8 ms·

When everyone suddenly started using “impressed” as an opener

38 points by ardme 7y ago

nullbyte 7y ago
I understand your frustration with recruiters in general (those pesky bastards!), but do you really think using the word "impressive" is so bad? Sometimes it's just the right word for the situation. Sure, they'd probably be better off whipping out the old Thesaurus, but ultimately this seems like a non-issue.
- soup10 7y ago
  Hey I saw your resume and it looks mediocre but we can probably place you anyway and get decent recruiting fee, want to chat?
  - partyboat1586 7y ago
    I'd love to see a video of a recruiter call but with subtitles for the what they are actually saying.
  - perl4ever 7y ago
    That would be a great opener if it was credible, as far as I'm concerned. The question is how do you establish the credibility?
- endymi0n 7y ago
  For me personally, it‘s a huge turn-off now since the first two times, I actually fell for it. It‘s surprising how easy it is getting to people by petting their ego. Seeing through this tactic, it feels pretty dirty and dishonest to me by now.
- ardme 7y ago
  The issue is that it is doing the opposite of what they want because everyone started doing it.
- janee 7y ago
  I tend to agree, the opener wasn't the issue for me. When I get these kinds of cold mails the opener doesn't really even register...the problem for me is that recruiters and job postings in general very rarely give any real substance about the work itself, i.e. some clichéd phrase about disruption or exciting something something. I suppose a possible cause could be giving too much info and running the risk of a candidate going direct to the employer
  - perl4ever 7y ago
    "running the risk of a candidate going direct to the employer" When I get a solicitation from a third party recruiter without an employer's name, it's almost always trivial to find out who it is because nobody has time to rewrite a job description in their own words.
- systematical 7y ago
  Recruiters wouldn't be so annoying if they actually took the time to see if I were a fit for the position. Why are you wasting my time about a C# .Net position when that is not listed anywhere on my LinkedIn? Another thing I've noticed recently is recruiters telling me they have some "great positions" for me, but not giving me ANY information. They try to aggressively set up a call. When I press them for details first, they begrudgingly tell me. When I let them know that none of those jobs is a fit they drop all communication. How brutally unprofessional! Real-life example: # Communication starts Recruiter: Hi again! I hope this message finds you well! Your background is an ideal fit for this role! I would love to tell you more about us! Are you open to finding out more about the role? Me: Sure, what can you tell me about this opportunity? Recruiter: Hi! I can tell you everything over the phone if thats ok with you? I am not suppose to share details over the internet :( I am free today at 2pm EST if that would work for you? if so, do you mind sending your resume and best phone number? Me: Do you have a brief job description you can provide? Recruiter: This is all im allowed to share online: "big data web scraping and analytics tech company that helps brands such as Nike, Rolex and Sperry Shoes with online price monitoring, online brand protection and online price enforcement! The company was founded in 2004, they are incredibly stable, and profitable." i can share everything else over the phone if youre still interested Me: where are they located, at least roughly? Recruiter: it is 100% remote. they have a HQ on west coast and East coast. Me: technologies required? Recruiter: Backend development. primarily node Me: okay, i don't have much experience with node Recruiter: ok, they require 2 years or so. not that much? Me: Unfortunately not # Communication ends. What a horrible industry. I'll never go through a recruiter again if I can avoid it. Just garbage. Not even a "okay i'll try and find a better fit for you." They deserve to be treated the way they are.
- outworlder 7y ago
  > Sometimes it's just the right word for the situation Sometimes. I wouldn't expect that 95% of recruiters would be 'impressed' by my resumé all of a sudden in 2019, unless my name were John Carmack or something. And even then, why the sudden change?
- theandrewbailey 7y ago
  In this case, "impressive" means that one of your profiles matched at least 0 of the buzzword technologies that I'm looking for.
sergiotapia 7y ago
everything is a got damn sales pitch dammit
- Konnstann 7y ago
  Are you suggesting that the grind is not, in fact, 24/7/365? Maybe you don't hustle hard enough.
- celticninja 7y ago
  *God damn
  - shantly 7y ago
    No, "got damn" is perfectly cromulent.
    - sergiotapia 7y ago
      yes cromulent and asperdicious
    - celticninja 7y ago
      Perhaps if you are German gott damn is acceptable.
      - shantly 7y ago
        Gul dern, then, if you prefer.
  - yowlingcat 7y ago
    No, they're slightly different phrases. https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=gotdamn https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=gotdamn
    - celticninja 7y ago
      Urban dictionary is the least reliable source of anything on the internet. It's where you put a definition when you don't want to be wrong.
fizx 7y ago
Hello from Sequoia Capital! Hi, I'm a senior human acquisition engineer with [some dumb startup] who just raised an A round with Sequoia (yet to announce, please keep confidential). Talking E2E for a second, would you like to hear about the great work we're doing? (1 day later) Hey, bumping this up.
- nullbyte 7y ago
  "human acquisition engineer" Yeah, I'd say that's pretty accurate
  - maest 7y ago
    The equivalent for this for finance is recruiters having their job title as "Head of Quant and Research" (or similar) on linkedin.
- deleted 7y ago
  [deleted]
- Igelau 7y ago
  I feel betrayed, blond 20-something recruiter girl from LinkedIn. I thought you only reached out to me about this one!
  - anm89 7y ago
    I recently had some very attractive girl from Amazon's recruiting team message me about a position. So I clicked on her page and the "other people viewed" section of her page was entirely composed of outlier attractive women in their mid 20s. And if you click on those profiles it's exactly the same thing with different girls. Apparently they are running a modeling agency/ recruiting team. Pretty sad that this works an definitely turned me off from responding to the offer. I'd personally be more excited if a recruiter finally got Java VS Javascript correct.
    - xvector 7y ago
      As long as I get a job I like with a compensation I want, I couldn’t care less what mind games the recruiters want to pay
Ididntdothis 7y ago
A lot of corporate communication is people copying other people’s style. Around 18 months ago people at my company started calling people “resources”. Now everybody does it and doesn’t even notice how weird this is. Things like “I have talked to that resource”. Then there was another time when all managers suddenly said “I want to challenge that”. That lasted two years and then it went away. Another one was to ask ”are we aligned?” Lasted maybe a year before it fell out of fashion I am sure the “impressed” thing will go away too in a while.
- partyboat1586 7y ago
  I love the lingo. Once you understand it it gives you an upper hand in negotiation with people who use it. The mistake most people make is to start using it all the time. The trick is to use it with people who speak it and don't use it with people who don't speak it. Simple, just gotta learn to speak other people's language. I have to admit though “I have talked to that resource”. is cringe worthy. "We have a resourcing problem" OK "That resource over there in the red shirt isn't producing enough output to meet deadlines, we must hire additional resource." Not OK.
  - lozenge 7y ago
    I get automated emails with "Resource name: lozenge". I think it is a system with employees and contractors and they don't want to use the word "Employee" if it's not accurate. But honestly, they could have found another solution...
    - user5994461 7y ago
      That reminds me of a well-known company I joined once, only to discover in my first week that two thirds of the workers were either temps, direct contractors or outsourced abroad. No wounder businesses are talking about resources instead of employees.
    - wodenokoto 7y ago
      Obviously HR are inclined to refer to workers as resources. They are after all working in the human resource department ...
mrspeaker 7y ago
"Impressed" is the "blazingly fast" of recruiters.
loopycode 7y ago
Stoked?
jaredtn 7y ago
The main issue here is that a single buzzword won’t give your pitch the punch it needs. Specific, enticing detail is what pulls people in. Recruiters are loath to share too much, so these messages just become more of the same.
wiseleo 7y ago
I really... really... REALLY hate "reach out". Tempted to add it as a filter, should eliminate a lot of email.

38 points by ardme 7y ago

I understand your frustration with recruiters in general (those pesky bastards!), but do you really think using the word "impressive" is so bad? Sometimes it's just the right word for the situation. Sure, they'd probably be better off whipping out the old Thesaurus, but ultimately this seems like a non-issue.

soup10 7y ago
Hey I saw your resume and it looks mediocre but we can probably place you anyway and get decent recruiting fee, want to chat?
- partyboat1586 7y ago
  I'd love to see a video of a recruiter call but with subtitles for the what they are actually saying.
- perl4ever 7y ago
  That would be a great opener if it was credible, as far as I'm concerned. The question is how do you establish the credibility?
endymi0n 7y ago
For me personally, it‘s a huge turn-off now since the first two times, I actually fell for it. It‘s surprising how easy it is getting to people by petting their ego. Seeing through this tactic, it feels pretty dirty and dishonest to me by now.
ardme 7y ago
The issue is that it is doing the opposite of what they want because everyone started doing it.
janee 7y ago
I tend to agree, the opener wasn't the issue for me. When I get these kinds of cold mails the opener doesn't really even register...the problem for me is that recruiters and job postings in general very rarely give any real substance about the work itself, i.e. some clichéd phrase about disruption or exciting something something. I suppose a possible cause could be giving too much info and running the risk of a candidate going direct to the employer
- perl4ever 7y ago
  "running the risk of a candidate going direct to the employer" When I get a solicitation from a third party recruiter without an employer's name, it's almost always trivial to find out who it is because nobody has time to rewrite a job description in their own words.
systematical 7y ago
Recruiters wouldn't be so annoying if they actually took the time to see if I were a fit for the position. Why are you wasting my time about a C# .Net position when that is not listed anywhere on my LinkedIn? Another thing I've noticed recently is recruiters telling me they have some "great positions" for me, but not giving me ANY information. They try to aggressively set up a call. When I press them for details first, they begrudgingly tell me. When I let them know that none of those jobs is a fit they drop all communication. How brutally unprofessional! Real-life example: # Communication starts Recruiter: Hi again! I hope this message finds you well! Your background is an ideal fit for this role! I would love to tell you more about us! Are you open to finding out more about the role? Me: Sure, what can you tell me about this opportunity? Recruiter: Hi! I can tell you everything over the phone if thats ok with you? I am not suppose to share details over the internet :( I am free today at 2pm EST if that would work for you? if so, do you mind sending your resume and best phone number? Me: Do you have a brief job description you can provide? Recruiter: This is all im allowed to share online: "big data web scraping and analytics tech company that helps brands such as Nike, Rolex and Sperry Shoes with online price monitoring, online brand protection and online price enforcement! The company was founded in 2004, they are incredibly stable, and profitable." i can share everything else over the phone if youre still interested Me: where are they located, at least roughly? Recruiter: it is 100% remote. they have a HQ on west coast and East coast. Me: technologies required? Recruiter: Backend development. primarily node Me: okay, i don't have much experience with node Recruiter: ok, they require 2 years or so. not that much? Me: Unfortunately not # Communication ends. What a horrible industry. I'll never go through a recruiter again if I can avoid it. Just garbage. Not even a "okay i'll try and find a better fit for you." They deserve to be treated the way they are.
outworlder 7y ago
> Sometimes it's just the right word for the situation Sometimes. I wouldn't expect that 95% of recruiters would be 'impressed' by my resumé all of a sudden in 2019, unless my name were John Carmack or something. And even then, why the sudden change?
theandrewbailey 7y ago
In this case, "impressive" means that one of your profiles matched at least 0 of the buzzword technologies that I'm looking for.

sergiotapia 7y ago

everything is a got damn sales pitch dammit

Konnstann 7y ago
Are you suggesting that the grind is not, in fact, 24/7/365? Maybe you don't hustle hard enough.
celticninja 7y ago
*God damn
- shantly 7y ago
  No, "got damn" is perfectly cromulent.
  - sergiotapia 7y ago
    yes cromulent and asperdicious
  - celticninja 7y ago
    Perhaps if you are German gott damn is acceptable.
    - shantly 7y ago
      Gul dern, then, if you prefer.
- yowlingcat 7y ago
  No, they're slightly different phrases. https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=gotdamn https://www.urbandictionary.com/define.php?term=gotdamn
  - celticninja 7y ago
    Urban dictionary is the least reliable source of anything on the internet. It's where you put a definition when you don't want to be wrong.

fizx 7y ago

Hello from Sequoia Capital! Hi, I'm a senior human acquisition engineer with [some dumb startup] who just raised an A round with Sequoia (yet to announce, please keep confidential). Talking E2E for a second, would you like to hear about the great work we're doing? (1 day later) Hey, bumping this up.

nullbyte 7y ago
"human acquisition engineer" Yeah, I'd say that's pretty accurate
- maest 7y ago
  The equivalent for this for finance is recruiters having their job title as "Head of Quant and Research" (or similar) on linkedin.
deleted 7y ago
[deleted]
Igelau 7y ago
I feel betrayed, blond 20-something recruiter girl from LinkedIn. I thought you only reached out to me about this one!
- anm89 7y ago
  I recently had some very attractive girl from Amazon's recruiting team message me about a position. So I clicked on her page and the "other people viewed" section of her page was entirely composed of outlier attractive women in their mid 20s. And if you click on those profiles it's exactly the same thing with different girls. Apparently they are running a modeling agency/ recruiting team. Pretty sad that this works an definitely turned me off from responding to the offer. I'd personally be more excited if a recruiter finally got Java VS Javascript correct.
  - xvector 7y ago
    As long as I get a job I like with a compensation I want, I couldn’t care less what mind games the recruiters want to pay

Ididntdothis 7y ago

A lot of corporate communication is people copying other people’s style. Around 18 months ago people at my company started calling people “resources”. Now everybody does it and doesn’t even notice how weird this is. Things like “I have talked to that resource”. Then there was another time when all managers suddenly said “I want to challenge that”. That lasted two years and then it went away. Another one was to ask ”are we aligned?” Lasted maybe a year before it fell out of fashion I am sure the “impressed” thing will go away too in a while.

partyboat1586 7y ago
I love the lingo. Once you understand it it gives you an upper hand in negotiation with people who use it. The mistake most people make is to start using it all the time. The trick is to use it with people who speak it and don't use it with people who don't speak it. Simple, just gotta learn to speak other people's language. I have to admit though “I have talked to that resource”. is cringe worthy. "We have a resourcing problem" OK "That resource over there in the red shirt isn't producing enough output to meet deadlines, we must hire additional resource." Not OK.
- lozenge 7y ago
  I get automated emails with "Resource name: lozenge". I think it is a system with employees and contractors and they don't want to use the word "Employee" if it's not accurate. But honestly, they could have found another solution...
  - user5994461 7y ago
    That reminds me of a well-known company I joined once, only to discover in my first week that two thirds of the workers were either temps, direct contractors or outsourced abroad. No wounder businesses are talking about resources instead of employees.
  - wodenokoto 7y ago
    Obviously HR are inclined to refer to workers as resources. They are after all working in the human resource department ...

mrspeaker 7y ago

"Impressed" is the "blazingly fast" of recruiters.

loopycode 7y ago

Stoked?

jaredtn 7y ago

The main issue here is that a single buzzword won’t give your pitch the punch it needs. Specific, enticing detail is what pulls people in. Recruiters are loath to share too much, so these messages just become more of the same.

wiseleo 7y ago

I really... really... REALLY hate "reach out". Tempted to add it as a filter, should eliminate a lot of email.