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How To Say No To A Recruiter

by Johnny Bravo · 8 comments

How To Say No To A RecruiterI received a call yesterday from an unknown number in Colorado. I’m not big on answering unknown calls from outside Southern California because they are rarely anything but automated marketing calls.

For whatever reason I thought this call would be different and I was right.

It was a recruiter that had found me on TheLadders.com. What was funny is that she knew it was an old resume of mine (at least 2 years old) but when she Googled me she found my LinkedIn profile and thought I would be a good fit for the position she was looking to fill.

I was flattered but by following the steps below I found that the position was not something that interested me, gained a new connection, and started a relationship that I may one day have a need for.

I thought this would be a great experience to share because not only was it a result of my online professional brand, it is something that might someday happen to you if you follow my posts. It’s important to know how to handle the situation.

 

Ask Questions

When a recruiter reaches out to you out of the blue the first thing you want to do is ask qualifying questions.

You do this so that you can make a decision quickly about whether this opportunity is worth consideration or not. This is to avoid wasting your time on an interview that is not a fit.

Remember that recruiters are sales people too. They are trying to sell the position and company to you. They will focus on the positives of the job and company. It’s your job to vet the opportunity to see if it will be a fit for you.

Some questions you might want to ask include:

Why is this position available?: Is the company growing? Was there a recent ownership change? Was the last person fired? These factors might influence your decision to continue.

Why do you feel I am a good fit?: This is also a great sales technique I learned during my Sandler sales training. Let them sell themselves on why you are a good candidate for the spot. But if they say “you have experience in blue widgets” and you hated your time working in the blue widget industry then you’ve steered clear of a bad fit.

Give Them A Straight Answer

Once you’ve qualified the position to your satisfaction you should be able to give them a straight answer right away. It’s a professional courtesy to not waste their time because I’m sure they aren’t trying to waste yours.

You can give them a simple “yes I’m interested” or “no thank you” but I believe there is a much better response.

If you are interested then you’ll likely discuss next steps with them including setting up a more formal interview. Your response should incude your expectations moving forward as well as what your current situation is. Many people refer to keep their job search a secret from their current employer so be sure to mention that up front. Every recruiter will understand, respect, and know how to handle that.

Also be sure to ask if there is any travel required for the interview process. When I interviewed for my current role I had to fly to Ohio for a night.

My answer for the recruiter however was a confident no.

One of my qualifying questions was “Is this an individual sales role or a sales management position?“. The position title wasn’t very helpful.

So my response to her was short but to the point.

“I’m flattered you reached out but I’m very happy in my current role. I’m not interested in a lateral move like that right now. I’d really only in a position to consider moving for a sales management role. My experience and skill set lend to leading a team”

She appreciated my candidness and understood my motivation for not wanting to discuss the current open position further.

Keep The Conversation Open

Although I wasn’t interested in this position that doesn’t mean that later down the road I wouldn’t value being connected to her.

I can’t predict the future but I can definitely prepare for it. I can’t predict changes in my job status through more than my actions. The fact that she found my experience appealing now means she very well might later as well.

I asked to connect with her on LinkedIn to stay connected in the hopes that one day we may be able to help each other out.

I love connecting with recruiters. They have great networks and are great friends to have when you find yourself looking for a job.

Offer To Help

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Finally you want to offer to help them out if you can.

If they are looking at you to fill their position then it’s very likely you know others in the industry that might be a good fit for the job as well. Not only can you help them but an out of work friend or network connection. It often is a win-win.

Not only does this create a new relationship, they’ll feel they owe you one. When the time comes when you are looking, you have one more strong relationship you can leverage.

I asked this recruiter to send me the job description and if I can think of anyone I’ll pass them along.

No Is Not Forever

To summarize the above, I want you to understand that there is a right way and a wrong was to turn someone down.

As a professional you are in a much better position by strengthening your network instead of just trying to get off the phone as quickly as possible.

Yes a simple “no not interested…dial tone” will get you back to what you were doing faster, it does nothing for you and could potentially eliminate you from that recruiter’s candidate pool completely.

Be professional, be courteous, and be always be connected.

~ Johnny Bravo
Image courtesy of winnond / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

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{ 6 comments… read them below or add one }

Debra Yearwood March 5, 2022 at 5:04 pm

Excellent article! Isn’t it amazing how much LinkedIn has changed the game for candidates? What I really like is that you didn’t immediately jump at the opportunity. Not all jobs are the right fit and by being discerning the recruiter understands better what works for you. Frankly, I think being thoughtful, polite and open just improves your cache as a candidate.

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Johnny Bravo March 5, 2022 at 5:09 pm

Absolutely Debra! And by making sure it’s the right fit, you’re less likely to jump the gun for a position that you’re going to hate later on and be in the exact same situation. Do it right the first time.

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Catarina March 6, 2022 at 3:00 am

Also were contacted by a headhunter that found me on Linkedin a couple of weeks ago. After asking some questions I understood that it was not for me, so I turned them down. Linkedin really has changed how positions are filled.

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Johnny Bravo March 6, 2022 at 9:07 pm

LinkedIn definitely has. The landscape of the job market, both finding and filling jobs, is a lot different them it was just 5-10 years ago.

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Silvia August 7, 2021 at 1:29 pm

I work as a professional recruiter and really enjoyed this article. It’s always best for both ends to be as upfront as possible. I’ve learned that overselling a job only hurts my relationship with the client and candidate. Presenting someone who is not a good fit can make a client questions my judgment in finding them the most qualified people. Pushing a candidate to accept a position that is not a fit for them can lead to a quick turn around or the assumption that I do not have their best interest in mind.
We do appreciate referrals! I will vouch that I have put in many long nights to help those people who I’ve formed good relationships with. Sometimes all it takes is a bit of kindness :)

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Johnny Bravo August 11, 2021 at 9:00 pm

Glad you enjoyed the article Silvia and thanks for the comment. I’m happy to hear you are more interested in building a solid relationship then simply earning a commission. Keep it up!

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