Recruiters... ARGH!!!

What's the difference between a recruiter and a telemarketer? Apparently nothing.

About once a week I get a call from a recruiter (at my desk) asking if we're hiring. They know I am a software engineer, which rather implies that I'm not a hiring manager, and yet it's me they call. It's fairly obvious that they're doing it because they want to try and end-run around the standard procedure. Because they're special. Like everybody else.

Now, I don't want to tar all recruiters with the same brush. I've worked with ethical, responsible recruiters. One, in fact, got me my current job. Not so coincidently, I've never heard from my fellow engineers that they've gotten phone calls from them.

I don't know if I'm ever going to be in a position to hire anyone. But if I am, I'm going to put a bounty on cold-call recruiters. I'll tell my reports that if any of them gets a call from a recruiter, they'll get a cookie. Two if it's a recruiter trying to poach talent. I'll get all of the info and put that recruiter and their organization on a blacklist.