[joezydeco]

I don't mind either, but what's annoying is how frustratingly vague they are when they are contacting me first. A typical example:

Recruiter: "I have a great senior engineering position and you're a perfect match!"

Me: "Great. Can you send me a job description and tell me more about what field they're in? I'm an embedded guy and I'm going to want to know if this is (for example) medical, automotive, HMI, or something else."

And this is where things completely go to hell. The typical response is a job description that reads as "must know how to write software" and I've even gotten repsonses like "the client is starting in a new sector and is so stealth they can't talk about it." Seriously?

The other annoying trend now is the marketing and sales types that are scraping LinkedIn for buzzwords and cold calling you based on that. Don't believe me? Put the word "IoT" somewhere in your top description block and watch your inbox and voicemail over the next two weeks.

[TranquilMarmot]

I really don't mind the emails. It's the cold calls that bug me. I'll be sitting at my desk, happy and content and writing code, when my phone starts to buzz.

"Odd," I say, "I don't know anybody from Massachusetts.. maybe it's important!"

So I answer.

"Hello, I am calling from [recruiting company] and have a perfect position for you doing [x, y, and z]! Are you interested?"

Now I think to myself that maybe the job will be good, maybe the pay will be higher than what I'm currently getting, maybe it will be doing something I enjoy. So I say "Okay, sure. Tell me more."

The response is the same every time "Okay, I will send you an email to [my email address] if you would kindly respond with haste!"

I politely say thanks and hang up the phone. I go to check my email and sure enough, there it is- "Hello, I am with [recruiting company] and have a perfect position for you doing [x, y, and z]! Kindly fill out the info below and send me your resume."

WHY?! WHY ARE YOU CALLING ME IF YOU'RE JUST GOING TO SEND ME AN EMAIL SAYING THE EXACT THING YOU TOLD ME ON THE PHONE?!?!

[bsg75]

> It's the cold calls that bug me.

I never answer calls from numbers I don't know. I rarely listen to voice mails from the same. How often do important calls come from unknown numbers? In my case, never.

If its a business thing, and they don't have my email address, chances are we don't have any relationship that will lead to anything productive.