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Ask HN: What Do Recruiters Do?

4 points by tombert ↗ HN
I'm unemployed yet again (2023 has just been a spectacular year for me), and so I'm once again in the process of spamming my resume to a million companies and deal with recruiters.

My luck hasn't been great, and it ended up making me wonder what recruiters actually do. It seems like all they do is hit the "fwd" button on an email client, but surely they must do more, right?

6 comments

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GianFabien
My experience with recruitment agencies suggests our CVs are parsed by some cobbled together AI which is hardly much more than a keyword matching program. Unless we score a "bingo", we simply get ghosted.

On LinkedIn I get inquiries by recruiters who have obviously not bothered to read my profile.

kirkarg
1) Tailor your CV vocabulary to the vocabulary used in the application. 2) LinkedIn: directly contact them (it sucks, but it helps)

Good luck in your search bro, is not easy to be in that position, don't let your guard down

jakabia
On LinkedIn, whom should we contact? I'm genuinely curious because I'm looking for a new job as well. Sometimes there are contact in the job description, but sometimes not, in that case whom should I hit up?
kirkarg
The safe choice is to go directly to recruiters and contact them trough LinkedIn directly.
tombert
It's definitely not been an easy year for me. I know things will be alright eventually, but sometimes it's easy to forget that fact.

I'm not claiming I am some hyper-honest-hyper-ethical person, but I absolutely despise the level of dishonesty you're expected to perform when looking for a job. I don't think I'm built to bullshit people every day, and it depresses me a lot. When I have to give some bullshit reason for "why did you apply for this job?" other than "I need money", it's exhausting. I just want to sit on my ass and write code, not spend so much time building my own personal brand.

kirkarg
I understand, but consider most recruiters as individuals who may not fully grasp the company's actual needs. Their primary aim is to find a reason to hire you, and as long as you perform well, they get paid.

Another important aspect is building connections with people who share your mindset. This can be immensely helpful when seeking a job that aligns more closely with your values.

There is not a secret to this, keep on searching and don't loose your ethics values, some people will find that more valuable than your knowledge