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Comment by briancurtin | Hacker News Reader

They usually suck because they don't understand technology.

To me, a good technical recruiter would be able to take my resume and actually understand (to some degree) what it is I'm doing. From there, when talking about my knowledge and interests, they'd be able to respond and interact, then tell me about actually relevant jobs on their hands.

Instead, the conversation is a like driving the wrong way on a one-way street. They always have the best job for you no matter how wrong of a match it is or how unqualified or even un-interested you may be. At best, most "technical recruiters" are "connectors" as other comments stated. Beyond that it's almost all spam.

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Believe it or not a recruiter can do a very good job filling technical positions without a strong understanding of the technology. All you need to know to get started is how to spot a qualified person, and the hiring manager can help with that.

I'll go with "not" when it comes to the recruiters in the Chicago area. I regularly get contacted for roles I have no measurable experience in, such as Django jobs, or really anything web related. While I have extensive Python knowledge, I haven't touched Django outside of a tutorial or two on a rainy day.

They seem to want to extrapolate Python expertise to cover everything that uses Python, but it doesn't work like that. I'd love to talk to a recruiter who understands this.

Successful recruiting is all about having a great process. Domain knowledge in a specific area is helpful, but not required. For example, I might talk to a hiring manager about the following...

"Why do you need REALLY need a Python developer? Is it because you have problems that a great software engineer without Python knowledge can't solve? If so, give me a couple examples of things you need that only a Python whiz could do, and I will make sure applicants can do that. If we can't attract the right applicants, I will ask you will need to dedicate more time to recruiting or refine your expectations."

I may come to you with a Django job, but I will be prepared to tell you why the hiring manager doesn't need Django experience at all.

I cannot see why an employer would not want to hire someone with extensive Python knowledge for a Django position, assuming the candidate also has web development experience. It is not as though Django is especially difficult to learn.

Spotting a qualified person is impossible without domain knowledge.

A good recruiter leverages the hiring manager's domain knowledge.

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