You're smart for a recruiter (looking for advice on HN), so I will give you an answer. I get maybe 3-5 emails from recruiters a week. I usually write back a qu

You're smart for a recruiter (looking for advice on HN), so I will give you an answer. I get maybe 3-5 emails from recruiters a week. I usually write back a quick "no thank you". Some of the problem is out of your control, like the fact that there is ten jobs for every available developer. Not good odds anyone would be interested in any job from a third party. Some obstacles you could manage, mostly by being more specific. WORK: Don't look at things I did ten years ago and reference them. YOu don't have to cover everything you are looking for in your first email. "looking for a backend Ruby developer" is specific enough. Try to describe who I would be working with (vs some weird perk like "we play pingpong on thursdays) MONEY: I hear "exceptionally well paid position" or "top of the industry salary range" consistently, but rarely do I hear "$250-300k plus options". Referral: Unless my friends are looking, it's very difficult for me to forward anything. Mention what the founders have worked on in the past would increase my chances. Hope that helps.