A Note to Recruiters

If you’re a recruiter (that is, anyone looking to hire me), please read this before contacting me, or you risk losing a potential lead forever.~

As you are probably aware, software engineers are in fairly high demand. Those with experience in Ruby on Rails are even more so. Demand is easily outstripping supply, and that means I get contacted a lot, even though I am not actively looking for a new position.

So, before sending me an email, please note the following:

1. I am gainfully and happily employed. This means that your position needs to be very enticing just to consider the position. In order to do this, you must be able to provide me:

   • The name of the company I would be working for.
   • What I would specifically be working on.
   • What it’s like to work at the company, in terms of work expectations, office environment, and the corporate culture.
   • What I might expect for compensation and benefits.
   • All the standard information you would include in a job posting.

   If you’re unable to provide this information by email, whether it’s due to contractual obligations, because your business model depends on withholding information (or you don’t trust me), or because you haven’t done your homework and don’t know, then you should not bother contacting me. You may think that phone calls are a “better way” to share information, but I can’t have phone calls every other day with recruiters when I’m not even looking for a job.

2. Do not contact me by email and then “follow up” with a phone call unless I have specifically requested to speak with you. Unsolicited email followed by a unsolicited phone call is likely to get you blocked. I may respond to your email if you have provided the above information and if I’m interested. Please don’t email me over and over again.
3. Don’t make me do your work for you. You need to sell me on the job. Know your recruit. If you want to know more about my professional experience, check out my LinkedIn profile.

All that being said, I don’t want this to be taken the wrong way. I’m happy to be contacted, but you’re not doing me–or yourself–any favors if you can’t tell me what the job is about.