Summary

An experienced job seeker shares effective communication strategies with tech recruiters, including negotiation techniques, status updates, and professional ways to decline offers, emphasizing the importance of building a positive relationship with recruiters.

Abstract

The author of the article, who successfully navigated the job market with nine interviews and seven offers in 2022, provides insights into maintaining efficient and respectful communication with tech recruiters. They stress the importance of understanding recruiters' busy schedules and suggest making interactions as smooth as possible. The article covers practical tips such as offering multiple time slots for calls, confirming schedules, following up on interview statuses, preparing for interviews with recruiters' guidance, negotiating offers, and declining offers politely. The author emphasizes that recruiters play a significant role in the hiring process and that treating them with respect can be beneficial in the long run due to the interconnected nature of the tech industry.

Opinions

Recruiters are extremely busy and managing communication effectively is crucial.
It's important to treat recruiters with respect, as the tech industry is small and future interactions are likely.
Following up for updates is necessary, especially if there has been no response after a few days.
Recruiters are willing to provide some guidance for interviews, which can be advantageous for candidates.
Negotiating offers should be done thoughtfully, with an initial conversation over the phone to express gratitude and the need for time to consider the offer.
Declining an offer should be done kindly and without the need for an explanatory phone call.
Good communication with recruiters can positively influence their perception of a candidate's fit for a company.
The author believes in the value of maintaining a positive attitude and kindness towards recruiters, which can lead to reciprocal treatment.

Communicating with Tech Recruiters Effectively: Negotiations, Status Updates, Declining Offers, and More

I interviewed with nine companies in 2022 and received seven offers. To help others achieve similar results, I’m sharing the communication strategies I used with recruiters throughout the process. In many ways, your recruiter is also one of your interviewers.

Recruiters are incredibly busy. They often have to manage dozens, if not hundreds, of candidates at once. Your goal should be to make communication with them as smooth and effortless as possible. Even when you reach the offer stage and their primary focus is getting you to sign, they will still have other candidates to consider.

Regardless of the outcome of your interview, it’s important to treat recruiters with respect; the tech world is small, and the recruiter you’re interacting with now may end up working at your dream company in the future.

Setting up calls

I keep my emails simple when arranging informational calls to learn more about a company or doing a technical phone screen, and I provide multiple time slots when I’m available.

Hey <recruiter name>,

Thanks for taking the time to chat with me about <company name>. Here are my interview availabilities, all in Pacific Time:

- Thursday Sept 8 9AM — 12PM

- Friday Sept 9 10AM — 2PM

- Monday Sept 12 9AM — 4PM

Let me know if any of these times work for you. Thanks!

I always specify my time zone, as some companies I applied to had their headquarters in New York while I was in California, and some recruiters work remotely and are not located at the company headquarters.

Schedule confirmations

I recommend always confirming any invitation from a recruiter. For a Google Calendar event, simply click “Yes” to indicate attendance. If the recruiter sends an onsite schedule without a calendar invite, it’s best practice to send an acknowledgement. This lets the recruiter know you’re ready and will attend the call.

Great, thank you for putting together this schedule. I’m looking forward to meeting the team!

Following up for updates

Sometimes your interview status falls between the cracks (again, recruiters are really busy people!). My rule of thumb is if it’s been more than five business days and I haven’t heard back from the recruiter on next steps, I send them an email asking for a status update. That number changes if I have competing offers, in which case I might followup after two business days.

Hey <recruiter name>,

I hope you’re doing well! I completed the technical phone screen a few days ago and thought it went well. Do you have any feedback from the interview? Thank you!

If there is still no response after a few days, I would still recommend attempting to contact them again, or reaching out to any other contacts. In my case, I contacted another recruiter at the same company who had sent me an email around the same time as the first recruiter. It turned out that my primary recruiter was out of office for a week!

I strongly believe the cost of sending a quick follow-up email is much lower than the potential cost of not receiving an offer due to an email being overlooked.

Preparing for interviews

Some companies like to ask specific types of questions more than others; recruiters are often willing to help you out here. Remember it’s in the recruiter’s best interest to help you succeed, since they’re likely measured by how many candidates they get to join their company.

Hey <recruiter name>,

I’m excited to attend the onsite with <company>. In the meantime, do you have any advice on how to succeed? I’m brushing up on the usual algorithmic questions and system design, but I’d appreciate any extra pointers. Thank you!

Recruiters often won’t give away too much information to ensure all candidates have a fair chance. However, if you have a good rapport with your recruiter, they may provide extra guidance. For example, I’ve had recruiters tell me which data structures I should be familiar with, and these hints made a huge difference.

Negotiating the offer

I always try to negotiate the offer over the phone initially. Recruiters usually call after the onsite to present the offer numbers. I do my best to maintain a poker face and thank them for the offer, but I don’t say more this:

I’m grateful for the offer and excited about the possibility of working at <company name>. I need more time to consider the numbers and compare them to my other offers.

Patio11’s post on salary negotiation is a great read, and I’ll also write down the strategies I used in a future post (I got one offer to go from $300k to $450k!)

Declining the offer

For whatever reason you’re declining an offer, whether it’s that you’re accepting a better one or the company was unable to match your salary asks, it’s important to decline the offer kindly. Recruiters work hard to coordinate interviews and get a hiring decision from everyone and I like to thank them for this.

There is no need to contact a recruiter by phone for this (most people don’t want to receive a call to be told they have been rejected), nor is it necessary to explain why the offer is being declined.

Hey <recruiter name>,

Unfortunately I’ve decided to sign with <other company>. Thank you for being super responsive and working with me throughout this process. I enjoyed meeting everyone and I wish you and <company name> the best!

Wrap up

Recruiters have a tough job. Your communication with them, though seemingly minor, can make a big difference. When I was on the hiring panel for past companies, recruiters would often comment on a candidate’s communication skills and whether they’d be a good fit.

Keep a positive attitude, be kind to your recruiter, and they’ll likely do the same for you.

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