How pushy should you be with a recruitment agent?
Is emailing them everyday creepily stalkerish? Or positively enthusiastic? Or just plain sensible?
I know that these guys get CVs after CVs, so - at the very least - these people will remember me as the crazily enthusiastic one. In fact, one of them called me today, to let me know that she was putting my CV forward for a job I’d been pushing for - Great news!
…It’s just, the balance between being enthusiastic and out-and-out obsessive can be a bit murky. I don’t usually talk to recruitment agents that much, but their die hard enthusiasm seems to be the only language they speak - so I’m trying to play them at their own game, which is difficult for me, because I’m a rather cantankerous sort of person. It all feels so relentlessly happy.
The main thing - the thing that is really vital - is getting a new job. My current one is plain dreadful, and I desperately need something a bit more challenging.
Thoughts?
I just had an experience with one of those yesterday. I’d been (sort of) job searching for a few months now, just mainly to get out of the contract that I’m in, and one of these people have been sending me intermittent emails. Nothing much, just maybe once every other month.
However, it seems she’s got a new team member working with her, and this person is a frenetic type-A person who both won’t stop bugging me with her cheerfulness but at the same time keeps “forgetting” to send information via email; she’d rather call and talk. I keep telling her I prefer communication via email, as my job doesn’t allow me to take calls during the day.
Yesterday we had our first sit-down conversation. She was late (due to a meeting which ran long) and then once we sat down, she was a verbal whirlwind. Lots of statements about potential placement, temp contracts and what not. I had to restate what I’d already told her via email about my desired employment choices, locations, salary, etc. I don’t think we had more than a 20-minute conversation, and when we were done she asked me to sit down in the conference room and fill out the obligatory paperwork and questionnaire about placement, etc.
I guess it’s worth the effort, especially since she knows of jobs out there that I can’t seem to find. I’ve had good experiences in the past with placement agencies, so I’m hoping this will go well also. I’m willing to put up with the ever-so-cheerful space cadet as long as she is able to find me something I can deal with and pays better than what I’m making now.