"I'm not moving now"

I reached out to you on LinkedIn to establish a connection.

Yes, I have a specific search with one of my clients, and your profile looks like it might be a fit.

But please take note: I don’t have any expectation that you will luckily and magically be open and willing to change your job at this time.

That might happen. But I’m not counting on it.

Simply put, the search I am conducting provides the context to have an initial conversation.

“Hi, I have this opportunity. Is this the kind of thing you might be interested in, at some point?”

No? OK, that’s fine. What does interest you?”

And then I take careful notes of your career objectives, desired responsibilities, compensation, appropriate timing, and a host of other questions. (And of course this gives you an opportunity to get to know me, how I approach the search process, the level of positions I work on, industry knowledge and experience I have, etc. etc. It’s a two-way street.)

Being aware of your career interests and objectives is essential for me to help you identify appropriate opportunities. You are driving the bus of your own career choices. You shouldn’t depend on luck or chance that a random call from a recruiter might make your career dreams come true.

So it is smart to have a conversation.

Yes, it’s true that some of the conversations you have might not turn into anything. But so what? A lot of conversations you have with people don’t turn into anything. That’s not a reason to stop having conversations. In fact, I’d argue that you should have more conversations.

But I often receive responses from people I reach out to:

They say, “I’m not moving now”. And the dialogue stops.

That only gives me one small piece of information about your status right now. If we don’t have a conversation, how am I to know when the appropriate timing might be?

Or if I should even contact you again with other opportunities?

If we don’t have a conversation, then I won’t know what’s appropriate for you, because I don’t know what you want.

That’s the purpose of me reaching out: To have a conversation about these things.

Having conversations with experienced recruiters is a smart way of taking control of the information you receive about the options available in the job market.

Maybe you imagine that you are saving me time by giving me what you think is the most important information: “No thanks, Not right now”. 

Remember: It’s OK if you don’t want to move now. That’s expected.

If you are going to be on LinkedIn, and take the time to connect or answer messages on the platform, why stop at the surface level? What is the value of a connection if you haven’t ever spoken to or interacted with that person?

Having a brief conversation is a great way to assess if the person is aligned to your objectives. You can find out pretty quickly if someone is sympatico or not.

If you don’t take some time along the way to develop relationships with recruiters, and then find yourself in a position in the future where you need our help, it will be that much harder to identify alternatives because you won’t have built up a support network.

I have heard countless times senior people who find themselves unexpectedly in the job market tell me, “I wish I hadn’t been so dismissive to recruiters over the years.”

Do yourself a favor: Talk to people. It makes for a smoother ride. And it’s a great way to vet if the recruiter who is calling you is aligned with your interests and objectives.