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Comment by karmarepellent | Hacker News Reader

Sorry for drifting a little off-topic, but I think this is also true for recruitment. When I get messaged from recruiters, most try to get into a call or video conference right of the bat to discuss an open position that would "fit my resume". Then I have to ask what the actual position is about and if there's a job ad with more (technical) detail. I'm perfectly capable of evaluating if a position is likely to appeal to me when I see a document describing it.

There is also the added benefit of saving a lot of time on both sides, because I do not even want to get into a lengthy conversation about a position I have zero interest in.

Again, sorry for hijacking your reply to talk about something entirely different!

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Sales people like to talk and hate to write.

I got regular calls from my cellphone provider about offers until one day I had enough and told them if they call me once more I will cancel my contract with them and go out of my way not to do any business with them again. If they want to show me an offer they can just send me an email. They didn't.

Generally my advice is to never agree to anything via phone. Tell them to send you the details. They always try to use the heat of the moment to make you do things that might not be in your interest. If it is really a good offer it will still be good hours later when you read the actual details.

> There is also the added benefit of saving a lot of time on both sides

My realization: it doesn't save them any time, as talking to you is seen as one of their goal.

The type of personality in that line of work usually thrive in live calls more than in factual chat, so there's absolutely no downside for them most of the time.

Yes, that's a fair point, it's part of their job to spend time in calls.

Ironically this gives me even less confidence that I would be interested in what they offer. Maybe the mere fact that they conveyed the offer and spent an hour in a phone call is all they wanted actually?

Maybe I'm just being overly pessimistic on the matter though.

Sales people are trying to discern what pain you are facing, your level of urgency for solving that pain, the consequences if you don't solve it, your budget, and your authority to make a purchasing decision.

SDRs/BDRs are often compensated by a "meetings set" goal. They may linger on the phone with you if they think you will agree to a meeting with an account exec. But outside of this initial marketing outreach, effective sales people don't want to waste their time with you. Much more so than engineers, they are measured and paid on objective results and specific productivity metrics.

My read on it, roughly in priority:

    1. Getting you on a call (anyone, not just recruiter) is a way to drive the interaction to a conclusion, one way or the other.
    2. Getting you on a call gives them the opportunity to read you.
    3. Getting you on a call gives them the opportunity (if they are of the type), to make you feel a social obligation to reciprocate (information, time, etc)

I'd add sheer information gathering: even if the call leads to nowhere, they get a sense of how it's going in your company, salary data matched to a role, and a reality check on what they anticipated vs your actual situation.

I think it can be intesting to talk to a recruiter even if they have nothing decent to offer, provided one also enjoys just talking to other people. I just don't think it's an optimal path for anyone actually interested in a position, doing one's homework and applying to a company one's actually interested in can have better results.

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