People push me. I push back.

[poltr1]

Late last week, I received both a phone call and an email message from a recruiter in New Jersey, who has a Java developer opportunity in Columbus, OH. Yesterday, I returned the call and responded to the email, thanking her for her consideration of me, and that I was currently working a 6-month contract in Cincinnati. Most recruiters would stop at that point. But this one wouldn't. She wanted an updated copy of my resume. I asked "Why?" And she responded, "So we can take it forward!"

What makes her think that I'm going to jump ship and start working for her client? Even though I just started this current gig in July, and that it's a 6-month contract, it's likely to go temp-to-hire in January, provided there's still work to do, and funding to pay for it. I am not a mercenary, leaving jobs only for a higher pay rate. To me, leaving my current client in a lurch and working for another company is tantamount to treason in my book. And I refuse to play the "I'll waste your time and mine" game by going through the motions and say that I'm interested, get an interview, and an offer, only to turn it down, which would be my plan all along. Why doesn't she understand this?

I seem to notice that the recruiters who employ this tactic are usually of Indian descent. I don't know of any American-born recruiters who do this.

BTW, according to the job description, the position is for a technical lead, and it looks like their client is looking for someone who has more Java experience than I have to offer. Once she reads my resume (and I sent the most recent version I have), I think she'll see that. And if they still want to interview me after that, I'll just dig in my heels and say "No, no, hell no!"

Comments

[phillip2637.livejournal.com]

Sometimes I wonder whether tech recruiters get paid according to how many resumés they receive by email per week. I've had people talk to me on the phone while reading my resumé and end the conversation by insisting I send them another copy...even though we've established that theirs is current.

[poltr1]

I sometimes wonder if they work on commission -- getting paid for each person they reel in. And then I think of the line in "Pretty Woman": "You work on commission? Big mistake. Big! Huge!"