Questions tagged [recruitment]
The process of finding potential new employees.
1,365
questions
195
votes
4
answers
23k
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What should I do when my dream company is interested in me before my skills are developed?
There is a company I adore and working there would be my dream job. My plan was to continue working on my programming skills (which are currently underdeveloped) and then start contributing to this ...
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193
votes
17
answers
49k
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I prepared my CV in LaTeX and exported it to PDF. How to deal with a recruiter who insists on CV in Word format?
FOREWORD
I prefer to create documents in formats such as LaTeX, Markdown or RMarkdown. They're platform and version (of the particular editor) independent. You can export them to good looking PDF ...
- 1,385
193
votes
25
answers
37k
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How to attract people to work on very old and outdated technologies?
I work in a IT company that is deeply specialized in projects made with old and outdated technologies.
The biggest projects are usually a mix of Cobol (the oldest versions, not the most modern) and ...
- 1,093
178
votes
12
answers
32k
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How to negotiate salary with an extremely unprofessional in-house recruiter?
I'm interviewing at a certain programming job. I've passed everything, the people doing the interview say they really like my skills and want me to join the team, everything's looking great, the ...
- 1,317
170
votes
13
answers
34k
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How to avoid being sexist when trying to employ someone to function in a very sexist environment?
Let's assume I need to find an employee to act as a middleman/ link between two teams: IT and my team.
Whereas my team (and most of the company) is quite a nice place to work in in terms of diversity,...
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145
votes
23
answers
27k
views
How do we recruit junior software developers in an age where everybody studies for the interview?
As a recruiter, I find it increasingly hard to recruit good software developers, due to the fact that it has become very easy to simply study for a job interview by reading any of those 14020 job ...
- 1,135
135
votes
19
answers
19k
views
Hiring "diverse" candidates has turned into declining qualified applicants. Is it wrong to object to these policies?
I work at one of the largest organizational consulting firms in the US as a recruiter. Starting last year and more recently, I've seen a push in hiring managers wanting to hire what they call "...
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130
votes
16
answers
27k
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Does diversity provide anything that meritocracy does not?
I'm hoping my question is less broad than this one. I work in tech and see many emails about diversity from our upper management.
In some sense, I can see this being used as a PR tactic: management ...
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128
votes
15
answers
35k
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Is it discriminatory to put "bonus" video game skills in a job advertisement?
My employer (a small company) is hiring an IT person. The person hiring and writing the job ad loves SNES video games and grew up around that time.
The job ad for the IT person has a section for "...
- 907
127
votes
8
answers
25k
views
Recruiter demanding I sign dodgy paperwork after joining job
I recently got a job through a recruiter. Everything has been going well and I've been completing my tasks on time or before.
The recruiter who got me the role is working with my employer on a part ...
- 1,921
124
votes
6
answers
24k
views
What do I do if a job that was (mis-)sold to me as work-from-home, later changed, on day one, to working on-site, everyday?
Yesterday, I started a role, as a contractor, that was sold to me as a home based job. I accepted this job at £50pd below my previous rate due to its home based nature.
I’m now told on day 1 that I’...
- 683
122
votes
7
answers
20k
views
Recruiter wants very extensive technical details about all of my previous work
I was recently cold-called by a recruiter on LinkedIn who had seen my profile/resume. The position seemed to be a very good fit for my skill set so I replied that I was very interested. Within minutes ...
user98457
115
votes
16
answers
26k
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Company cuts my salary immediately after I sign the offer letter
Today I signed an offer letter with a big company in the US that I was very excited to work for.
Less than two hours after signing the offer, and after I withdrew my application to the other company ...
- 1,826
112
votes
11
answers
45k
views
Can I ask "How did I do?" at the end of an interview?
When an interviewer asks "Do you have any questions?" at the end of an interview, is it acceptable to ask (as one of a few questions)
How did I perform/do during this interview?
- 1,719
111
votes
14
answers
59k
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Why is working on the same position for more than 15 years not a red flag?
I'm about to interview someone who applied for the same position that I have: Senior Software Engineer.
The candidate is 13 years older than me and has worked in the same position for more than 15 ...
- 481
110
votes
12
answers
25k
views
Is it appropriate for a recruiter to tell me I need to be able to take calls during the day?
A recruiter contacted me about a possibility for a job in my field and suggested having a phone call to discuss the details. I said I was willing to have a phone call, and asked if 7pm was too late ...
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106
votes
7
answers
19k
views
Is being tested by a "customer" a common or appropriate recruitment technique?
A friend of mine, who works as a cook, recently had an experience with a difficult customer. She made an order for pizza, then sent it back for not-being gluten free, then she sent it back because it ...
- 1,556
97
votes
11
answers
22k
views
How to respond to a direct ask of salary earned and expectations?
What is the best way to fill out an application form for a role with an unspecified salary expectation where the following questions are mandatory to complete in a pre-interview form:
What is your ...
- 4,479
93
votes
11
answers
19k
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How do I tell recruiters I don't want to go forward until they answer my question, but without being rude?
I have now gone through this process ~2.5 times:
A recruiter from a company contacts me.
I ask what projects they have that I could work on, and if those projects use the technology stack I'm ...
- 751
91
votes
8
answers
12k
views
Recruiting people who maintain & improve, not just chase the new and shiny
My work will be recruiting soon, and one thing I'd like to do is screen out people who are more excited about writing new, exciting code than fixing older code, and more generally, people who ...
91
votes
10
answers
21k
views
Recruiter is asking for sample code
After a good telephone conversation with an IT recruiter, he asked for sample C# (software) code of a project of my current employer.
Although this is a logic question, it is impossible to send code ...
- 861
90
votes
5
answers
19k
views
Is it rude to tell recruiters I would only change jobs for a better salary?
I am happy with my current job. However, recruiters message me from time to time with career opportunities.
Is it rude to tell the recruiter that given my satisfaction with the current job, I would ...
- 1,067
83
votes
9
answers
17k
views
Should a technical interviewer read the resume/CV?
Should a technical interviewer read the candidate's resume/CV before performing an interview?
I regularly interview for data science positions. The particular context is that recruiters who are not ...
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82
votes
12
answers
28k
views
Why is quitting without having a new job lined up seen so negatively by employers?
I'm a programmer and I'm trying to understand why quitting without having a job matters so much.
For me cash flow is not an issue - I have more than enough to live off of for 5+ years and in any ...
- 855
81
votes
6
answers
20k
views
Appropriate to ask a recruiter to go back and negotiate salary again?
I found out about a job through a recruiter. I interviewed and got the job and the recruiter told me not to discuss salary during the interview because she handles that. I told the recruiter the exact ...
- 611
80
votes
13
answers
24k
views
Should I remark on errors when interviewing a potential employee?
During a job interview I might ask the candidate some technical questions to get a feel for his knowledge on what we're talking about.
What if his answers are completely wrong? Should I just accept ...
- 1,645
80
votes
14
answers
17k
views
Arguments for giving candidates the salary they want - without haggling
I'm responsible for building a software development team in my company. Once this team is ready I'll have to manage it and will be held responsible for its performance.
One point of arguing we have ...
- 1,324
77
votes
8
answers
14k
views
Should I bother to reply to emails from recruiters when I'm already employed?
Every now and then I get an email from a recruiter with a position they want to offer me. These emails are normally offering jobs outside my area of expertise and asking for skills I simply don't have....
- 699
73
votes
7
answers
21k
views
Protecting resume against recruiters, double-presentations, and MS Word?
Early in my career, I encountered unethical recruiters in the tech industry. In the worst case, a recruiting firm sent my resume to dozens of companies without my consent. This resulted in a double ...
- 2,122
72
votes
7
answers
37k
views
How to deal with a candidate that cheated at the initial test?
I was asked to participate in an interview with a candidate for a junior programmer job within the company I work in. The interview includes a colleague of mine an HR representative.
Studying the ...
- 5,950
69
votes
10
answers
17k
views
Is it acceptable to deny salary information to recruitment agent
I had a talk with a recruitment agent on the phone yesterday afternoon who called me about a position she wished to discuss with me. The call was going very well until the recruitment agent asked what ...
- 1,719
66
votes
16
answers
17k
views
Should I lower my expectations when interviewing someone if the company struggles to find any candidates?
Background:
As the shortage of developers in Europe continues, our company, as well as many others, doesn't receives CVs for open positions everyday to say the least. In fact, we are looking now for ...
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66
votes
8
answers
18k
views
Can online activism hurt my employability?
Since the FCC repealed the net neutrality rules on the US, telecom companies in emerging countries are preparing to pressure politicians to do the same. I happen to live in an emerging country, and ...
- 631
65
votes
10
answers
13k
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How can I politely ask potential colleagues about the negative aspects of their company?
After a series of interviews with a software company, I have been invited to work with the team for one day. During the day I will
attend the daily scrum meeting
be assigned a low priority bug ticket ...
- 923
64
votes
4
answers
16k
views
Didn't get enough time to take a coding test - what should I do now?
I got an interview call from a company after a friend referred me for a vacancy in his team. The call was from a team manager and not any HR personnel.
One interview for this week, Monday, was ...
- 433
64
votes
7
answers
14k
views
Recruiter lied to move up start date
I've been working with a recruiter for the past two months and I finally landed a great offer at a software consulting company. The start date was set three weeks out at the start of October. Right ...
- 567
63
votes
10
answers
14k
views
Are puzzles an effective part of the recruitment process?
Many companies - particularly in the tech sector - use puzzles of various kinds (including riddles, lateral-thinking questions, and guesstimation questions) in job interviews for potential new ...
- 7,154
61
votes
11
answers
28k
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How to deal with persistent recruiter still contacting me after declining offer
So I recently declined an offer from a recruiter, it got to the final stage where offer was on the table but I said no. The company was big, salary was fantastic but I didn't want to work with the ...
- 1,921
60
votes
12
answers
20k
views
Accidentally didn't really side-step a recruiter
I was talking to a recruiter about a possible role with a company and she said she'd put me forward for it. The recruiter works with that company but not for that company, and there has not been any ...
- 2,178
60
votes
11
answers
76k
views
Why do recruiters ask how much is your current pay?
I have been through 2 recruitment processes. The first recruiter said "May I know what your current pay is, for my purpose?" during a interview over lunch. He told me that would be my current pay too. ...
- 609
59
votes
5
answers
18k
views
A recruiter asked for my resume in a non-PDF format. Should I be concerned?
A recruiter contacted me on LinkedIn and indicated that he was impressed by my skillset. He asked for my resume, BUT he asked for it in a non-PDF format. I find that a strange request, because I've ...
user32190
59
votes
10
answers
13k
views
Why do equal opportunity employers ask about my gender and race when applying?
I am currently applying for jobs in Canada, and most of the large companies I apply to make it clear during the application process that they are equal opportunity employers. Here's an example of one ...
- 1,139
58
votes
11
answers
24k
views
How can I effectively communicate to recruiters that a phone call is not possible?
I am a software developer in the UK, I am currently searching for a new job. Among the various methods I'm using are recruiters.
I understand that the normal workflow of a typical recruiter will ...
- 579
58
votes
8
answers
14k
views
Is it normal for headhunters to ask for written confirmation that candidate is pulling out of other interview processes before giving offer letter?
My brother is a software development engineer interviewing to switch jobs and finally got an offer from a company in a different city. He was given the offer Tuesday at noon, and asked to respond by ...
- 577
57
votes
14
answers
17k
views
Is it common to require a candidate to take an automatically-graded online coding test if they have lots of demonstrable material online?
Short version: I had an experience with a recruiter that I think was not fair, due to how much time was spent responding to emails and calls, and then being presented with a test. Where's the line to ...
anon
57
votes
10
answers
8k
views
What to do when the interviewer knows my little secret?
My parents are not wealthy and I didn't receive a stipend. To finance my studies I worked for an escort agency (all legal, not under my real name). But I finally graduated with good grades and these ...
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56
votes
6
answers
18k
views
How to delay hiring a candidate for 1-2 months?
We just hired a new team member, A. Just as her hiring process was wrapping up, we found another ideal candidate, B. He would be a great fit at our company. I don't want to lose him. But, we don't ...
- 722
56
votes
8
answers
24k
views
In an interview, is it self-defeating to say you use Stack Overflow to find errors in code?
Let's suppose that at a job interview they ask me "what you do if your code does not work?".
I tell them that I read the docs to look for the error, I isolate the piece of code that doesn't work and ...
- 693
54
votes
7
answers
20k
views
How to respond to an insistent recruiter's cold email?
In receiving a second cold email from a recruiter earlier today, I discovered I had missed the first among my usual sea of emails. The recruiter guilts me in the subject line, writing "I haven't heard ...
- 613
54
votes
5
answers
11k
views
What if a company contacts you around your recruiter? [duplicate]
A few weeks ago, I was working with a recruiter for a role and right before the last interview, the company canceled and told the recruiter that they hired someone else. Two days later, the company ...
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