Advice on First Phone call from a recruiter

Hey, I’ve just had my first email from a recruiter ( I’m super excited, I’ve been coding about a year and this feels like a great step forward ) , he is calling me later to discuss an opportunity.

I don’t feel ready but that’s his decision, I want to get as much as can from the experience.

Any advice, tips of good resources would be really helpful.
What questions will he likely ask?
What questions should I ask? :blush:

Cheers matty

1 Like

Congrats! Definitely exciting. They will prob want to know a little bit about your journey so far, why you decided to get into development, things you have worked on, if you have done any research into the company you are applying too, stuff like that. There may be one or two technical questions, but chances are they dont know the actual answers and are just looking for key words provided to them by the hiring manager. Be friendly, show your interest, and more importantly, just relax and be yourself. Goodluck big guy! You got this!

2 Likes

Thanks very much, he never called :joy::joy::joy: we’ll go again!!!

Yuuuup, that’s what you should expect from recruiters

My experience with recruiters is that they don’t know a damn thing about web development/programming/computer science. Not a thing.

As previously posters have already said, they just look for buzzwords. I’m getting contacted on Indeed by recruiters who don’t know the difference between Java and Javascript, recruiters who want 10 years experience with React (too bad React isn’t even 10 years old, huh?), recruiters who don’t value my skills because I didn’t go to a trendy bootcamp, etc…

Dealing with recruiters is super frustrating. Might be better off applying to small companies/startups where the devs themselves do the hiring.

2 Likes

Thanks for the advice, I was hoping to get some interview experience out of it, need abit of practice. I’m not looking to jump on the first job offered to me :slightly_smiling_face:

Don’t get frustrated. I get 3 calls and 10 emails a day from recruiters. Most of them are high volume and will talk to you for 15 minutes and ask you to send them a bunch of stuff and then you never hear from them again. A lot of recruiters have no idea what they are doing and are just spamming lots of people they find online based on keyword searches.

I suspect most recruiters are hiring for senior positions because those make more money and they are harder for companies to find. Most companies have no problem finding entry-level devs. I think you need to find those jobs more directly.

I just try to get to the point quickly with them, and make it clear what my experience is and ask them direct questions about what experience the employer wants. If it’s not a match, then don’t bother.

I hope I’m wrong. I hope the next phone call you gets lands you a job. But I wouldn’t bet on it. If you keep building your skills, building your portfolio, improving you resume, and putting yourself out there - it will eventually happen. But be prepared for the probability for a long and bumpy ride.

@Nicknyr

I’m getting contacted on Indeed by recruiters who don’t know the difference between Java and Javascript,
Yup. Had a recruiter arguing that JavaScript was “close enough” and I should apply anyway. I just asked him to take me off his list and hung up.

recruiters who want 10 years experience with React (too bad React isn’t even 10 years old, huh?)

Yup. In the last month I’ve see two adds asking for 5 years experience in React Native, which would be a neat trick considering it was released in 2015.

I think a lot of these are written by recruiters and HR people - you have to take it with a grain of salt. This also reinforces the idea that you don’t need to be a perfect match for the requirements because you don’t know if they are the real requirements.

2 Likes