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Why Would I Hang Up On A Recruiter When I’m Unemployed?

The leverage data science and tech candidates have and need to exert during job interviews — even before getting an offer.

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Sitting next to a recruiter friend at a wedding, I asked a question that had been on my mind after speaking with those job searching in a frustrating, employer-favored market.

“Out of everyone you interview on a daily basis, how many are rude to you?”

She said most candidate attitudes are like airline passengers. The majority are cordial. Some are indifferent. And a select few are so bad that they’re blacklisted.

After hearing that response I hesitated, then asked: “How about the tech candidates? The software engineers? Data scientists?”

She said technical candidates can be difficult. Not because they’re mean, but because the experienced ones know what they’re worth, usually more than the posted salary range, and the inexperienced ones either wildly under or overvalue their experience, leading to uncomfortable but transparent conversations.

There are many ways you can screw up a recruiter call. One of the quickest is to name a salary range their…