The way you reject a recruiter is largely dependent on your current career stage.
When a recruiter contacts you, you may want to say politely “no thanks” if your role is one that’s going well and you see yourself staying there for a while. LinkedIn can be filled with recruiter requests, especially for people who have highly-sought skills.
It can be beneficial to talk to recruiters even if you are not interested in the job you have or you like the position you currently hold. You may find a new, more interesting role or make a valuable connection that will help you in the future when job hunting.
What does a recruiter do?
It’s important to first understand the role of a recruiter. The recruiter finds qualified candidates to fill open positions. There are corporate recruiters and agencies.
According to Aldebaran Recruitment, an executive search firm, agency recruiters are employed by recruiting agencies hired by businesses — such as Apple, Bank of America or your local engineering company — to find people for their vacant positions.
Aldebaran says corporate recruiters are employed by the companies that seek candidates. A corporate recruiter at Apple is a member of Apple’s staff and only works to fill Apple-related positions.
No matter what type of recruiter reaches out to you, you should first consider: Do you want to reject the recruiter? Johnny Roccia is the director of Ama La Vida’s career and life coach firm. He believes you shouldn’t ever reject a recruiter.
Roccia advises that no matter how happy you feel in your current role, even if it is your dream position, you must take at least one call from a recruiter per month.
Why? Roccia says that the people he helps who are having the hardest time finding a new job are the ones who stayed at their “perfect” job for many years without ever networking or connecting with recruiters. He says that if those workers are laid off or their circumstances change, and they require a new job, then “they will be in the wilderness”. They have no connections beyond their current company.
Roccia: “A job does not equal marriage.” You can keep your Tinder account .”
Shonna Waters is vice president for executive advisory, BetterUp, an organization that offers behavioral career coaching. She has the same message. You should figure out what your “North Star,” or ideal role, is, including your desired responsibilities and perks, and then use recruiters to help you get there.
Keep the door open even if you tell someone no
You can turn down recruiters without completely closing off future possibilities. Roccia suggests that if a recruiter approaches you about a role you are not interested in but would like to learn more, you should thank the person for their consideration and tell them why this particular position isn’t right for you. Tell them what roles you would love to learn about. Don’t hesitate to be specific. This will allow the recruiter to reach out and offer relevant positions, which saves you both valuable time.
You can keep your options open if a recruiter approaches you with a job you do not want and you aren’t interested in other opportunities. Roccia suggests that you thank the recruiter and tell him or her that you are happy with your job. You can also offer to introduce them to colleagues who might be an ideal match.
He recommends that you say something similar to the recruiter in this way:
“I am currently comfortable in my current projects and have committed myself to them for a long time. But I’m very glad that you reached me out. Would love to keep in touch. There are also a few people with similar skills in my network. “If you would send me a LinkedIn connection request and an email with the details of this position, I’d be glad to look it over and see who I could connect you with.”
It is important to always be polite, clear and professional in all of these situations. It doesn’t matter if you are happy with your job, but it is always good to know what other employers offer their employees.
Waters describes being open to job offers as a “continuum, not a change.” You get to tell a recruiter, “I love what I do right now. What I’d love to do more of would be X orY. In the future, if I see anything that could offer this, I’d be very excited to reconnect. .'”