How to respond to unsolicited recruiter emails?

Question

A technical recruiter outside the province I live in has been calling my personal phone number about a job based in the US. It's been 3 times in 3 days, and she follows up with an email. No details about what the job actually is. I have no idea where she got my personal phone number but I haven't answered her calls nor her emails. The city I live in is clearly mentioned on my personal website. I have applied for a few jobs (directly, not through LinkedIn or recruitment websites) lately but I'm not interested in this job nor in moving to the US, and I'm frankly creeped out by this person.

I've had a bad experience in the past replying to a LinkedIn message from a recruiter to politely refuse a job, only to have that same person email my personal email, then call me on my phone about that job.

What is the appropriate course of action here ? I feel rude ignoring her completely but I fear she may become more insistent (like the example above) if I acknowledge her efforts to contact me.

Answer 1

It is appropriate to ignore unsolicited contact. You are not obligated to respond to everyone who emails you, nor are you obligated to pick up the phone when someone calls you, nor are you obligated to respond to a phone call. You are not being rude in not responding, especially if there is something about the contact that you find bothersome. Blocking the caller/emailer is also appropriate.

My responses to recruiters fall on a continuum. A recruiter that is respectful and has a position that is aligned with my interests is more likely to get a response than one who is rude or sends me a position that would never be of interest to me. For example, the recruiter who sent me a poorly-written email about a 6-month contract QA position on the other side of the country didn't get a response -- there's nothing in my resume that would indicate QA, I'm not interested in a contract, and I'm not interested in relocating to the city where the position is located. On the other hand, the recruiter who sent me a thoughtful email about a position and how they think I would fit into the team got a response to thank them for their consideration, but to say that I'm not looking for a new role at this time.

Answer 2

+1 on what Nadyne said.

On a practical side you can also block this person. Email is easy. Phones, both mobile and land line also have options now for blocking. If someone is becoming spammy with their contacts, then treat it as such.

Answer 3

I feel rude ignoring her completely

I'm suspicious you're Canadian too and I hear you, it feels rude and un-Canadian to completely ignore recruiters. But like the other answers, I agree that the recruiter is spamming you and should be dealt with the same way you'd deal with an email trying to sell you cheap viagra.

The way I look at it is that if a recruiter wants a reply, they need to read my profile and send a message that's actually relevant (for example, I have no contract positions whatsoever on my linkedin profile. A person could reasonably assume I'm not interested in contracts). If they aren't willing to do that work, why should I do the work of replying to them?

It's been 3 times in 3 days, and she follows up with an email.

That is totally unreasonable. Even if I had been interested in the job, that would kill my interest. Either the employer doesn't know their recruiter is doing such a bad job that she's creeping people out, which speaks very poorly of them, or they think that behaviour is okay.