I don't want this particular job, but let's talk.
December 30, 2020 9:45 AM Subscribe
A recruiter just contacted me on LinkedIn for a local hospital IT job. I don't want this particular job, but if my current job changed or went away it's a place that I would like to work. Is there any way to use this to network with people at the hospital?
For context: several years ago I interviewed at an organization but took another job. A year later I was looking for a job again and since the first place already knew me it was relatively easy to find out that they still had open positions and line up an interview. I'm wondering if I can do something similar again: get to know some of the folks doing the hiring to make things easier if I'm looking in the future.
Unfortunately the person who reached out appears to be from a recruitment agency, not the hospital. So I think they have an incentive to keep me away from the hospital unless I'm interviewing for the posted job. I don't know how to tell them "no thanks, but put me in touch with the people doing the hiring."
I thought about just going on the interview and saying "sorry, not a good fit but let’s stay in touch", but I don't really want to waste my and others' time like that. Is there any other way to approach this? The job doesn't quite meet my interests and skill set, and even if it did I'm very happy with my current employer so I'd rather stay with that known quantity. So this would just be in case my current job changed or went away.
I guess I could just search through LinkedIn for people who work at the hospital but the chances of finding the right person to connect with is pretty low, and I don't even know what I would say since I have no plans to leave my current job.
For context: several years ago I interviewed at an organization but took another job. A year later I was looking for a job again and since the first place already knew me it was relatively easy to find out that they still had open positions and line up an interview. I'm wondering if I can do something similar again: get to know some of the folks doing the hiring to make things easier if I'm looking in the future.
Unfortunately the person who reached out appears to be from a recruitment agency, not the hospital. So I think they have an incentive to keep me away from the hospital unless I'm interviewing for the posted job. I don't know how to tell them "no thanks, but put me in touch with the people doing the hiring."
I thought about just going on the interview and saying "sorry, not a good fit but let’s stay in touch", but I don't really want to waste my and others' time like that. Is there any other way to approach this? The job doesn't quite meet my interests and skill set, and even if it did I'm very happy with my current employer so I'd rather stay with that known quantity. So this would just be in case my current job changed or went away.
I guess I could just search through LinkedIn for people who work at the hospital but the chances of finding the right person to connect with is pretty low, and I don't even know what I would say since I have no plans to leave my current job.
If it was an in-house recruiter you could use this to network, but for a 3rd party recruiter that won't work. In fact some of them have rules set up where if you did accept a different job at the same hospital, the original recruiter would get paid even if it was years later, which could irritate some people at the hospital (probably less likely in hospitals than say IT companies). I don't see how you could effectively use this to network at that specific hospital
One thing you can do is just connect directly with the recruiter, tell you what you ARE interested in, and they will keep you in mind for later positions. From my personal experience, they will then spam you constantly with mostly irrelevant offers but it varies per recruiter.
posted by JZig at 10:25 AM on December 30, 2020 [2 favorites]
One thing you can do is just connect directly with the recruiter, tell you what you ARE interested in, and they will keep you in mind for later positions. From my personal experience, they will then spam you constantly with mostly irrelevant offers but it varies per recruiter.
posted by JZig at 10:25 AM on December 30, 2020 [2 favorites]
This would only work sometimes, but you could check if the position you saw is also listed on the organisation's own job vacancies page. If so, it might give you a lead to the internal recruiter's name that you can then try to connect with directly.
posted by McNulty at 10:40 AM on December 30, 2020 [3 favorites]
posted by McNulty at 10:40 AM on December 30, 2020 [3 favorites]
In normal circumstances I would say, "It can't hurt to interview." Interviewing keeps your skills sharp and can promote your own feelings of self worth. And assuming it's in good faith, it's always flattering to be contacted by a recruiter. They know that not ever candidate will be a fit.
However, in this instance, I would decline an interview because the recruiter is a third party and the hospital is relying on them to find and promote candidates on their behalf. If you go through the process, the hospital is going to be paying that recruiter to promote you as a candidate even though you're not really a candidate... causing a hospital to waste their money at a time when they really cannot afford to do so at this moment.
It would not be inappropriate for you to contact the recruiter to say, "This isn't the right job for me because of X reasons, but I've often thought about working at the hospital. If they're hiring for positions such as Y or Z, I'd like to be considered. May I send you my resume to keep on file?"
posted by juniperesque at 11:16 AM on December 30, 2020 [2 favorites]
However, in this instance, I would decline an interview because the recruiter is a third party and the hospital is relying on them to find and promote candidates on their behalf. If you go through the process, the hospital is going to be paying that recruiter to promote you as a candidate even though you're not really a candidate... causing a hospital to waste their money at a time when they really cannot afford to do so at this moment.
It would not be inappropriate for you to contact the recruiter to say, "This isn't the right job for me because of X reasons, but I've often thought about working at the hospital. If they're hiring for positions such as Y or Z, I'd like to be considered. May I send you my resume to keep on file?"
posted by juniperesque at 11:16 AM on December 30, 2020 [2 favorites]
My suggestion: interview and be honest at the interview. The worst that can happen is you don't get the job, which is not a problem for you. The best that can happen is the hospital changes the job/compensation/terms/etc to make it worth your while so that this is the right job for you. The hospital may not be able to do that right now, but if you're honest about your goals, they may contact you (directly, not through a recruiter) in the future if something changes for them or you.
If you go through the process, the hospital is going to be paying that recruiter to promote you as a candidate
I've never seen a recruiter agreement that provides any compensation to the recruiter for candidates that do not pass a job interview. A generous recruiter agreement compensates the recruiter for any candidate that receives an offer. A common recruiter agreement compensates the recruiter only for candidates that receive and accept an offer, and then work at the company for a few months (generally 1-3).
posted by saeculorum at 11:29 AM on December 30, 2020 [2 favorites]
If you go through the process, the hospital is going to be paying that recruiter to promote you as a candidate
I've never seen a recruiter agreement that provides any compensation to the recruiter for candidates that do not pass a job interview. A generous recruiter agreement compensates the recruiter for any candidate that receives an offer. A common recruiter agreement compensates the recruiter only for candidates that receive and accept an offer, and then work at the company for a few months (generally 1-3).
posted by saeculorum at 11:29 AM on December 30, 2020 [2 favorites]
the point is that if the 3rd party recruiter presents the resume to the hospital, their agency almost certainly has an agreement that if the hospital hires you within [some time frame] the recruiter will be owed a fee. (If they don't have an agreement like this, then it's unlikely the hospital has an agreement with them at all.) So if you're not ready to make a move right now, it's no advantage to have their price tag attached to your candidacy.
I would not agree to be presented if you are not interested in making a move imminently. None of the players - recruiters, hiring groups - are interested in resurrecting old resumes, having long drawn out processes, etc. The last thing you want is to be looking for a job 18 months from now and have someone recognize you as that stale candidate who has apparently been on the market for 18 months. The exception here can be executive (C level) level hiring, where very long timelines are more acceptable and it's typical to start the process with a casual conversation.
But you can tell the recruiter that you'll be looking next year, if you expect that could be true.
posted by fingersandtoes at 11:40 AM on December 30, 2020 [1 favorite]
I would not agree to be presented if you are not interested in making a move imminently. None of the players - recruiters, hiring groups - are interested in resurrecting old resumes, having long drawn out processes, etc. The last thing you want is to be looking for a job 18 months from now and have someone recognize you as that stale candidate who has apparently been on the market for 18 months. The exception here can be executive (C level) level hiring, where very long timelines are more acceptable and it's typical to start the process with a casual conversation.
But you can tell the recruiter that you'll be looking next year, if you expect that could be true.
posted by fingersandtoes at 11:40 AM on December 30, 2020 [1 favorite]
Best answer: If the hospital is using recruiters for IT jobs, this recruiter might be recruiting for a job that would be a good fit for you in the future, right? It seems like it wouldn't hurt to have a quick chat with the recruiter and tell them: you'd love to work there someday but this position doesn't seem like a good fit, and that you're happy with your current position at the moment and not actively seeking a change.
My current job is the result of a process almost exactly like this; the recruiter reached out to me a second time about eight months after our first conversation and my job had changed enough that I was ready to consider a switch. It worked out great for me.
(Disclaimer: I work in a different industry and it's totally possible that the hospital IT field is different.)
posted by beandip at 12:02 PM on December 30, 2020 [2 favorites]
My current job is the result of a process almost exactly like this; the recruiter reached out to me a second time about eight months after our first conversation and my job had changed enough that I was ready to consider a switch. It worked out great for me.
(Disclaimer: I work in a different industry and it's totally possible that the hospital IT field is different.)
posted by beandip at 12:02 PM on December 30, 2020 [2 favorites]
One thing you can do is just connect directly with the recruiter, tell you what you ARE interested in, and they will keep you in mind for later positions.
In my experience, especially with 3rd party recruiters, is that they basically have "inventory" of open slots they're "selling," and that's pretty much it. You could say "no, but can I get in touch when I'm looking?" but, y'know, they might be doing something else, like selling cars, by that time. Calling them every couple of weeks asking "got anything better yet?" is also not likely to produce joy.
Just treat it as an "almost" flying across your radar and keep an eye out yourself. A (US) hospital is going to hew pretty closely to EEOC laws/rules and advertise positions widely, so having a saved search on Indeed or Dice that emails you when jobs show up for that hospital might be enough.
posted by rhizome at 1:09 PM on December 30, 2020 [1 favorite]
In my experience, especially with 3rd party recruiters, is that they basically have "inventory" of open slots they're "selling," and that's pretty much it. You could say "no, but can I get in touch when I'm looking?" but, y'know, they might be doing something else, like selling cars, by that time. Calling them every couple of weeks asking "got anything better yet?" is also not likely to produce joy.
Just treat it as an "almost" flying across your radar and keep an eye out yourself. A (US) hospital is going to hew pretty closely to EEOC laws/rules and advertise positions widely, so having a saved search on Indeed or Dice that emails you when jobs show up for that hospital might be enough.
posted by rhizome at 1:09 PM on December 30, 2020 [1 favorite]
If you feel your position with your current employer isn't great, I would apply at the hospital. See what they have to say. It might be a dream position in disguise.
posted by GiveUpNed at 5:39 PM on December 30, 2020
posted by GiveUpNed at 5:39 PM on December 30, 2020
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