You Are Too Smart For Your Market

Today I got yet another call from recruiter. By going throught the regular blah-blah-blah for a hundredth time I can't help but notice the ever-lasting routine. And how any deviation from it throws people off the charts completely.

Now, I'm sure I am not any different from anyone else. It's just that I like to have a few things going on at the same time. For example, I work as a developer for one company and as a web projects manager at my own company, plus I blog heavily that brings some small income too. Question - where do I work? What's the title or the position I hold? What is the amount I am making? Is this per hour? Per month? Per year? Most of the recruiters will stumble and crumble right here.

Being flexible and able to wear multiple hats has never been a bad thing. However, according to many recruiters, it isn't anymore. Many times have I heard that "you can't have two jobs at the same time - it will only confuse your potential employer" or "when will you be able to do your job?" or even "you can't be working at two places at the same time - it's impossible!". Well, sorry to be the one who brings you the bad news, but if you can't do it - doesn't mean nobody can.

I went through this routine with quite a few recruiters and my learnings have been sad so far. Being your salespeople, the recruiters aren't really interested in pitching all your talents. They work off the positions thay receive from employers and invest heavily (in terms of time and efforts) to make sure their submitted candidates fit into the position they want to fill. Which is understandable since it's the employer who is paying them, not the candidate.

The problem with this approach is that it can easily be gamed and not to the recruiter's advantage. I can imagine a creative type putting up a few resumes tailored to different variations of the positions most offered (recruiters would love this), then going to the interview with potential employer and present themselves in their own way. It may not land them the job that's been promised, but it can get them further then recruiter wanted. Additionally, the recruiter himself (or herself) would look like they don't really know the person they're representing. Do this often enough and the word will get out.