These days there are a plenty of things demanding our attention. There are plenty of ways to attract attention. And, plenty of subjects and subject-matter that always seem be the center of attention.

In fact, whether or not you realize it, many messages recruiters send (calls, voice mails, emails, inMails) come across as if the recipient is expected to drop everything and pay attention. Some recruiters even publicly complain when a person doesn’t respond, doesn’t respond quickly, or doesn’t respond enthusiastically to those messages.

It’s rather ironic since some recruiters constantly perpetuate the idea that people that are not actively pursuing employment opportunities are somehow far more desirable and hire-able than those that happen to be paying attention to the job market. Go figure!

A recruiter’s communication doesn’t necessarily contain the words: “stop what you’re doing”, but due to certain content and delivery, that’s often the perception. And, based on all of the other attention getting things in life, guess how appealing that looks. Probably not worthy of anyone’s attention!

So, please, stop what you are doing!

• Don’t keep blasting out group inMails based on a key word search.
• Don’t be needy and greedy.
• Don’t immediately follow your generic greeting with a referral request.
• Don’t write, “if you’re interested, please apply using the following link.”
• Don’t provide only a job title as if that is all someone needs to know to determine interest in your opening.
• Don’t require a resume before even speaking with someone you found and contacted.
• Don’t bother people with irrelevant opportunities.
• Don’t express interest in someone’s qualifications for a role, then vaguely suggest s/he is over-/under-qualified.
• Don’t make it all about you, your firm, your search, or and your needs.

The above methods send the message that you are demanding attention, when you should be putting in effort to attract attention. If you can’t see the difference, please STOP WHAT YOU’RE DOING. Maybe you can insta-snap your way onto a reality show where you can be the center of attention.