Suspicious recruiters, or just incompentent ones 3

[Bernoulli31]

Recently I uploaded my resume to Monster, not that I'm actively looking, but I'm open to opportunities for a variety of reasons. Since then, not a day goes by when I get an email or phone call from a recruiter. This would be great, except that 99% of the positions they offer have either nothing to do with my experience and skills, or are in a location that is different than the ones I specified. I'm not talking a few miles, but several states away!

I'm just baffled, did they even bother to read my resume? I bet they just look for key words and then make assumption. For example, I've worked on design of semiconductor facilities (piping, chemical systems, high purity systems, etc.), recruiters thinks I'm an excellent match to actually work in cleanrooms as a microchip fabricator. Or, my resume says I managed a team, recruiters think I'm an excellent match for a project manager. I also supported design of PV facilities, I just got a proposition for an electrical engineer (I'm ME) to work on 12kV PV interconnections (whatever that means). I've done a lot of thermoplastic piping design, here's one thinking I'd be great modeling plastic parts. My resume clearly says I'm European, yet here I have a proposition that requires US citizenship and security clearance. Come on!

Also, 3/4 of the mails and phone I get come from Indian recruiters. Whether they're based in the US or not, I can't tell.

Thoughts? What's going on? What's their purpose? Are they the new "Dear Beneficiary" scammers?

I design aqueducts in a parallel universe.

 

[DVWE]

LOL. Recruiters are the new wave of vermin I equate to car salesmen. They are all about one thing and one thing only; commission!

 

[MikeHalloran]

My experience says that they don't read the actual resume or any part of it; they just find keyword matches between a collection of resumes and a collection of requisitions, and blast out emails to every match.

Many, maybe most, appear to be working in a boiler room, being directed by computers and predictive dialers.

It didn't used to be that way, but that's cold comfort. Sorry.



Mike Halloran
Pembroke Pines, FL, USA

 

[Tunalover]

Yeah, I'm with DVWE MikeHalloran.
The job description for a recruiter nowadays looks like this:
A. Must talk so fast in a voicemail with a thick foreign accent such that when a native English speaking American listens he/she is unable to make out the name, company, or phone number even after playing the message over several times.
B. Must know how to send and receive emails and use an ATS (Applicant Tracking System) key word matching program.
C. Must speak from a script and not stop even if the listener tries to interrupt to say he/she is not qualified.
D. Must be able to convert food, water, and air into bodily waste and CO[sub]2[/sub].
E. Must not read your resume before calling you to waste your time. They call without even knowing what engineering discipline you're in!

Now some recruiting jobs are good opportunities for non-STEM graduates to work in a profitable industry and many of these college graduates do a great job. But these people at least read your resume and will not call if it looks like you're unqualified. But so many recruiters are "fresh off the boat" with no college education and largely without common sense.


H. Bruce Jackson
ElectroMechanical Product Development
UMD 1984
UCF 1993

 

[TheTick]

Hanlon's razor: "Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity."

Honesty may be the best policy, but insanity is a better defense.

http://www.EsoxRepublic.com

-SolidWorks API VB programming help

 

[Sparweb]

In 10 years receiving weekly job postings from Linkedin, I have never EVER seen one that I was even remotely qualified for.

STF

 

[MFJewell]

This is why I only apply directly to companies I am interested in.

 

[Bernoulli31]

E. Must not read your resume before calling you to waste your time. They call without even knowing what engineering discipline you're in!


Ha! I forgot this one: recruiter calls me for a position as a civil engineer to work on design of wastewater treatment plants. I tell him I'm not a civil engineer. He says it doesn't have to be civil engineer, it can be any type of engineering. LOL!

Glad I'm not the only one.



I design aqueducts in a parallel universe.

 

[truckandbus]

I guess they have quotas to fill

We recently had some layoffs here and, having been in that situation 5 years ago, advised my former colleagues to set up a 'job search only' email because 5 years later despite unsubscribing from various job boards I still get flooded with emails daily for opportunities across the country

 

[Tunalover]

Guys I implemented an obvious method to deal with all the "fly by night" recruiters: I don't answer the phone. Many do not leave a message but, in any event, no matter who calls, if you let it go to voicemail then you can take your time assessing who it is and react in an informed manner on your timeline IF you decide to return the call. Of course it is good business manners to return calls, but you know most recruiters won't do the same unless they think there's a buck in it for them. But I return all calls nonetheless. I'm old fashioned.


ElectroMechanical Product Development
(aka Electronic Packaging)
UMD 1984
UCF 1993

 

[nissan4ever]

Recruiter outsourcing seems to be the norm these days. About seven years ago, it wasn't completely like that.

I agree that the recruiters are just combing for keywords on monster, indeed, etc. Recently, I had to change my resume to remove keywords that are specific to the industry that work in. I wanted to work in a completely different industry, so I talked with a friend to see what job functions were equivalent and used those keywords on my resume. Sure enough I stopped getting head hunter emails or phone calls related to my current industry.

 

[spraytechnology]

I don't really use recruiters anymore while seeking new gigs and often just avoid them all together. Don't forget they work not for you but the end client.

 

[lacajun]

From my experiences, most of them are ignorant especially the younger ones. A fresh college business/marketing/English/etc. graduate will not have the depth of experience to vet engineers for open positions. The more experienced you are the greater difficulty they have. They don't understand the language and that's the crucial part to any discussion.

I think companies have shot themselves in the foot for outsourcing hiring. But that's just me...

Pamela K. Quillin, P.E.
Quillin Engineering, LLC
NSPE-CO, Central Chapter
Dinner program:

http://nspe-co.org/events.php

 

[MikeHalloran]

Things were bad enough when screening was outsourced to recruiters.

Now HR just signs up for Taleo or some other resume shredder and waits for the program to match all the keywords that they have dreamed up. I take it as a sure sign that the company is doomed.



Mike Halloran
Pembroke Pines, FL, USA

 

[ScotchWhisky]

I got my current job through a recruiter (been here 10+ years), within a few weeks they were back on the phone to discuss new opportunities!

 

[HamburgerHelper]

MikeHalloran,

It gets worse. Companies are moving to video interviewing systems like HireVue for screening. It is like HR and management at those places have decided that such just interviewing a bunch of people is a waste of time. I don't understand that. New employees cost a lot and spending a few weeks interviewing people isn't that expensive compared to missing a good candidate. I still don't understand the legality of it when it is illegal for an employer to request you to include a picture but demanding a screening interview be included seems similar but worse. Many characteristics that are illegal to inquire about can potentially be gathered from a video of someone.

That is all aside from the fact that a company should be selling itself to a potential employee as much as the employee is selling him or herself to the company. There is a certain amount of coldness that is given off by a company that can't even be bothered to talk to you during screening and wants you to answer a set of written questions into a camera. No company would do anything remotely similar to answer questions a candidate has for the company.