Bob the top sales pro. He has recruiters calling, emailing, and visiting him. Goose bumps are on his liver. He is hungry for something more, but nobody will deliver. He is tired of the pushy recruiter sending him down a path that won’t deliver.
The Pusher
I call that type of recruiter a “Pusher”. A Pusher only pushes his needs and wants to talent without deliberately giving them a job that is a winner. Pushers only play defense for you. They push everything (i.e., any job at any level) back to you. Pushers do not know your needs and dreams. Find recruiters who will play offense for you. I call them Hunters. We can talk about them another day. Watch out for Pushers.
Here are signs you are dealing with one…
- They ignore your dreams. You tell them your ideal job. They come back with a lame job.
- They do not network with you. They know they can’t help you achieve your dreams and only ask you for more names to increase their network. They do not want to help you. They want to help them. Damn them Pushers.
- They know you are good for your trade. That’s why they keep talking to you. They keep pushing jobs to you. They will push for years.
- They let their other recruiter buddies call you. They have the same agenda as the pusher. To push lame jobs onto you.
- They want you to be frustrated. They love it when you are desperate. They want to you to need a job or hate your current job. This is when they push the best.
- Any of their social media pages (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, etc.) consists of jobs pushed out to a sea of people. No interaction. Just pushes.
Pushers help unhappy people
The Pusher. Pushers are extremely quick and consistent at pushing jobs to candidates. This tires and frustrates talent. Pushers know when good talent is frustrated. Pushers have great success on people with little experience. They know the less experienced will make a mistake (i.e., jump for more money only). Pushers love to hold out on a candidate. They love to make a candidate think they only have one or two options. Pushers help create unhappy people. Unhappy people work in jobs they hate.
Develop a counter strategy
How do you deal with Pushers? I recommend you develop a counter strategy. Get them out of their comfort zone. Demand they bring you a job within your dreams. Never let them see you frustrated. Pushers love a frustrated candidate. If they see Bob as tired and angry at his employer. They have him where they want him. The Pusher will pose as a friend, but act as a spy. They want to see Bob crack. Stay calm, focused and carry-on Bob. Find a Pusher’s weakness. They usually talk at you, to distract you. Kill that approach with silence. Once you find a Pusher, do not talk to them. They do not care if you live or die.
As for you Pushers. Just be aware of your behaviors. I realize you need to push to do parts of your job but not all of your job.
What’s your Pusher story? Are you a Pusher?
Related: Beware of Recruitment Cowboys!
