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Comment by ivenkys | Hacker News Reader

"When you first talk to a recruiter, describe what you liked and didn’t like about past jobs. Then ask them for career advice: what sort of job do you think I’d enjoy?"

Very much an idealist's view of the standard average Recruiter - The last time i spoke to a recruiter was well over 4 years ago and she would have been totally confused and have no clue what to say if i had asked her such a question.

This is in London, mind you, Boston might very well be different ( though i have my doubts ).

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I have known ones who get confused about career questions like the one the author posed and a few who actually know where I'm coming from. I work with the latter.

All recruiters need to think about the customer, which is the employers who pay commission for connecting them with talent. Those who survive in the industry excel at making that connection with the employer. They learn the fine art of kissing up to executives and hiring managers while performing the bureaucratic gymnastics required by HR. That's important, but those who really understand the needs of talent can add more value by bringing better hires to employers and foster deeper relationships. Sadly, many recruiters are too short-sighted to see that.

I recently worked with a recruiter near Boston. I told her I liked one start-up position she sent me but I wanted to work on the Linux development not the Windows. She setup the interview then 1 hour before she called to tell me to focus on my Windows experience and not my Linux in the interview. That is when I realized she didn't care about what I wanted, all she wanted was for me to get the job so she could get her fee.

That's the point: it's a test to distinguish the good recruiters from the average. As you say, if they're confused & have no clue, they're average. I updated the post to be a little clearer, thanks for pointing that out.

I've worked with several recruiters in Boston and I can say without a doubt that they would have been confused and maybe gave me some lip service about helping me out. Eventually it'd end with them probably laughing at me behind closed doors and then sending me whatever jobs came across their desk that they thought I might sort of be qualified for.

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