Recruiters are, by and large, a waste of your time
I need to write a post to discuss this at greater depth, but...<p>I am fucking astonished at how inept most recruiters are. I mean, just awful and useless at their "jobs."<p>If we concede the point that, especially in the Valley, technical talent is in high demand, it stands to reason that any overture to such talent needs to be persuasive, informative and intriguing. It should explain the role in reasonable detail, while making a sane case for how cool the company and opportunity will be.<p>Ideally, it should demonstrate that the recruiter has a basic understanding of a given prospect's skills and career trajectory. Super bonus points if it doesn't seem like a form letter.<p>Instead, what I get is stuff like<p>"Hey, I'm looking for developers for a role I'm filling. You need to be this, this, and this. Oh, and <i>this</i> is a plus. Mmkay, lemme know!"<p>Well. Congratulations?<p>Hey, I <i>have a job</i>. And it doesn't involve proving to a random recruiter that I'm skilled at it. And from such pitches, how would I know that I'd even care? I know nothing about the company and only have the vaguest notion of what I'd be wanted for.<p>Recruiters <i>are</i> a waste of time, though mostly their own. A founder out being social has a much better chance, I think, at successfully recruiting limited talent. Not that they have time, I know.<p>And don't get me started on the pitch that opened with "I'm looking for some iOS studs!" I had a friend at the company they were pitching. They weren't impressed when they heard about this one, especially since they had no formal relationship with the bozo.