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Earlier today something ridiculous has happened and I wanted to share and ask for an advice.

Some recruitment agency called the company I work for official phone number and asked for me. I didn't expect a call nor did I advertise anywhere recently (over a year ago I posted on a few jobsites) but someone identified themselves as a recruitment agency and said that based on my SO activity they have a job offer at a really cool company etc.

Just imagine how stumped I was when I took the call while at work....

I asked how the hell they knew I work here, etc - they said from my CV... well OK but the company phone number wasn't on the CV but my direct phone number was as well as my email address. I asked why didn't he email me instead and I told him I can't have such a conversation while I am at work surrounded by other employees specially sitting near by the boss... I basically didn't want to be rude but told him nicely to just email me etc.

I am taking down my old CVs from any websites I remember posting it to..

What else can I do to stop them from calling me on my work phone (not personal cell)? That agency behaviour is unacceptable, should I try to report that somewhere?

enderland
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    95 % of recruiter calls I have received have been to my work phone, even though I haven't listed it anywhere. I believe they will just call the reception of your company and ask for it. – Juha Untinen Dec 10 '14 at 13:27
  • @JuhaUntinen that's what I think it's unacceptable. Told them to stop but they are very aggressive. Sometimes I have 3 people from the same agency contacting me in the same day. It gets boring to keep telling every single one of them to stop harassing me. –  Dec 10 '14 at 13:32
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    Related (perhaps the same question?) - http://workplace.stackexchange.com/q/2732/2322 – enderland Dec 10 '14 at 13:41
  • @enderland yes related. I don't have a problem talking to them on the phone in general - but I don't want people to be calling the office phone number and asking for me 5 - 10 times a day. It raises suspicions by the workplace etc. –  Dec 10 '14 at 13:45
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    This is location dependent, but in the US there are "magic words" that work when none else do: "please put me on your Do Not Call list" if you really don't want to be called by them. In the US specifically this invokes something with a potential legal financial penalty, and generally anyone in a "calling" job has such a list, knows what it is, and often abides by it. Don't take it personally, though - they are just trying to do their job. But you must learn to answer such a call directly, politely, and assertively, such as: "No thank you, and please put me on your agency's Do Not Call list." – BrianH Dec 10 '14 at 14:53
  • Please note that taking your resume down from any job boards/sites you've posted it to may not stop the calls, at least not completely. Plenty of recruiting firms will pull batches of resumes based on certain criteria and store them for later use. I've had people call me up who are clearly using a resume I posted over 3 years ago, some going back even further when I had a different email address. – MattD Dec 10 '14 at 20:24
  • I would ask to change your extension number so when the recruiters who already got your number call you they wouldn't reach you and ask to change the company policy to ask who wants to talk to you and in what manner before forwarding a call to you and check if you're interested. Lets the receptionist filters the calls for you – Peter Tree Nov 18 '16 at 12:24

3 Answers3

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I get this quite frequently and the culprit is LinkedIn. Recruiters look for candidates (perhaps ones they have previously worked with) see where they currently work and phone the office number.

Normally the first clue is when I get a "personal call"..any family or friends would simply call my mobile.

What I normally do is to ask, how they got my number and politely tell them I am not currently looking for a new position.

After a few calls I don't seem to get them any more.

DazManCat
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Recruiters get paid when they find someone to fill a job opening for their clients. The good ones will go find people and that may require a direct phone call. It's easy for people to ignore email, but often they may entertain a job opening when spoken to directly. Like you said, you didn't want to be rude.

Nothing more you can do but ask them to stop and possibly use another means to contact you. The good ones won't waste a lot of time talking to people who aren't interested. They know when to move to the next person.

I hope people at your company recognize that his happens often and you didn't do anything wrong. Just tell recruiters to not call you at work. This shouldn't be any different than a telemarketer, bill collector, etc. Keeping an up to date CV online is one way to find better opportunities. And everyone should be looking for better opportunities; nothing lasts forever including your current job.

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    I agree with the CV part but still I think it's a bit too much to go and chase someone on the work phone while they are working... Thanks. –  Dec 10 '14 at 13:37
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Either tell them not to call you at work and give them your home number, or tell them that you won't work with any recruiter who has the effrontery to call someone at their current place of business and that they should take you off their call list.

Exactly as you would with any other annoying marketing type who calls you at the office.

keshlam
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