Sure, you can almost always ask (everywhere you read they will tell you it's completely safe though it depends on industry, I guess, I have seen offers rescinded over mere asking) however if you are not prepared to walk away there is little incentive to offer what you are asking.
An agent who maintains long relationship with you might actually be ready to negotiate on your behalf since it will both strengthen your relationship and bring quite a lot of money in the future as it increases your base price in all the future negotiations. Third party recruiter placing FTEs, on the other hand, has much to lose by walking away and very little to gain.
Thank you for this response. I fully admit that I don't see the recruiter side of things. There isn't a lot of discussion about the trade, or craft, or whatever you want to call it and I think there should be.
I will certainly reply to every InMail that I get now.
It is my hope that methods and conversations like this can make the field better for everybody.
I respond to InMails where it is clear the recruiter actually took the time to read my profile and had a valid reason to believe there might be a match.
Knowing now that unanswered InMails cost them money, I'm doubling down on my stance to not answer InMails from recruiters who are spamming and/or clearly didn't bother to take the time to see if I really would be a good match or if they just matched a couple of buzzwords and hit send.
I'm glad to see some people having the same experience. It's really hard to explain to people as a problem.
"You mean you're mad because people are trying to get you a job?"
"Yeah, but..."
I really appreciated the people who did listen and sign up though - it feels really good when they do listen to you when you state the best way to contact you. Recruiters take note!
The best way I've found to explain this is to emphasize that to a recruiter, I am the product. The recruiter is trying to get me a job, just like a car salesman is trying to get a car a driver. Of course, there are good recruiters (and good car salesmen) that are truly interested in finding the best match for both parties, but at the core of the relationship the employer is the one paying the finder's fee.
That being said, the best recruiters take the long view, and realize that their career depends on maintaining relationships and growing their reputation. If they become known as someone who simply puts butts in chairs, they won't get very far. However, if they develop a reputation as someone who really is looking out for everyone's interests, their words will carry more weight with their customers, and they'll have the best product to sell.
So do you think this approach would make good recruiter better? It seems like it would. You would encourage the recruiter to maintain a long term relationship with you, and hopefully they'd respect your boundaries and only reach out when they have a prospect that is too good to pass up.
Yeah. I would actually love to hear their point of view on this. Surely they don't like cold calling and emailing all day but also there might be a lot we don't know about as the talent.
