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My rules of thumb: This is business - it's never rude to just ignore something that you're not interested in, unless it's from someone you know personally. I

My rules of thumb: This is business - it's never rude to just ignore something that you're not interested in, unless it's from someone you know personally. I always ignore the ones that seem like form letters. They are very generically worded notices for a short-term contract in a faraway city (eg. "Immediate opening for Ruby with ITStaffingPros at Portland, OH"). These people don't usually ping twice, and if they do, they all look the same to me anyway. They actually look so similar that I have filters in my email for keywords that I've learned to associate with low-quality job notices to go straight to spam. I tend to answer or return cold calls only when I'm actively looking. Otherwise I just ignore them, or at most I shoot them an email saying I'm not currently in the market. When I get a message from a recruiter who seems like they've actually done some research on me as an individual (and not just someone spamming to a database of leads), I'll usually respond to them even if I'm not actively looking. I've noticed these recruiters tend to be the ones with the best positions so I like to have them in my network. I never speak in an impolite or rude way to a recruiter.

jermaustin1 9y ago
I do a lot of consulting, so I'm always looking for short contracts, especially if they are mostly remote. I respond to almost every recruiter (even the generic emails) with something like: "Hey _____, I would like to discuss this project further. A little about myself: I own a small consulting firm with 2 employees and depending on the work load 1-10 contractors. When you hire me, you are actually hiring my firm. We bill at $100 per hour plus T&E. If you would like to discuss this possibility further, you can schedule an appointment with my assistant (her email). Shoot over a few times, and she will get back with you if it works." It gets rid of most of the riffraff and I don't have to put much thought into proposals. I've only gotten 3 gigs this way, but I have grown my network of contacts a bit. BTW - My "assistant" is my sister-in-law who edits books and stories for a side business of mine, and the only other W-2 employee beside myself (2 employees).
- trcollinson 9y ago
  That’s honestly pretty fantastic. How do you generally find your consulting work? Do you just use your existing network of contacts?
  - jermaustin1 9y ago
    Yeah, or I reach out to product developers I like to see if they need any support, and sometimes product developers reach out to me thanks to my HN and Quora comments.

jermaustin1 9y ago

I do a lot of consulting, so I'm always looking for short contracts, especially if they are mostly remote. I respond to almost every recruiter (even the generic emails) with something like: "Hey _____, I would like to discuss this project further. A little about myself: I own a small consulting firm with 2 employees and depending on the work load 1-10 contractors. When you hire me, you are actually hiring my firm. We bill at $100 per hour plus T&E. If you would like to discuss this possibility further, you can schedule an appointment with my assistant (her email). Shoot over a few times, and she will get back with you if it works." It gets rid of most of the riffraff and I don't have to put much thought into proposals. I've only gotten 3 gigs this way, but I have grown my network of contacts a bit. BTW - My "assistant" is my sister-in-law who edits books and stories for a side business of mine, and the only other W-2 employee beside myself (2 employees).

trcollinson 9y ago
That’s honestly pretty fantastic. How do you generally find your consulting work? Do you just use your existing network of contacts?
- jermaustin1 9y ago
  Yeah, or I reach out to product developers I like to see if they need any support, and sometimes product developers reach out to me thanks to my HN and Quora comments.