Killing Mind

This is part two of a two part series starting here. This post will actually address the content I intended to write about, before I got side-tracked by some weird bread roll story.

Here are some of the examples of the kind of out-of-touch arrogance I've seen in my recent experience with recruiters. Keep in mind that I have applied with these particular recruiters because employers of interest to me have decided to do their recruiting through their services:

Example One

Gemteq have decided that two chest baring female models are indicative of the service they provide. What better way to illustrative that you're all show and no substance? Gemteq are also superficial enough to adopt the title "Executive" while clearly "specialising" in a wide variety of generic, decidedly non-executive "temp" positions in call centres, retail and sales. Their "specialist" divisions in "IT&T Technical" have not however, managed to design a homepage without a massive ERROR frame in prime focus position.

Example Two

Every recruiter has their own version of the spiel about why their particular questionnaire is original and important, and how it better enables them to understand the candidate. After the third or fourth, it becomes clear that the questionnaires allow recruiters with zero specific domain knowledge of the technical aptitude indicators in a particular industry to perform vague pattern matching and check-boxing of hand-waving attitudes to work. I felt like a brain-dead monkey answering questions such as:

List your Australian Standards knowledge.
I've worked hard to memorise AS 2697-1990. Can I have a job manufacturing car jumper leads, over and over?

Internet skill and experience (include email).
What? You want to know my emailing experience?

Software development skills (for each language show competency level, use while studying or commercially and duration of part-time and full-time usage).
Well, for the C language there was 2.5 hours per night at a mediocre level but then 3 hours per day part-time at an excellent level, and then 2.5 years of use while studying, then full time for 6 months at a professional level. Then there's C++, Pascal, Objective-C, C#, Java...

What motivates you in your present position?
Nothing! I've resigned!

Describe some external factors that had a major impact on your career to date?
The price of coal has risen so my career has serviced a lot of coal mines? A friend suggested that perhaps the intention was to extract an admission that personal matters would cause me to skip work or something. Who really knows?

Power systems experience (please indicate voltage worked with)
Lots of 650 volt stuff but there's no way I'll ever understand that crazy 660 volt world.

PLC programming (include PLC brands)
Siemens. Please don't put me somewhere where they use Mitsubishi, my head will surely explode with the differences.

List application programs that you have strong commercial experience using
That's going to take some listing...

Example Three

A representative from AllStaff invited me in for an interview not, as he explained, to take up much of my time but just to get to know me to better present me to clients. This might have been a commendable aim, had he he allowed me to get a word in edgeways between him repeating how special his recruitment service was, how exclusive their clients are, and how since 1978 he's never not been given a position he has interviewed for. His success he explained, was regardless of the number of candidates going for the position, because he had taught himself how to sell himself. I wondered briefly what dimwits would employ such a shallow, technically vacuous, arrogant and time-wasting buffoon, and then simply resolved to never pursue a career where he had influence.

Example Four

Sometimes I wonder whether recruiters are finding me a job, or selling me penis enlargement pills.

Did you know that over 70% of vacancies are not advertised!?

This is the hidden job market, where if the right
person came along the employer would hire them.
With a few minutes of typing now, MACRO can help
you tap into this hidden market - for free!

Did you know that 78% of statistics are made up? Macro were full of this scammy sales pitch crap.

Example Five

Living in Newcastle, I applied for a job situated in Newcastle, and the recruiter, a representative from Manpower Professional, who have an office in Newcastle, called to confirm that I could meet him for a pre-application meeting at 8:30am on Monday morning in Woy Woy, over an hour's drive away. He succumbed to my hesitation, admitting that he could use my 6 page Manpower questionnaire to put my case forward for the position to gauge interest before requiring that I travel to Woy Woy.

This went nowhere until a couple of weeks later he called again to say that the company had put the process on hold temporarily, but were now keen to proceed. He again asked that I suggest a time for our meeting, and even offered to meet almost 10 minutes closer (still an hour away). I hesitated again, saying I'd contacted the company a while back and never heard anything, and that I had all but accepted a role already. He immediately changed tack, asking what my chosen company were offering. I indicated the rough salary on offer and he let out a little chortle, explaining that that was far too low and what he has to offer is far greater. The figure he suggested was indeed, far above anything I'd come across in some three months of investigation. So I asked him to send the job description through for me to review.

The requirements stipulated that "Tertiary Engineering Qualifications are desirable", "Minimum 3 years experience in project related disciplines" is necessary and that "Electrical design experience" is desirable. In other words, Mr Manpower is suggesting that the company is willing to pay far more than other roles I'm going for, for someone who is far less qualified than me. After months of dealing with recruiters, my bullshit detector was well and truly primed and I politely told Manpower man that things didn't quite add up. I'm yet to hear back.

Epilogue

Ultimately I am glad to be done actively communicating with recruiters. Most interaction events left me feeling dirty. There were exceptions - I met some genuine people who went out of their way for me.

Additionally, I think there is a very real, very specific need for a recruiting service: if a company is on the lookout for new talent, but is not in the position to maintain an active human resources search for a unspecified role, then employing the services of the right recruiter could well be a very smart move. It is the recruiter's role then to scan the field of job seekers, keeping an eye out for good matches on motivation, background, general ability and desires. Rather than matching on specific skills or experience, which can be completely satisfied by a plain old job advertisement, a recruiter can bring to a company's attention the kind of talent that may simply "fit". That sort of job placement is much harder to do with a traditional job advertisement, and seems to me to be the real role of a recruiting service.