, if you’re not following: he’s 80, she’s 30 – he looks like the ugly brother of Gollum, she could probably get a gig at the Playboy Mansion: draw your own conclusions…

pps: If you’re wondering what a Sterling/ Gollum love-child would look like, here you go….

I’m Calling You Out…

Dear Talentburst.

Really? Actually, I should thank you. Sometimes, I get to wondering why people in my profession get such a bad rap. Then, I get something like this…

And it all becomes clear:

Dear Martin

I came across your resume on an online job board (really? which one?) and wanted to reach out to you to see if you might be interested in a contract opportunity (So, I’ll quite my permanent job for this? Oh, joy) in Cambridge, MA

My client is looking for a Recruiting Sourcer (btw, _not_ bolding this stuff makes it seem a bit less like a form letter. I mean, only a bit, but c’mon, at least look like you’re trying) to join their team on a contractual basis. My firm TalentBurst, Inc. is headquartered in Massachusetts and provides nationwide staffing support to our client.

Please carefully read the Job Description below, and if you would like to pursue this opportunity please email me an updated MS Word version of your resume and call me at (xxx) xxx-xxxx at your earliest convenience.  I appreciate your time and look forward to hearing from you. (Points for polite – granted, I don’t think you wrote this, but… points to somebody)

Recruiting Sourcer (I should point out, I am not, and never have been, a Sourcer – that’s a whoooole bunch of black-magic, hat out of a rabbit kinda stuff – I’m a Director of Talent Acquisition. I pull budgets out of finance, attend lots of meetings, hire people smarter than me, and function as their spear-catcher)

Cambridge, MA
4 + Months contract

The Recruiting Sourcer, as part of a team, will be responsible for building an ongoing candidate pipeline through research and internet searches. There is a high focus on creative sourcing, identifying active and passive candidates, generating marketplace knowledge, and pipeline development.

Essential Duties and Responsibilities include the following:

45% Source candidates:
Independently develop and maintain candidate flow supporting a variety of job families. Source candidates by utilizing a variety of search methods (i.e. internal database, job boards, networking, internet searches, organizations, etc.)
40% Communicate with Candidates:
Screen and assess candidates’ fit to role
Educate and excite candidates about Pega as an organization and the role
Present screened qualified candidates to assigned recruiter for recruiter screen or to directly to hiring manager for review as agreed with assigned recruiter
Provide full lifecycle support on an interim basis in the absence of the assigned recruiter due to vacation or leave
Follow defined recruiting practices
Utilize and maintain Recruitment Management System with high level of accuracy
5% Contribute to continuous improvement:
Contribute process improvement suggestions and RMS user stories to help drive maturation of RMS.
Utilize available means, including free webinars and training sessions provided via job board vendors, to stay abreast of best practices and share improvement recommendations with colleagues
5% Mentor and Coach:
Act as a mentor and / or ongoing to coach to new or more junior members of the team
5%:Perform special projects and other duties as assigned

Required Qualifications:
Bachelor’s degree
2+ years of experience in a high-volume Recruiting or Recruiting Sourcer role
Ability to learn and allocate time efficiently; handle multiple deliverables while concurrently managing competing priorities
Strong communication, interpersonal, time management, and organizational skills
Strong analytical, problem solving, and research skills
Knowledge of Microsoft Office Products including Word and ExcelAbility to work with enthusiasm in a challenging, fast-paced environment
Possesses the appropriate level of technical/functional expertise and knowledge

Education:
Must Have Bachelors degree

***Please note my deadline for Submittal of qualified resumes is by CLOSE OF BUSINESS TOMORROW ******

(Oh, no! I may miss the deadline!!!!)

So, here’s the thing: spamming candidates is never a good thing. Because for each one that responds, there are 99 who think “Damn recruiter spam – I hate recruiters”. Which is a lousy way to attempt to do business. Next time, make sure you’re trying to recruit someone who may wall _want_ the job you’re pushing.

Also, and as a s(n)ide note: Talentburst didn’t just lose a candidate (and some self-respect). They lost a client. I mean, who _pays_ to get embarrassedlike this?

CyberCoders… Deuce

Wow. Just to follow-up on my post from this morning, they’ve followed up.

Hi Martin,

I contacted you yesterday about your Developer position. Is it still open? I know I’m being persistent, but I have great candidates! Please let me know.

Thanks!
xxx, CSP
xxx.xxxx@cybercoders.com
(xxx) xxx-xxxx

I guess…. points for persistence? I just wish I knew that Developer position. Also, what version of mail merge program their ATS uses when they’re bombing random recruiters….

Good Job!

CyberCoders… No

So, here’s a random message I just got from a recruiter with CyberCoders:

Hi Martin,

Have you filled the .NET Developer position? I have great candidates that I would like to send to you ASAP. It is FREE for you to review and even interview my candidates!
And, if I fill a position (any position) with your company in the next 90 days, I will GIVE YOU A FREE IPAD 3.0!

Give me a shot – you’ll be glad you did!

Cheers,
xxx, CSP
name.name@cybercoders.com
(xxx) xxx-xxxx

Oh, boy!  A _free_ ipad. 3.0! Oh, wow! I’m just… so completely nonplussed.

Couple things our friend could have done here. First, check to see if I’m a corporate or agency recruiter. Granted, I’m a weird hybrid of the two, but still. There’s probably a better way than saying ‘your company’. Also, what “.NET Developer” position is she referring to? I don’t have one advertised. I’d love to talk with a few, of course, as I can generally help them find groovy new jobs, but I don’t have an open role posted. (Note to self: post some ads). What I’m hearing is the sound of a desperate agency recruiter, spamming people on LinkedIn. Which, I hope, isn’t effective.

Also, I’m still trying to figure out why CyberCoders thinks it’s a selling point that “It is FREE for you to review and even interview my candidates!” For those of you who aren’t in the business, it’s always free to interview an agency’s candidates, unless it’s a (somewhat rare, and almost always at the exec level) retained search. And, I’ve never heard of a retained search for a .NET Developer.

Final note to our pal: pry the exclamation mark off of your keyboard. Put it in the trash.

Resume Bait & Switch: Or, Somedays, I’m Ashamed of My Job

Pfft. There are days when I just want to leave the planet…

See, a big part of my job – maybe the major part – is finding people who have certain key skills for my clients. True, there’s landing new business, networking, negotiating salaries, yada-yada-yada, but none of that matters if I can’t produce great people for the jobs I’m trying to fill. So, every day, I spend time doing what’s called sourcing. All sorts. And, yes, sometimes I’ll look at a few resume databases – not many, since most of them tend to be full of spammers, repeat offenders, and the like, but some. Today, I was looking at Dice, which I used to like but I’m starting to seriously question at a quality level.

The major reason is the cause of today’s rant, and why the human race is making me consider stowing away on the next probe to Mars (I was to going to go with Uranus for that one, but thought I’d class things up a bit).

Today, I’m looking for people who know how to code and/ or architect applications in SharePoint. That’s a bit tough, since it’s not the most popular skill-set, and it’s also a skill-set that lots of companies around Boston are hiring for right now. Lots and lots of fishermen, teeny-tiny pool. So, I’m using ever bit of equipment I have at hand, including checking Dice. I typed in my search terms, and – et voila – up popped a great candidate: Susan Lyons. Huh-za! .NET, C#, SharePoint, awesome-fricken-sauce. Heck, she lives right downtown, in the city, which is where I need her to be.

All good. So, on behalf of a client who’s retained me to help them with Microsoft-tech related searches (Magenic – I’ve mentioned them before), I shot her a note to see if she wanted to catch up.

Then, I got suspicious. That address… SharePoint pays well, but Beacon Hill? Tres tony Boston address? Right across from the State House?  Google’s a pretty good thing – I dropped said address into said search bar, and there it was: a staffing agency.

In other words: a dirty trick. Here’s something, my friends, that you may have long suspected: recruiters? Sometimes, they lie. They do something called “rusing”: pretending to be something they ain’t. Whether it’s calling into a company receptionist, claiming to be a long-lost college buddy of “your best sales-guy”, to this one. In this case, it’s an agency (to be fair, maybe it’s a rogue recruiter at the agency) posts up a fake resume as a lure. They pick a skill-set that’s in high demand (SharePoint – check!), create a fake e-mail account for the candidate, and then post the resume up on Dice, etc all (they can’t do this on places like Stack Overflow, because those communities are more worried about their rep & quality than they are about bragging about having “millions of resumes!”). Once it’s up, unsuspecting/ perhaps a bit desperate companies start shooting them messages to set up “interviews”. The agency recruiters who put the lure out waits a day or so, then calls in “innocently” saying “I heard you were looking for SharePoint, and wow, do I have a great candidate for you!” They then rattle off the skills they listed on the fake resume, and the corporate recruiter gets excited, and agrees to sign a contract. The agency recruiter gets the contract, waits a day, then calls the company again, saying “I’m sooooo  sorry, but he/ she was soooo popular” (and, yes, generally it’s a mega-perky 23 year old with no clue that “C#” isn’t pronounced “see-pound”). “They took a job in, like 3 hours! It’s craaaazy out there! But, my colleague say she’s got someone great that they think they can get for you, so we’ll start sending over more resumes!” The best bit: they start hitting Dice, Monster, etc, desperately searching for resumes they can send over. Most of which are also fakes. It’s like a bunch of half-trained, overly excited, super-chippy sharks trying to eat each other….

Annnnd, rants over. I feel better. Sort of.

Dear Spamming Recruiter – Really? Does This Ever Work?

We (recruiters) get a bad rap at times. I’d love to say it’s not deserved, and that we’re all good people, who love their craft and see the intrinsic value in matching the right people to the right jobs/ companies.

Alas. I’d also like to say that on weekends, I fight crime as part of a team of super-humans. I’d also like to be able to be able to juggle. The former, considering my and-eye coordination, seems more likely.

I’m reminded a bit too often about why our industry gets black eyes – there are a few reasons, but one of the ones that really gets to me are the recruiters who spam people with jobs they aren’t fit for. You can’t help but be sympathetic when you reach out to one of these fine, harrassed-by-our-industry folks, and they growl “I hate recruiters” to you before ending the conversation. They’ve been beaten down by people who don’t really care about the craft behind recruitment, to the point that it’s almost impossible to convince them that you’re actually a decent person who can help them.

There are lots of bad practices – the one that’s stuck in my craw at this particular moment are the “recruiters” (I think we need a different name for them – grifters?) who spam jobs out to people that they aren’t qualified for, wouldn’t pursue, etc. I just got one of them, from a large, international agency based out of Boston. It’s possible that they’re a fine agency, with principles and morals and best practices they strive to hold up, and this is a bad apple… but… I dunno. If/ when I start to build up my agency with a team, it’s going to be a firable offense if they spam.

Here’s what I got:

Dear Martin

I came across your resume on an online job board and wanted to reach out to you to see if you might be interested in a contract opportunity in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

My client is looking for a Leadership Development Contractor to join their team on a contractual basis. My firm TalentBurst, Inc. is headquartered in Massachusetts and provides nationwide staffing support to our client.

Please carefully read the Job Description below, and if you would like to pursue this opportunity please email me an updated MS Word version of your resume and call me at your earliest convenience.  I appreciate your time and look forward to hearing from you.

Job Title: Leadership Development Contractor   Duration: 3+ Months with Possible Extension   Location: Cambridge, Massachusetts

  Job Description:

Work on various culture projects independently:   Attend meetings / collect and synthesize outcomes   Design board-level presentations   Work on various Leadership Development projects independently:   Organize names and locations of people registering for programs   Support the development and organization of content and materials   Leverage internal communication channels to market programs   Work on various Talent Planning projects independently:   Organize data from across company to be used in board presentations   Drive the adoption of process through meetings and presentations

  Strong, confident presence and ability to clearly articulate findings to management level   Extremely strong analytical skills, expert Excel skills and ability to generate analysis independently   Ability to consult with Management and Senior level HR professionals, with a high degree of credibility   High attention to detail   Able to present information clearly and accurately   Able to handle multiple projects and stay very organized

  Education:   HR professional with an MBA (preferred) and a minimum of 2 years of Development experience

 Best Regards

Just a couple of things. First, who says “online job board” in the 21st century? (For that matter, who uses them?) Second, I’m pretty sure my resume isn’t on any “online job board”. I own a business. Third, I’m not qualified for the work – I could probably muddle through, but I’ve never done “leadership development”. I work with HR at times, and enjoy it, but it’s in parallel. They’d be doing your client a disservice by representing me to them – and, for that matter, if they actually had seen and taken the time to understand my resume, that would be obvious. They’d also be doing me a disservice by placing me in a role like that.

Unless, of course, they just don’t care. It’s entirely possible that to them, it’s about getting seats in chairs that they can make money off of, and nothing else. Throwing spaghetti at the wall to see what sticks. This is terrible, IMHO. People aren’t spaghetti. It damages lives, and damages companies. It also makes my real job – the one I’m actually qualified – that much more difficult.

Could you stop – maybe go do something you’re proud of, instead? Like, juggling? I’d be jealous of you then.

How to Work With a Recruiter (and, How _Not_ To)

I started working as a recruiter back in ’97 – which means, I’ve got a few stories.

Oh, do I have stories. Fish jacket. Currie. The magical-disappearing candidate (that’s a recurring act). The ever-classic “well, I just got my mba, so I think that means I’m worth 20% more than I was making (short answer to that idea: no, it doesn’t)

Anyways. Recently, I had two candidate encounters that I thought really painted a picture of how people can make an impression on a recruiter. Good, and bad impressions.

I’m going to paste in two e-mail messages I received on the same day. One was from a great mobile developer, who’s built – and, will be building – some amazing mobile technology. The other is from a guy who can’t hold a job at the same place for more than 9 months at a time, and who seems to float in between gigs. Before I jump in, a quick point: it’s good to work with a good recruiter. We exist. What makes us stand out is that we take as much pride in our work, as you do in yours, and that we’re interested in working with candidates and companies for the long haul. That means we work hard not to make bad fits  happen (ie, overpromise or hide things from either party), and are willing to walk away from people or companies that seem to be questionable.

So. Example #1. He was a great candidate from the start, nice, smart, and easy to work with. After the placement happened, he sent me this out of the blue.

Hi, Martin,

I am now on my second day here at Magenic in the Android position you place me in.  And while I’m just starting to get into projects, I’m loving what I’m seeing.

I just wanted to drop a note to thank you for getting back to me so quickly a month ago. I couldn’t believe that I had an offer in my hand only 9 days after sending my initial email to you.  I can’t tell you how much I appreciate the promptness in which all of you acted.  It was a very impressive process.

As I’m getting my feet wet, I’m learning of some pretty high expectations of me, but I’m looking forward to the challenge of
delivering.  It’s definitely a great change of pace from the stagnant professional development I had in my previous position.

Thanks again.

I love this guy – a class act. A big part of the reason the process went so quickly was because he was a willing, and eager, partner in it. Prompt with his responses, interested in the work, and just, well, good. I’m sure that reflects beyond his work character – his personal character, and the way he approaches life, is reflected in how he works and job searches. He’s always going to get a return call from me because of this.

Now – example B. Actually, I’d love to call him example F.

One of the ways I build my business is by networking. I’ll connect with someone (randomly out and about, on Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, whatever), and form connections, with the express idea that I’m willing to help that person out at some point (resume advice, restaurant suggestions, whatever) with no expectations that they’ll return the favor, but the hope that they approach life the same way. If nothing else, I’m richer because I’ve met and learned from someone new. Sometimes, I’ll see something someone’s done – a comment on  Stack Overflow, Reddit, MarketingSherpa, great blog post, etc – and want to connect because they seem, well, interesting. Sometimes, I’ll hear that someone is looking, and approach them about a job.

So, back to F. Yeah, I’m going with that. He’s listed a resume on Dice, and had a decent LinkedIn profile, as well as some chatter online in a few spots. Seemed interesting, but also seemed like he changed roles pretty quickly – this is usually because a person’s either someone who loves early stage development, and doesn’t stick around for maintenance, or someone who people can’t stand once they get to know him a little bit.

I sent him a note via LinkedIn, about a role I’m recruiting for that’s pretty interesting. First, my note, then, his response.

Me:

Just saw your resume and LinkedIn profile, would love to catch up. I’m helping a funded start-up with a lead engineering role, creating products for the web. Philosophy is very much “use the best of what’s available to get the job done right”. Thought it lined up with your philosophy pretty well. Don’t know if it’ll appeal to you, as there may not be enough multimedia, but it’s a pretty innovative approach to social & crowd sourcing to solve a business problem, so compelling on that end.

Let me know if you’d like to hear  more, and/ or if you’d like me to keep you in the loop for other roles. I tend to focus on start-ups to SMB’s in mobile and web, and would be happy to keep you in mind for something that’s a better fit.

F:

Hi Martin,

As much as it might line up with my philosophy on things this is actually an insult to me as an engineer. I spent a year as a Senior Engineer building an entire platform in Flash and iOS apps why would I want to go back to Web Development (Notice I didn’t say engineering here).

Let’s take this apart: first, you don’t get to call yourself a Senior Engineer if you didn’t complete more than a year of college, and have only worked at 4 companies, none of which let you stay for more than 9 months. You weren’t anywhere for a year. Some of them booted you – or, you left because they were “insulting you as an engineer” after two months. Senior Engineers tend to be mentors to more junior engineers, or produce large amounts of brilliant work. They may have called you that, but I doubt it – if they did, it was purely for your ego. Second, believe it or not, people still engineer products for the Web – I know, I know, Your Punkness, mobile is newer than web, so it must be better just by default.

Here’s the point: he may be right, maybe he is really brilliant at mobile, and maybe it’s more challenging than web. I’m not sure, but let’s give him the benefit of the doubt. Where he goes off the rails is his unbelievable arrogance – there’s no call for it.

And, to that point, I’m now working on a very, very interesting mobile role, ground up stuff, funded, and challenging. There’s no call for him, now, from me.