A tip for technology recruiters

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In the past week I have seen a huge uptick in the number of recruiters reaching out to me about opportunities for software engineering jobs.

The more I thought about this, the more I found it odd and misplaced. Especially since I my profile says I am not looking for opportunities right now.

As I write this, I have been working from home for almost two weeks. I live in King County, Washington which is a hot spot for the COVID-19 pandemic. My employer wisely followed the lead of Microsoft and Amazon in allowing, even encouraging, its employees to work from home. Schools across the state are closed for the next month. My daughter is home from university and taking her final exams remotely.

In a country where health insurance is tied to employment, and where new employees are not mandated to get health coverage right away, why would I risk changing jobs right now?

I know there are people who have jobs they cannot stand. Someone I care about recently had to quit a job they loved, because an abusive person got promoted to manager and made their work life a living hell. Once in my engineering career, I quit a new job after only a few months. The company treated me well enough, but was poorly managed, and openly embraced a culture of bullying employees. I could not stand it. I have experienced poor management myself and seen the harm it does to others.

I also know that a lot of businesses have had to lay people off recently, especially service jobs and others that are “public facing”. But software engineering jobs are not like that for the most part.

I am actually deeply grateful to recruiters for bringing opportunities to my attention I would not have found on my own. Two years ago, when my previous employer was laying people off left and right, I needed them. A recruiter helped me find my current job, which as it happens I am enjoying very much.

I understand that recruiters have to make a living, especially right now. But if you are going to email people about new opportunities, and make demands on their time, here is a small tip.

Start with a little sensitivity. Start by acknowledging what is happening in the world, and that people might have other things on their minds besides the career ladder right now. It is called creating alignment. The best recruiters do that, and it carries a lot of weight with me. I am sure I am not alone in feeling that way. Especially now.

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