The top 10 ways to respond to a recruitment call

We have found here at Gibe that persistent recruiters calling into the office will just not accept "no" for an answer. Hanging up just isn't an answer for some, instead, we have come up with a few ideas of how to respond to an unwanted call.

  1. Recruitment agent calls, asks a number of questions. Repond by asking the recruitment agent which company he's calling from, quickly google company and say 'I've noticed your website is looking a bit dated...
  2. Recruitment agent calls, asks for specific team member, say "I'll just see if they're available" - put on hold for 5 minutes. "Hello? I'm afraid he's just nipped out, if you hold the line I'll transfer you when he's back" - Put on hold for 10 minutes. (Repeat until the line is dead)
  3. Recruitment agent calls, asks for manager, say "I'll just put you on hold for a second"... Don't put on hold, begin singing the song Wake me up by George Michael - if colleagues can get involved that'd be great. Failing this put on your poshest voice and say "Sorry, the number you have dialled is incorrect".
  4. Recruitment agent calls, you say you are responsible for all recruitment. Get them talking about candidates, find out more information, lead the conversation for a good 30 minutes - and then suddenly, "I'm really sorry, I've just found out we've filled the position".
  5. Recruitment agent calls, claims he's ringing from your colleagues local GP, redirect to colleague who puts the phone on loud speaker.
  6. Recruitment agent calls, but does everything to disguise the fact he's recruiting and will talk to you about weather, lunch, life. You become increasingly suspicious and realise he doesn't care about you but just wants to talk about this lovely candidate he has.
  7. Recruitment agent calls, you tell them they have a nice voice and ask if they ever go the gym.
  8. Recruitment agent calls, answer every question with a question.
  9. Recruitment agent calls, begin to tell a story about yourself, starting from your earliest memory.
  10. Recruitment agent calls, asks for team member, suddenly go very awkward and quiet and say "I'm sorry, we don't talk about that person anymore".

Do you have any ideas to add?

About the Author

Steve Temple, Technical Director and co-founder of Gibe

Steve is Gibe's technical director and super brain behind the development of our major projects. With over 27 years of commercial experience, Steve is an expert in .NET, Umbraco and Microsoft technologies. Steve is also an Umbraco Certified Master and Microsoft MCSD