Dear JobGals,

In recent months, the number of cold calls and emails from recruiters has been astounding.  The emailed inquiries are manageable as I can simply cut and paste a nice message informing the recruiter, that I'm currently employed, but may in the future be interested in other positions.  The phone calls are another story.  It's a little harder to return each call and sound sincerely grateful for the inquiry.  Since most of the phone calls originate from large staffing agencies, I've stopped returning the true cold calls, instead only responding with the thanks, no thanks to the smaller, true recruiting firms. 

This trend is of course, very satisfying given the rough ride for employees in the early aught years. I can say without a doubt, that the demand for mid to senior level developers is spurring this level of inquiry, more so than my own particular talents.  I'm also sure, that as tides do, there will come a time in few short years where the pendulum will swing back to favor employers. What concerns me is that in X-months time, I may need the services of these recruiters. So how does one best manage potential recruiter relationships without jeopardizing their current position or giving the recruiter the idea that you want them to actively pursue you as a candidate?

Thanks,
Jeff

Hi Jeff –

This is a great question and one I am sure many of your peers are facing right now!  First, let me say that I think you are handling this appropriately.  You are politely declining people by email indicating possible future interest and only following up with those by phone that you would want to continue a relationship with in the future.  I think this is the perfect way to respond to these inquiries.  You aren’t jeopardizing your position or encouraging them by saying; “Thanks for your interest, but I’m happy where I am today”.

As you are evaluating which recruiter relationships you want to continue, you may want to further consider the firm that employs these recruiters or the companies from which recruiters are contacting you directly.  Then based on your research only continue a limited number of relationships with the most reputable firms and companies.  Otherwise you may find yourself with a laundry list of contacts and no way to determine those that are the best to touch base with in the future.  Don't feel bad about completely ignoring or not returning emails / calls of recruiters that you do not want to build a relationship with in the future.

There is another issue though as I read between the lines of your question; it sounds like you are primarily being contacted by agencies or “headhunters”.  It’s a good idea to keep in perspective what these firms want from you and what you will get from them.  They are rarely out there working for the candidate.  In fact, most firms are focused on finding people for specific roles they are on contract to fill.  A good way to think about this is that their paychecks come from the employer they are contracting for not the candidate.  In the end, even if you stay in touch with these firms in the future they may not be the best contacts to have in order to make your next career move.  My recommendation is to continue to grow and expand your professional network and use these as a “foot in the door” to future employment.

Best of luck!
Zoe

Jeff’s question can be viewed in the JobSytnax Forums in the Responding Politely to Recruiters Thread.  Please offer up your advice, too!

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