90

I am happy with my current job. However, recruiters message me from time to time with career opportunities.

Is it rude to tell the recruiter that given my satisfaction with the current job, I would only take up their offer if there was a significant financial incentive to do so?

Bogdan Ionică
  • 1,057
  • 2
  • 8
  • 11
  • 11
    May I ask why you even want to respond? Just ignore them if their offer isn't interesting. I'd have to hire someone if I wanted to respond to every single recruiter to tell them I'm not interested. I'm not wasting my time on that. – Kevin Wessels Jul 12 '19 at 09:41
  • 4
    @KevinWessels I don't know for OP, but I tend to reply to all and every persons who take the time to contact me, because I don't want to leave them in doubt (e.g. like when I contact recruiters and they never reply). I'd rather give them a clear reply. – Clockwork Jul 12 '19 at 18:00
  • FWIW, there are places that wouldn't actually hire you if they can't offer you a better salary than your current one. – Josh Part Jul 12 '19 at 18:20
  • 7
    @Clockwork That's very nice of you, but keep in mind that they don't send you personally a message, they do a search on various keywords and send the same message to all search results. Whoever positively responds is their new lead. – Kevin Jul 13 '19 at 15:29

5 Answers5

177

No, it's not rude.

If that's what the situation is with you, be polite but clear.

Thanks for reaching out

At this stage I would only be looking at offers at a total compensation of over $X (before tax).

Are you able to detail the compensation range for this role?

Many regards,

BI

You are saving both of you some time.

Aida Paul
  • 35,116
  • 15
  • 91
  • 128
Gregory Currie
  • 59,575
  • 27
  • 157
  • 224
  • 102
    Recruiters just want to get you into a new job, because that's when they get paid. They'll appreciate knowing what that will take, especially when it's as simple and objective as salary/day rate. – Paul D. Waite Jul 12 '19 at 09:05
  • I second this answer. In my case I would only move for a 100% remote position and I make that very clear in my 1st response. Most of the replies I get from that thank me for not wasting their time. The ones that don't respond after that, they're the rude ones. – Skrrp Jul 12 '19 at 13:45
  • @MartinBonner Thanks. I've amended. – Gregory Currie Jul 12 '19 at 15:09
  • 11
    It's worth noting that there are recruiters / employers out there that will hear that and go, "We're not going to offer them that, but let's bring them in to talk anyway and see if we can negotiate them down." So, in addition to Gregory's advice, I would also add, it can be helpful to get a salary figure from them before you engage in any interviews. – Jaguar Wong Jul 12 '19 at 15:24
  • 4
    They may also be willing to give you a raise, but then they'll give you less of a pay increase yearly than your previous job, fewer bonuses, and expect longer hours. Be careful when believing that the "grass is greener" somewhere else. – mbomb007 Jul 12 '19 at 18:52
  • @Skrrp: I don't see the absence of a meaningless courtesy "thank you" reply - a distraction to you that bears no useful information - as rude. If anything, it's polite and efficient to be silent when you have nothing to say of value. – Violet Giraffe Jul 13 '19 at 18:39
70

Why would it be rude? Is it rude to tell the salesman what color car you want? Is it rude to tell the chef how you want your steak cooked? Is it rude to tell the dry cleaner that you want your shirts starched?

It's not rude to tell people what you want. Be courteous and professional, and tell them what you want.

joeqwerty
  • 47,718
  • 22
  • 92
  • 167
  • Comments are not for extended discussion; this conversation has been moved to chat. – Neo Jul 12 '19 at 11:51
  • 2
    The context is a bit different if your are a paying customer (as in all of your examples) vs the one getting paid, I'm not sure any of those analogies would apply – user2813274 Jul 12 '19 at 15:58
  • 19
    It's not really different. You're paying with your time and commitment. What do you want to receive in exchange for that? Ask for the salary you want. – joeqwerty Jul 12 '19 at 16:08
  • 8
    It's also not rude for the car salesman (who is the one getting paid) to tell you how much money he wants. – Buge Jul 13 '19 at 09:53
  • @user2813274 OP is not the one who's getting paid. The recruiter is the one getting paid. Arguably - from the money that OP will potentially make for his future employer. Paid exactly to deliver a happy employee. – Agent_L Jul 14 '19 at 07:34
8

Frame challenge: I wouldn't respond to unsolicited recruiters at all. It just gives them hope that your contact info will some day bear fruit.

When you're open to new job opportunities, you locate a recruiter that is relatively respected in your industry (or has contacts with a company that interests you) and you reach out to them. At that point, as the other answers have stated, you can state whatever criteria you want and it's up to them to either tell you that your criteria are unreasonable or to find a job that'll match those criteria.

bvoyelr
  • 957
  • 5
  • 7
  • 5
  • The OP has implied that an unsolicited position which does offer a pay increase would be of interest. 2. Most companies where I work only contact one (or maybe two) recruiters; if you don't contact them all, you will miss out on some jobs.
    • – Martin Bonner supports Monica Jul 12 '19 at 14:59
  • 5
    Different industries are different. I'm a .Net Developer, I've had 4-5 job hunts in the past 5 years, and all of my jobs were through recruiters contacting me, and some of them were when I wasn't actively looking for new work. When I'm actively looking (that is, updating my resume on sites) I get 5-15 emails and 3-10 calls per day. Not responding to them would be a bad career decision for me. – David Rice Jul 12 '19 at 15:04
  • The only ones I reply to are the ones that can (1) follow directions and (2) know what industry I'm in. If I see an email asking if I'd be interested to work in finance, I delete it. They obviously didn't read my resume that has over 10 years of software development work on it. If they call my phone and get to voice mail ("if you're a recruiter, do not leave a message") and leave a message, I delete it. If they call me 6 times, leaves a voice mail, send me 7 emails, and a text, and I get three colleagues also contacting me, I say "I didn't appreciate this, also no I'm not interested." – Draco18s no longer trusts SE Jul 12 '19 at 21:00
  • I'd advise OP to dialog with the ones that seem respectful and competent. Block the ones that don't respect your time and the "un-smart" ones. When the OP wants a new job, they already have a list of people with whom they'd like to work. OP can still look for additional recruiters if the current ones aren't enough. My experience with recruiter relationships is that you're in contact every 3-9 months unless something comes up they think fits. At first it is a little extra work (you'll turn down a few things that don't fit) but, after that it isn't a burden. – J. Chris Compton Jul 12 '19 at 21:53