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ventaToday at work, our nice admin lady popped out to tell me I had a phonecall. This hasn't happened before: personal calls would come in on my mobile, and I have no cause in my ordinary line of work to talk to customers. However, <Mystery Name> from <Mystery Company> was on the line and, in the absence of our usual support person, had asked for me by name.
After some flapping (who? and what were they going to ask? because I'm not meant to be customer facing, I've not yet learned the company song and might say all kinds of inappropriate things), I took the call in an empty office.
It turned out to be a headhunter, acting on a "personal referral". He wasn't hunting for anything in particular, it turned out, more representing a (to quote their own website) "pro-active recruitment service". No, I wasn't interested.
I asked who had referred me - I don't even know whether I believe such a person existed, he might well have just pulled my CV off an agency site, leftover from last summer's jobhunting. He said that people were "understandably apprehensive" and therefore referrals were in strictest confidence.
He asked if I had any friends or colleagues who might be interested in hearing from him and I said that I wasn't willing to give out other peoples' contact details without their permission, since some people do not like it. He expressed surprise, and said he'd virtually never met that attitude.
"So why are people 'understandably apprehensive'?" I didn't ask.
So now I'm curious: I take it as read that giving out people's details is liable to piss them off. Maybe I'm wrong.
[Poll #1136892]
On the plus side: most of this conversation took place when he rang me back at home this evening. I'm not looking to change jobs right now, but thought I'd hear him out in case he was going to offer me a part-time job with a telephone number salary. He rang me back. At the time he said he would. This already puts him ahead of any of the recruitment agencies I spoke to while I was actually jobhunting last June.
After some flapping (who? and what were they going to ask? because I'm not meant to be customer facing, I've not yet learned the company song and might say all kinds of inappropriate things), I took the call in an empty office.
It turned out to be a headhunter, acting on a "personal referral". He wasn't hunting for anything in particular, it turned out, more representing a (to quote their own website) "pro-active recruitment service". No, I wasn't interested.
I asked who had referred me - I don't even know whether I believe such a person existed, he might well have just pulled my CV off an agency site, leftover from last summer's jobhunting. He said that people were "understandably apprehensive" and therefore referrals were in strictest confidence.
He asked if I had any friends or colleagues who might be interested in hearing from him and I said that I wasn't willing to give out other peoples' contact details without their permission, since some people do not like it. He expressed surprise, and said he'd virtually never met that attitude.
"So why are people 'understandably apprehensive'?" I didn't ask.
So now I'm curious: I take it as read that giving out people's details is liable to piss them off. Maybe I'm wrong.
[Poll #1136892]
On the plus side: most of this conversation took place when he rang me back at home this evening. I'm not looking to change jobs right now, but thought I'd hear him out in case he was going to offer me a part-time job with a telephone number salary. He rang me back. At the time he said he would. This already puts him ahead of any of the recruitment agencies I spoke to while I was actually jobhunting last June.
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no subject
Date: 2008-02-17 03:40 pm (UTC)In this case, where the recruiter has no information about at all other than that you're employable, I'd probably be more annoyed than if someone recommended me to a recruiter for a particular job or set of jobs. I don't want to just be permanently "on the books" of someone who has, in practice, little chance of figuring out what jobs I'd even apply for.
Personally I'd actually not mind any more if a recruiter was given my work phone number. Maybe it would offend my employer for a recruiter to call me at work, but they can hardly blame me for that since I've clearly never heard of this person. And if the recruiter doesn't have my mobile number, that's good news too. It strikes me as being a question of etiquette between recruiters and employers, rather than anything I have to worry about. I don't mind my employer knowing that in theory, under certain circumstances, I would take a better job. They'd have to be stupid not to think that, and a polite pretence need only go so far.
I wouldn't accept multiple calls at work from a recruiter, though - that would seem unreasonable. And I knew that the recruiter had got my name and work number from anything work-related, it would feel slightly like soliciting a new job through work activities, which I think is a bit rude.