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I've got a few emails recently from recruiters (who I have not met before) about jobs which are related to my skills/fields. For example, one of them get my email address from my github profile (I'm using that email address for only github commits) and put some effort to the email (she used my last name, the location of the job is the same city as can be googled about me).

However, I'm not really interested in those jobs. Should I answer these emails? Could there be any negative consequences if I just delete them? (I'm living in a small country/city.)

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  • Related: workplace.stackexchange.com/q/22961/325
    – Monica Cellio
    Apr 27, 2014 at 3:19
  • Hey user, and welcome to The Workplace! Could you please edit your question to explain what exactly the problem is? Are you actually looking for a job or otherwise concerned that ignoring this recruiter will have negative affects? Is the recruiter even from the small country/city? Without that information, it's a bit tough to give a good answer. Thanks in advance!
    – jmac
    May 7, 2014 at 2:53

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You do have a couple of choices: ignore the email; respond with a polite no.

As someone who gets hundreds of "spam" recruiter emails, I do tend to ignore the unsolicited one. Since they keep coming in, it appears to me that it doesn't cause an issue to ignore them.

However, when I see one that is addressed correctly or otherwise catches my eye as important, I do send a note. The note usually goes like this:

Thank you for your interest in my availability for position x. I am not currently looking to change positions, but am always open to future possibilities. Please feel free to contact me any time you run across a position that matches my skills.

Thank you.

Being polite can't hurt you with someone who might be able to help you find a new position at a later date.

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  • Agreed, if they've gone to the effort of researching and directly emailing, I'll make the effort to reply either way. Mail merge jobs (usually bcc'd) just go into the bin.
    – The Wandering Dev Manager
    Apr 26, 2014 at 18:59
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Should I answer these emails? Could there be any negative consequences if I just delete them? (I'm living in a small country/city.)

If you want to continue to get unsolicited emails from unknown recruiters, then you should respond. That's almost a guaranteed way to ensure a flow of such emails.

On the other hand, if you view these emails as spam, or otherwise don't wish to receive them, then you should just delete them and not respond at all.

It can be flattering to think that you have gotten the attention of a recruiter, and might be qualified for a bunch of terrific jobs. But I can't say I know of anyone who actually found and accepted a good job from an unknown recruiter who had absolutely no connection with the candidate's network. Your mileage may vary.

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