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> Recruiters should not recruit programmers if they, the recruiters, have not worked in a programming context. Ran into this the other day, a company reached o
by gedy 1y ago
> Recruiters should not recruit programmers if they, the recruiters, have not worked in a programming context.
Ran into this the other day, a company reached out, and while I wasn't job hunting, the senior role they were trying to fill was basically exactly a perfect fit for me from a skills and background on a Venn diagram.
The first two calls were young, non-technical women (they shared linkedin links), and they clearly did not understand what they were hiring for and couldn't answer questions. They insisted on their scripted questions, and didn't want to talk about the companies where I did the exact role they were hiring for.
I was not rude or arrogant about this but the next day got the "Unfortunately, we've..." email. It's actual pretty funny, I'm just glad I didn't really need the job.
Companies, stop letting HR be your first contacts and screening before technical folks. It doesn't work. No wonder your pipelines are full of the fakers and liars like many of you lament.
- the_af 1y agoI dunno, I find non-technical screening helpful. Otherwise way too many candidates reach the tech interview stage that shouldn't, and are a waste of my time... (I agree screening by non-programmers is flawed, but there's always a compromise. Involving programmers at this early stage can be a source of frustration and wasted time).
- gedy 1y agoMy point would be that engineering manager, etc are the ones who vett folks to be talked to. I'm pretty sure every job I've gotten in 25 years was initiated by engineering lead or manager.
- the_af 1y agoHm, interesting. In my career, some have and some haven't. In my current job, there's a screening by non-tech recruiters, then managers, then me and possibly others for the real tech interview. My EM is technical but cannot go in-depth as we can.
- MomsAVoxell 1y agoThe landscape is large and wide - various realms of software dev/engineering are walled gardens compared to others, which are more public markets. Imagine the recruitment industry around Munich or Melbourne or Singapore. Similar fish, very different kettles.
- MomsAVoxell 1y ago>The first two calls were young, .. they clearly did not understand what they were hiring for and couldn't answer questions. They insisted on their scripted questions, and didn't want to talk about the companies where I did the exact role they were hiring for. Indeed, this is what I believe is endemic to the recruitment industry - the scripts are there to get the "# of interviews done" statistic in line with some expectation; the interview itself being successful, is secondary to the purpose. I have personally saved myself huge headaches by flunking a recruiter who wasn't really doing the job, just pretending to.