Developers and recruiters apparently don’t always speak the same language. Here’s a list of things developers said they wish recruiters would know.
Being a recruiter is not always the easiest job. It demands a lot of research and knowledge in all types of industries. An especially difficult profession to recruit for is developers.
There are many different kinds of specialisations within the field, and there is a bigger demand for professionals in the sector than there is a supply. This means that recruiters have to reach out to a lot of passive job seekers to find the perfect fit for a job. However, developers and recruiters apparently don’t always speak the same language.
Here’s a list of things developers said they wish recruiters would know.
Know who you are talking to
The one thing developers hate the most when asked, is impersonalised messages. They need to know that the recruiters know who they are talking to. If they are looking for a junior position and contacting someone who has been in the business for over 10 years, it’s basically a waste of everybody’s time and effort.
Knowing as a recruiter who you are talking to and sending a personal message will take a little longer, but the results will speak for themselves.
Developers are people, not products
Developers are not products you’re selling, they are people with choices. Developers feel that they are far too often seen as a product that can easily be transferred across the country for a job that doesn’t have the same prospects as the one they have now. If a recruiter wants to get somewhere in job negotiations, they need to actually listen to the developers’ wishes.
Find and apply for our latest developer vacancies here.
Be respectful
Developers realise that there’s a big demand for people in the field, but when being contacted they often feel disrespected. When they ask you to not call or mail again because they are not interested for this position, they are serious. Also, recruiters shouldn’t take rejection personally; developers are rejecting a specific job, not the possibility of changing jobs when the right offer comes along.
Do your own job
When a developer doesn’t match the profile a recruiter is looking for, they wish they wouldn’t be asked to sell out their friends. Often, recruiters ask if you know someone who would be a fit for the job. Developers feel that it is not their job to find someone, and in the case that they would help, they expect and deserve a finder’s fee for giving a golden tip.
Keep it simple
Developers say that they wish recruiters would keep it simple. They don’t want clickbait-like offers. They want to have the relevant details and job specifics so they can easily decide whether they are interested or not; having to mail back and forth to find out more just wastes everybody’s time. Developers are wasting their time on vacancies that don’t interest them, and recruiters waste time on people who will never apply for that particular job.
Learn more about jobs in the tech industry here.
Be familiar with technological terms
Recruiters aren’t expected to be coding experts, but they need to at least know what skills are needed for the job and the basics of the technologies they are recruiting for. It’s hard to fill a position if you don’t understand the basics needed to fill the position. For instance, Java is not the same as JavaScript. Developers say that if recruiters don’t exactly know what they are looking for they should look it up before using certain words in the wrong context. Otherwise, they’ll lose respect and credibility.
Focus on the skills
The last situation that many developers pointed out is that many recruiters focus to much on developers needing to prove they can code in a certain language or technology, they think it would be better to assess what process someone would follow and what tools they would use to solve a particular problem. The ability to complete projects is more important to them than having programmed in a certain way in the past.
Are you interested in improving your tech skills? Browse Udemy's courses here.
