[LRUG] ADVICE

[Gabe da Silveira]

Ultimately to succeed without playing the dirty numbers game, I think
word-of-mouth will be the key, and this does mean relationships.  But
Adrian is right, talk is cheap in the recruitment game, and no amount of
words will build a relationship.  The relationship comes from behaving
ethically and helpfully over time.  If you can do this for a few companies,
you should be able to continue on solely by referrals without resorting to
any cold calls or emails.

Perhaps the most important thing to understand about relationship building
with engineers is that we are practically allergic to typical corporate,
political and old boy schmoozing.  Software engineers live at the junction
between business talk and hard, immutable, unforgiving logic.  It doesn't
matter if you're a CEO espousing a grand vision, or a recruiter trying to
land a commission, when it hits the engineering team all the bullshit
evaporates and you're faced with the reality of delivering a working
product.  Bringing an unqualified candidate to this situation is a
guaranteed recipe for fail. Recruiters who don't understand the value of my
time and distraction of looking at obviously unqualified candidates are
blatantly incompetent.  Would you go to a butcher who didn't like to touch
meat?  Ride in a taxi whose driver was scared of traffic?  Hire an
accountant who was familiar with tax law?

On Fri, May 24, 2013 at 11:43 AM, Adrian Sevitz <adrian at vzaar.com> wrote:

> I agree with Adam here a lot.
>
> Although I'm wary of the "try build a relationship". I'm tired of
> recruiters phone me to try build a relationship. Especially when I don't
> know them.
>
> Start by reading our company page and job spec. Sending me a few good
> candidates. Place one or two. Get recommended. Then I'm ready to start a
> relationship.
>
>
> On 24 May 2013, at 11:38, Adam Carlile <adam at benchmedia.co.uk> wrote:
>
> > There's so much animosity out there between recruiters, clients and
> candidates, I agree wholeheartedly with everything that has been mentioned
> up to this point.
> >
> > As a recruitment agent you're going to have a really tough time breaking
> into this community. Even if you come at it with the best intentions,
> everyone is so jaded from bad recruitment practices that you're going to
> have to work doubly hard create some traction. Which ultimately can lead
> you to become jaded with tech companies, and just treat it as a numbers
> game.
> >
> > It's a vicious cycle, perpetuated by bad, incumbent agencies. In order
> to break this cycle, you need to understand the technology, the strengths
> and weaknesses of candidates, and the exact requirements of clients. It's
> not a difficult thing to do, but unfortunately it doesn't  seem to be
> aligned with the cut throat, results based business model that recruitment
> agencies seem to have.
> >
> > Ultimately you should be trying to build relationships with clients and
> candidates, understanding their requirements. Trust is a very hard won
> thing, but once you have it you will be immeasurably more successful than
> the numbers guys. It's finding the time to build those relationships,
> before getting fired!
> >
> > Adam
>
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