DEAR KATIE,

Rather than bury this in a serious discussion thread on Katie's Dear John post i thought it might be kind of fun to make it a response to her Dear John letter. Please understand it's for fun...sort of.

Dear Katie,

Thank you so much for your letter. It is at least nice to know that you are well and something bad had not happened to you. I respect your position and your budget constraints. Actually the reason for my call was three fold. I really wanted to discuss all this with you over lunch as i value you as a person but after receiving your nice letter it seems you are very busy and being hounded by lots of recruiters so i will respond in kind.

First, i am glad that we are on the same page. After having worked my heart out for you in the past, i want you to know how much i have appreciated your business and have been delighted that we were able to place several people with your company who are still there and in fact have been promoted. It is always rewarding for us to know that we were able to assist in helping build a company with top people. Which brings me to the second reason for my call.

As a recruiter who has worked with you in the past we of course signed an agreement not to recruit directly or indirectly any employees of your company. We have been happy to honor that agreement, however we are receiving a high level of calls from current employees of your company who with the economy improving want to make a change. Rather than engage them behind your back i wanted to discuss with you that since you no longer need our services and are doing good things with google and the SM crowd, i am sure you no longer have expectations that we not work with your employees or anyone at your company they may refer to us. Certainly we do not want to besmirch our reputation as honorable due to you finding new and cheaper ways to meet your goals. We understand budgets.

It had also become difficult to work with your internal recruiters as they did not return calls and seemed to be sitting on resumes from recruiters while trying to fill positions that you had listed with us without having to pay a fee so were not putting our resumes throught to your hiring managers. All understandable when money is tight but frustrating as you can imagine when we were trying to do our very best to provide top candidates and asked only that our candidates be considered along with those your recruiters received since you did list the position. But let bygones be bygones. The relationship had become strained from our point of view also but we are never quick to throw relationships to the wind just because things got a little difficult. Times change and we never know what the future will bring so loyalty is never under valued from our standpoint.

The third purpose of my call was to let you know that we have been approached by one of your competitors who want to retain us to do some senior level recruiting. As we have given you preferential treatment in the past and did not work with your direct competitors as we felt there might be even a small perception of conflict of interest i also wanted to be sure you were aware that since you no longer need us there should be no such perception and i know you will wish us well. In line with that new relationship this client is looking for a Sr. level person with your background. As i have worked with you in the past and found you to be an effective professional on all levels i wanted to speak with you about the position before i launced a full search.

Based on your letter it seems however that you feel cold calls are a thing of the past and social media is the total solution. Unfortunately this search is a confidential one so will only be discussed with potential candidates who will be called as you say, "out of the blue". I did want to give you the option to discuss or possibly refer someone but being unable to reach you and receiving your letter i will certainly accept it as a rejection and wish you well in finding another position within your company that will meet your desire for career progression.

By all means, let's hang out some time. Just because our past relationship was no longer of value to you does not mean there is anything wrong with either of us. As adults we both know it's never good to burn bridges or loose opportunities over something as silly as a call not being returned. Give me a call if things do not work out for you in the future. If i do not have too many candidates calling as the economy starts to boom i will certainly return your call..or at least drop you a note.

Love and kisses,

P. S. My number is oi812, if you get my voice mail please leave a message.

Comment by Katie McNab on April 28, 2011 at 6:57pm: Yeah, I'm neither bimbo or power broker. ;) And you're right - we don't do that. If we've briefed an TPR on a requirement, we're all about getting candidates in and decisions made. No messing about. But if we haven't briefed a supplier, and they try and submit an unsolicited candidate, they automatically waive their fee.

I know that horrifies some TPRs, especially in the US, but it's interesting to see the differences in seemingly similar markets...

Comment by Sandra McCartt on April 28, 2011 at 7:25pm: Actually, there are a lot of companies in the U. S. who have the same policy about unsolicited resumes. A lot of companies in the U. S. just delete them, send an email back and tell whoever sent them that they will be deleted. Some do not depending on the candidate. Unsolicited resumes are only well received in most cases if the TPR already has a good relationship with the company or hiring manager and knows that HR or that hiring manager wants to see candidates who may fit the company even if they don't have an open position.

It's kind of like somebody calling me about a black horse or puppy that needs a home. I really don't want another one but they know i will either give it a home or find somebody who will.

I got a resume of a candidate this morning from one of my hiring managers. The fellow is a colleague who has been laid off and was networking with my hiring manager. My guy sent it to me asking if i could help his friend. As a service to my client i will send it unsolicited to several other companies. It will have a note on it that says, "we are not submitting this resume in expectation of a fee, it is a courtesy referral at the request of one of our clients who has recommened this gentleman." If you have any opportunity he might fit, please call him direct and let him know that Mr. XXXX referred him." There are all kinds of ways to network and provide service. :) My client knows that i will make every effort to help his friend even if i don't make a dime. That is part of the reason i get all of his open listings. The other being that i deliver good candidates.

Comment by Gareth Jones on April 29, 2011 at 5:46am: Oh come on Sandra, please! You mean to say that if Katie had closed the door on you but that she was the perfect candidate you would walk away and not pursue her??! If so that makes you a lousy recruiter, and also one that doesnt really care much about your client. "Cant get the best? Oh well, anyone will do!"

I just dont believe it, and to suggest it as you do in your post is just lame - its classic old skool recruiter thinking and the kind of approach that just gives the industry a bad name.

Comment by Edwin Ostrand on April 29, 2011 at 11:05am: Gareth, I agree with Sandra, unless there are only 2 or 3 "Perfect" candidates in the world for the position, (had one of the searches), I will make every attempt to reach a candidate, put is they are hard headed, closed minded or a prim donna... then in my book they are NOT the perfect candidate for ANY of my clients. While I cannot speak for Sandra, I have been recruiting on two different levels for most of my adult life and have always employed both psychological and behavioral skills to my tradecraft.

Over the many decades I have been recruiting, it has never failed that the candidates the close the door on you the first time, even if you reopen it, will be problematic to you and or their handler. Thus it does not justify spending valuable time on the occasional "perceived perfect candidate".

Comment by Sandra McCartt on April 29, 2011 at 2:30pm: Absolutely i would walk away on any candidate who closed the door. I have no idea if you are a recruiter, a marketer or social media wonk but trust me when i tell you, there is no such thing as "the perfect candidate". My clients would think i had bumped my head on a jagged pice of sky if i brought a candidate to the table who had slammed the door in my face. What gives the industry a bad name my young friend is recruiters who beg and plead with a candidate, twist their arm and cajole them into even taking a look at a position. A reluctant bride makes a lousy wife. An arm twisting recruiter is the one who has a high fall out rate. The lousiest recruiters i have ever had the misfortune to deal with are the ones Katie is talking about who leave those irritating messages saying, "I have a perfect candidate".

Was it not you my insulting friend who wrote a blog post:

"It's not about the Deal, It's about the individual. Some people no matter how well suited for a position should stay where they are and pursue other opportunities within their current company. "

Oh yes, i am sorry to be so long in responding to your lovely comment but i was very busy this morning closing a few of those old skool placements. I am truly amazed. I always thought you Brits were somewhat more classy than us mutts over here in the colonies. It seems there is more of an elistist attitude amongest the HR crowd than we have here. The other thing you silly rabbit is the post was written in the same vein Katie wrote hers so get over your cheap self. Throwing out insults in the face of humor is the ultimate lame.

Comment by Alex Roberts on April 29, 2011 at 3:23pm: Comment by Sandra McCartt 47 minutes ago

"What gives the industry a bad name my young friend is recruiters who beg and plead with a candidate, twist their arm and cajole them into even taking a look at a position. A reluctant bride makes a lousy wife."

Right on, this is truth.

Comment by Sandra McCartt on April 29, 2011 at 3:30pm: So sayeth the Sooth.

Comment by Gareth Jones on April 30, 2011 at 6:53am: ok sandra, i hear you. And im a bitza - bitz of this and bitz of that. HR for the first 10 years, then consulting blah than recruiting for the last 8. Now out of recruitment. So have seen all sides. Us brits? - well actually, on the whole we have a pretty sorry and poorly recruitment industry which I would def not describe as classy! Its broken and populated with some of the worst kind of people (not all but def some) which is ultimately i guess where Katie is coming from with the theme for her post.

I would absolutely agree with the quote above regarding twisting a candidates arm for a position - but i hear so often from recruiters that they see this as a legitimate part of their 'sales job' - total horsecrap in my view. Its your job to find potential. Its my job, as the internal recruiter/hiring manager to decide if they are the right candidate for the job.

Regarding my comment, possibly did go a bit far there ;) However, i heard that so many times when i was in the buying seat on the corporate side (And still here it in the industry), this arrogance around "well you would have been great for a job im handling but as you dont want to talk to me anymore, im not going to consider you" Your comment smacked of a bit of that so i saw red! ;)

Comment by Sandra McCartt on April 30, 2011 at 6:43pm: It didn't go a bit far my friend it was to the right of Attila the Hun. Try to take a step back and see the spoof and humor in both posts before you go rabid. As to mine smacking of arrogance, of course it did it was in response to the spoofy arrogance of Katie's.

However ,in the real world. Give this some thought. If you reached out to a candidate from the position of an internal recruiter. The candidate refused to take your call then got on Twitter or Facebook or wherever and went on and on about what a duck you were and went so far as to publish something referring to all internal recruiters as the scourge of the earth. Would you perhaps think that candidate was an arrogant ass and let the world know that you might have had a wonderful spot for that person but you would now never talk to them

That was not Katie's purpose nor was it mine. We were both making some overstated satirical points but truly it is not a one way street. The arrogance exists with external, internal, and candidates with all of us very frustrated. My take is that the problem is caused by "lumping". Good ethical recruiters are being lumped in with the bad ones. We are unable to differ ourselves if HR refuses to talk with us on a business basis and arrogantly expects us to play sucky social media games or court them pretending we do not want to work with them.

Perhaps I am wrong but to me those are transparent political games and any adult business person should
be insulted that anyone would think they were so shallow as to believe that a recruiter or anyone else who had
an interest in doing business with their company just wanted to be their bff. If someone walked into my office or connected with me on SM who was obviously looking for a job or selling an ATS but just kept telling me they wanted to get to know me or indicating they just think I'm cooler than rat shit it would insult my intelligence. I would think they were a phony suck up. I would much prefer that a jobseeker, a maybe some day job seeker or somebody selling something state their business..I will listen and or answer an email by the way..it's called business courtesy. I have talked to thousands of people I never placed, couldn't place, didn't want to place. God knows how many sales people from the little guy who peddles tamales, who always manages to drop in when I am on a close in a dicey situation, stands on one foot then the other until I nod yes or no, to the guy who is trying to sell me a 500k piece of land that I can't afford unless I win the lottery.

Do I really want to, no not really. My housekeeper makes great tamales and I forget to buy lottery tickets. I have been a recruiter so long that my database is bigger than the national debt. I can generate 500 candidates in two weeks with a job board posting. So why do I take a breath and give those who contact me a few minutes. Because behind each one of those calls is ONE PERSON trying to do their job. ONE PERSON looking for a job to feed their family,ONE PERSON with a knot of fear in their gut whom I can't place but who feels just a touch of hope if I can take a minute to tell them where to go to fill out an application.

Are there days when I want to write that dear John letter, never take another phone call unless it's somebody I know. Damn straight, skippy. I am no social worker, I don't "just love people". In fact, anybody who knows me knows it doesn't pay to piss me off with silly crap or hurt an animal, or lie and cheat. But, they also know if the shit is down, it's dark and late, they want me on their side. I am just one person but I never forget When that phone rings or the 325th email dings in that there is just ONE PERSON behind that ring/ding and if the situation were reversed it could be me.

So to end this diatribe to both or all sides of this deal. We are in the PEOPLE business. Fuck all your trendy, trendy buzzwords.."talent", "resources","human capital". You arrogant assholes..recruiters or HR ,behind each resume, phone call, email. there is one PERSON. Before you blow them off or harass them with too many calls remember it could be you, just your own little person, trying to find a job or do your job.

Unless of course you need tamales or win the lottery and want to spend 500k on some ranch land in Texas. If that happens call me, I know people, I can hook you up. I answered my phone.