GUEST COMMENT: My weird recruiter experience

I know that there has been a lot of negative sentiment expressed towards headhunters and recruiters, but I've generally had good experiences with them. Okay, so there was the one who kept asking me about specialisation. It took me a while and a lot of prompting to deduce that she thought specialisation was itself a particular thing one could specialise in.

Overall though, my encounters with recruiters have mostly been very positive. They've been helpful and have offered constructive criticism and useful advice.

This week was different. I saw an appealing job posting and fired off a quick application. I actually hesitated on the grounds that there was a glaring typo in the job title, but I sent it anyways. The recruiter e-mailed me almost immediately. We arranged an interview for the following day.

He opened the conversation by saying that my CV was excellent, that it was exactly what his client was looking for. He said the client was really short-handed and was eager to get somebody in place ASAP. For the next half hour he asked me questions and answered them himself on my behalf without the slightest hint of a pause - incorrectly, I might add. I could not get a word in edgewise.

He went on to say that my background made me an ideal candidate for a role one step down from the one I had applied for. I was confused, of course. I mean, 30 minutes ago my CV was exactly what the client wanted.

He also said that I was clearly very suited for a role a step down from the one that I'd applied for, but that my CV failed to reflect this accurately. This was also slightly curious. If it wasn't my CV that was giving him the inside scoop on my background, what was it? It certainly wasn't our conversation.

He finished off by giving me some extremely bad advice on how to 'improve' my CV. No, thanks, but I really don't care to mix bullet points with complete paragraphs in a description of my responsibilities. And, no, I really won't be falsifying the title of my last role. But thanks for that advice.

He told me that client was in no rush, so I should take some time and think about the changes. Tomorrow would be perfectly fine to get back to him.

I thought about the changes I would make and the ones I wouldn't. I sent him the revised document first thing the following morning. I received a prompt reply comprising a snide remark about my tardiness.

I didn't respond. Some jobs just aren't worth it.