Talk To Every Recruiter, Every Time

You heard me right. Talk to every recruiter who reaches out to you professionally about a job.  There is such thing as just professional courtesy that would suggest you have these conversations, but I'd like to take it a bit further.  When a recruiter reaches out to you, there is a real company out there that is looking to expand their team. The recruiter has done some networking or perusing of social media sites and found you. There is something about your background that is a potential fit for this role. So, why wouldn't you speak with them?  Professional disclaimer: there are recruiters who are just fishing to build their candidate database but most of them have a real need to find the right fit for their client and they want to talk to you.

 What do you have to lose? What do you have to gain? Talking to a recruiter does not mean that you are cheating on your company. It does not mean that you are about to make a job change. It does not mean that you are even unhappy with your current situation. It means that you are open minded and willing to listen.  It means that you are interested in learning more about your industry. It means that you are open to networking and building relationships with people that you might need in the future. It means that you are savvy to how business works. At the very least, think of it as a learning experience and be prepared to ask a lot of questions.

 5 Reasons you want to speak to recruiters:

1. You will establish a relationship with a professional recruiter. Recruiters make a living out of match-making. They put people in front of jobs. Even if this isn't the job that might make you move, there might be one in the future and you'll already have the attention of that recruiter.
2. You will learn about another company and/or industry. There are actually no downsides to learning something new. Companies all work a little differently and having insight into how others work can only benefit you in your current role.
3. You may uncover similar issues within other companies which will allow you to better solve the ones that you are seeking to resolve within your own company. Talking through problems outside your company walls (obviously maintaining any proprietary issues) often leads to new and innovative ideas. Think of it as thinking outside the box.
4. Networking. Simply put, you may not be interested in the role, but chances are you know someone who might be. If you think about your network of friends, you will notice that mostly they are in similar fields and are often people that you've met at work. Friends look out for one another. When an opportunity comes across your desk, think about who in your network might be a fit.  
5. You might actually like what you hear and want to learn more.  Exploring and learning more isn't against the rules. 

 You don't have a decision to make until there is an offer on the table. I'm not saying that you need to pursue every recruiter call until you have an offer from another company, quite the contrary. I'm saying take a 20 minute call to learn more. If you are interested, go to the next step and keep going until you no longer hear something compelling. At that point, politely let the recruiter know that you are no longer interested in the role and you'd like to withdraw from the process. Send thank you notes/emails to anyone with whom you've talked and explain to them that you'd like to remain connected for future opportunities, but this one isn't the right one at this time.    If you continue to like what you hear, keep going and go until you have an offer on the table.

 That's when you have a real decision to make and that's an article for another time.  But in the meantime, take the recruiter's call. Answer their solicitation email. Learn more. 

You don't know what you don't know.

 Yes you may be happy where you are and that's exactly why you can be selective about how far you take the process.