Contacted by IT Recruiters, opinion on how to respond

JockVSJock

So I've updated my resume this past weekend and various recruiters have started to contact me, most are doing email/phone contact.

At this time, I am not interested, however in the future I may be.

I would like to send them a response email with my resume and say thanks but not thanks at this time. Tell them what I am working on cert-wise and what type of positions I am looking at in the future.

What are people's opinions on this?

CompuTron99

JockVSJock wrote: »

So I've updated my resume this past weekend and various recruiters have started to contact me, most are doing email/phone contact.

At this time, I am not interested, however in the future I may be.

I would like to send them a response email with my resume and say thanks but not thanks at this time. Tell them what I am working on cert-wise and what type of positions I am looking at in the future.

What are people's opinions on this?

That's a tough one. By you updating your online resume, the recruiters think that you are actively looking. I've heard that some recruiting companies automatically contact you once your online account shows a change (resume, address, ie.).
Depending on the company, I don't think it hurts to let them know what you are looking for.

blargoe

JockVSJock wrote: »

So I've updated my resume this past weekend and various recruiters have started to contact me, most are doing email/phone contact.

At this time, I am not interested, however in the future I may be.

I would like to send them a response email with my resume and say thanks but not thanks at this time. Tell them what I am working on cert-wise and what type of positions I am looking at in the future.

What are people's opinions on this?

No problem with doing that. And you might be surprised at what kind of job someone might contact you before you intend to start looking.

pipemajor

A lot of companies are simply fearful of posting their openings publicly so are running them through recruiters to screen out the hundreds (thousands in some cases) of respondents. I network with a group of military veterans and we get some direct inquiries from employers not willing to muddle in the general job market.

I personally don't want to do any more contracting but sometimes you have no choice. You "can" get some valuable experience with some pretty good companies via contracting.

Final suggestion - keep your options open.

eMeS

JockVSJock wrote: »

So I've updated my resume this past weekend and various recruiters have started to contact me, most are doing email/phone contact.

At this time, I am not interested, however in the future I may be.

I would like to send them a response email with my resume and say thanks but not thanks at this time. Tell them what I am working on cert-wise and what type of positions I am looking at in the future.

What are people's opinions on this?

It is a total waste of time.

Recruiters change jobs more often than my wife changes purses (that's quite often). Also, they generally have no interest in you other than as a potential commodity that they can sell to fill whatever position is currently on their plate.

MS

Turgon

eMeS wrote: »

It is a total waste of time.

Recruiters change jobs more often than my wife changes purses (that's quite often). Also, they generally have no interest in you other than as a potential commodity that they can sell to fill whatever position is currently on their plate.

MS

Yes Im inclined to agree here. Don't get hung up about dialog with recruiters. Just make sure they have your latest CV and move on.

JockVSJock

Agreed, I typically don't like to deal with them. Why deal with a middleman...

Turgon wrote: »

Yes Im inclined to agree here. Don't get hung up about dialog with recruiters. Just make sure they have your latest CV and move on.

L0gicB0mb508

It really depends to be honest. If it's in the public sector you can usually be a subcontractor. That's not a bad deal at all. I dunno if I would use them when I was looking for work in the private sector. They usually turn out to be more of a hassle in that regard.

tpatt100

Sometimes you have no choice and have to deal with recruiters. It depends on the recruiter honestly. The past few jobs I have had I worked through recruiters and it worked out great. Many times I get calls from recruiters and in my area the Indian ones are just flat our horrible. These are the recruiters that I don't even think work in the US and from what I have read they farm resumes from job boards. They do not have any sort of relationships with the companies they try and get you in. I ignore all their calls now a days, they contact you and ask for a butt load of information and never email/call back.

Now when I get a decent recruiter that takes the time to talk to me, if I am not looking I tell them so but I send them my most up to date resume. I also tell them if I know somebody that might be interested and if they want they can forward me the job information and I will forward it to my friend.

Keep their contact information though and make them part of your network, if they are on LinkedIn add them as well. This way if you suddenly need work you can contact everyone in your network.

L0gicB0mb508

tpatt100 wrote: »

Sometimes you have no choice and have to deal with recruiters. It depends on the recruiter honestly. The past few jobs I have had I worked through recruiters and it worked out great. Many times I get calls from recruiters and in my area the Indian ones are just flat our horrible. These are the recruiters that I don't even think work in the US and from what I have read they farm resumes from job boards. They do not have any sort of relationships with the companies they try and get you in. I ignore all their calls now a days, they contact you and ask for a butt load of information and never email/call back.

Now when I get a decent recruiter that takes the time to talk to me, if I am not looking I tell them so but I send them my most up to date resume. I also tell them if I know somebody that might be interested and if they want they can forward me the job information and I will forward it to my friend.

Keep their contact information though and make them part of your network, if they are on LinkedIn add them as well. This way if you suddenly need work you can contact everyone in your network.

I always network with the recruiters I've had a good experience with. Linkedin can definitely keep everyone in touch. I actually found my current position through Linkedin when I networked with the recruiter. It really is all about connections. Find a good group of recruiters and stick with them if they hire heavily out of your area.

BigTex71

I secured my current permanent position through my company by being a contractor through a recruiter first. Most places seem to be doing this around here to ensure they are getting the right person for the job. The company gets to hire a contractor for 3 or 6 months to make sure it is someone they would want permanently. If it doesn't work out they have the recruiter get someone else.

I have only had good experiences with recruiters, which seems to be the opposite of most people I have talked to. YMMV.

veritas_libertas

My experience with recruiters has been mixed. Some will tell me about this great job out there and then never answer my phone calls. On the other hand I am working with a great company right now that I am working contract for. It's always worth a try.

SmootCIS

Why not pick and choose the positions your being offered, interview for them, and do so with more of a mentality of this is practice for the real thing. You may get lucky and fall into a really good job, and at worst you can fine tune your ever so important soft skills.