I recently got an invite, a connection request and a personal message on LinkedIn from an HR rep from a competitor. They have an open position, a step up from mine, and want to talk to me. If this was just normal business, I would absolutely pursue this. …BUT. I have some inside information. Nothing definite, but probable. There is a very good chance my company will be buying theirs within a few months.
I told my manager immediately after receiving the inquiry. He had gotten the same inquiry, though for him it would be a lateral step and no strong reason for him to pursue it. He also informed our CEO that the company that we are strongly pursuing purchase of was trying to recruit (probably out of their HR not knowing of the probable acquisition.)
Damn, though. I really would like that position. I suspect if I interviewed, got it, jumped from current company, then new company got acquired - I would be summarily let go. So I probably can’t pursue this job, though it pains me. I also don’t like letting professional messages go unanswered. I want to send a message back to the HR recruiter, but in my head I can’t figure out anything past "I really, really want that job. But I can’t apply. For SECRET reasons. This would only lead to followup questions, none of which I could answer without risking getting fired. Even the admission - “the reasons are SECRET, and I can’t tell you why” would lead to questions on their end, all of which would lead back to me, and I’d get fired.
Is there any ethical, professional, honest, discreet way to respond to this HR recruiter? Or should I just ignore it? I do hate to lose an opportunity like this, and we may not end up buying them. Do I have to just let this one go?
not knowing anything about either business nor ethics
Couldn’t you just respond by saying you would be extremely interested in this position, but contractual obligations mean you are unavailable for the next few months ?
The contractual obligations including forbidding discussion.
Or why not just say that you’re very interested, in this (and similar) positions, but due to a developing family situation you are unavailable for interviews / further discussion till after June.
I second this. Or change family situation into a business project you are currently working on/implementing and you want to see through. You’ll be available to continue this discussion in June/August/etc.
I’m going to disagree with the ‘ignore it’ advise, because if your company DOESN’T acquire that company, than you would definitely be interested in the position, right?
So go with the ‘Thanks and yes i would be interested but personal circumstances mean I’m not available until <date>’ message.
It depends. I’ve gotten messages via LinkedIn that turn into two interviews and one job offer. You have to distinguish between:
I see that you have experience in XYZ. We are (or our client is) looking for someone matching your background. Please send me your resume.
And
We noticed that you used XYZ technology to accomplish ABC PDQ in LMN context. That sounds like exactly what my client MegaCorp is looking for. Can we chat?
Ignore the first, respond to the second with a polite message indicating your interest or lack thereof. The second recruiter is using LinkedIn in a way it’s supposed to be used. The first probably went out to 1000 people.
Thank you for reaching out to me. The advanced widget maker position is definitely interesting. Unfortunately, this particular position is not a good fit for me at this time.
Would I be able to contact you in the future to discuss other possibilities?
I have question, which may be totally irrelevant: how secure is your job, and how secure is the one being offered?
When companies buy out other companies, departments get merged, jobs get combined, etc----and usually there are layoffs involved. Is this a concern here? I hope not-- but If it is, you might need to stop thinking about a possible promotion, and start thinking about just surviving.
I think it’s weird that anyone would even ask this question.
It’s a unsolicited spam from a recruiter. I get like 5 a day (mostly for crap jobs I wouldn’t want even if I were unemployed). You may feel free to ignore it without worrying about offending the sender.
Since this particular position appears relevant to you and it doesn’t hurt to have this contact you might actually want to respond.
Because the position is for a company that is about to merge with your company, you probably want to respond “thank you, but I’m not looking to make a move at this time”. Changing jobs during a merger, particularly between the two companies that are merging is not the best idea. Depending on the size of the companies, it would be ate best weird (if the companies are small enough that you would encounter your old coworkers) or at worst make you appear as a good “last in first out” candidate as a new hire at the acquired firm.
Do you trust your boss enough to have a frank discussion about this?
In the ideal case, where you believe your boss really is looking out for you (and not just for himself and/or the company), trust that she can actually make things happen, and know that he really likes your work, she might say “I’d hate to lose you but this is a great opportunity for you; you should go for it. If we do merge, I’d make sure we kept you on afterwards one way or another.”
That’s the ideal case, of course, but since you’ve already brought this up to your boss, you’re halfway to having this kind of conversation anyway.
Obviously you know your industry better than us, and know whether that’s a reasonable outcome or not.