Adzerk Team Blog

If you read Hacker News or keep up with technologists, you’re probably already aware of how broken the recruiting industry is. Specifically, recruiting for small to medium sized tech companies is so awful that it’s becoming laughable now. 

See, there’s a problem. The need for talented engineers and designers is at an all time high, and the supply of the unemployed in the industry is lower than normal. It’s a good time in history to know how to create things with a computer. So this inevitably leaves some companies little choice but to hire recruiters to search for manpower since the business doesn’t want to devote their own resources.

A new industry is born! There’s a need for a product (the potential employee), and there are businesses that would love to pay for the product. In far too many cases, a corporation creates boring enterprise Java software, they pay well, but they can’t find enough developers. They hire a recruiting firm to search the interwebs and offer them 5-10% of the salary if the potential employee is hired. A new university graduate gets the entry level recruiting position with hopes of making it big off of the promise of commission. After taking the time to create 10 personalized messages to prospective matches, he’s rejected by all 10. He uses the second half of his day but ultimately fails. All the engineers are currently happy at their current job, and since he can’t disclose the company, the position, or the project, most reject him or don’t respond. 

So where does that leave the recruiter? It’s been three weeks, and he hasn’t gotten anyone hired and has only sent one engineer to an interview which could possible go awry. It’s time to roll up the sleeves! The recruiter wakes up at 6AM the next morning with an intent of generating a spreadsheet full of leads. The position he’s looking to fill require 5 years of C# and SQL Server experience and also a Bachelor’s degree in Computer Science. LinkedIn is his new favorite tool. All he has to do is enter “C# SQL Server” into the search field. 226,979 results return! If he messages 100 of these results, there are surely a few people to respond. And so it begins. A quick scan over the LinkedIn profile proves to be enough, and he sends the same message he’s sent to others today. 

If you’ve never received these LinkedIn messages, consider yourself very lucky. Here’s one of the two that I received today:

Hi Kacy, 

I came across your profile this morning, and I wanted to reach out and see if you were open to hearing about some new opportunities. Let me know what you think.

Honestly, there was a recruiter a few months ago that wanted me to apply to a Senior Software Engineer position that had a starting salary of $140,000. I was flattered, but there is no way I could be qualified for the position since I only have a few years of industry experience. A quick Google search or further investigation of my LinkedIn profile would have shown that I was not the ideal candidate for the position. 

David Heinemeier Hansson, web famous for creating the popular web framework Ruby on Rails, is well known in internet circles to be outspoken and opinionated. So when technical recruiters pitch him, he occasionally publishes the email so that others can see how clueless recruiters can be. Once, there was a woman that asked how many years of Rails experience he had. He responded with “All of them”. Another example of how a simple 10 second Google search could have saved embarrassment. 

So how do we fix this? Here are a few of my suggestions:

Actually talk about the project. If it’s a contract or a full-time position, I’m not going to leave my current job (which is possibly the coolest in NC) for an anonymous engineering position in Minneapolis. It’s just not going to happen. I, like everyone else, would like a position that’s mentally engaging. If I don’t know anything about it, why would I consider applying?

Money isn’t everything! The fact is, the best talent doesn’t work for the money. If it’s one of the few things you can disclose, put it out there in the beginning. If it’s a startup looking to hire, let me know! Maybe there’s equity that can be worked out. 

Please never call us. It’s just not our thing. Email is far more efficient. A few months ago, a recruiter called the sales line at my current company asking for me. My co-worker told them I wasn’t available, but the recruiter wouldn’t say what it was about. I was worried that something may have been wrong with a family member or there was a financial issue with a bank, but no… it was just a unprofessional recruiter looking for a lead.

Be active in the community! Attend developer meetups or network at job fairs. Don’t spam us with job openings, but be aware of people that could be looking for employment.

Be transparent. Tell me about the position you’re trying to fill. Is there a lot of interest? How long have you been trying to fill it? How much are you making out of the deal? If it’s not a fit for me and you’re open to it, I’ll try to find unemployed or unhappy friends that could possibly fit the role. If it’s a generic email with no personality, I’ve got a keyboard shortcut for archiving email.

Have some extra suggestions? Feel free to join in on the discussion at Hacker News or below in the comments.

Update: It looks like the DHH post was actually a joke by a commenter.