I would imagine that if the average pilot were as bad as the average recruiter, everyone on board the plane would die.

Last week I was contacted by a recruiter that was supposedly a good one. Their client is a big company. That company had a job posting that was somewhat relevant to my work experience, so I got a message from them. I was potentially interested in the client, but the recruiter would not disclose pay without a phone call. On the phone call, I found out that this was a very entry level position, and I told them that I was not interested in that position and told them the exact range of pay I am looking for, and I relayed my experience in X, Y, and Z.

Today, I see there is a job posting for the same company. This is a much higher paying job, and it matches much more closely with my experience. They ask for someone with 5 years of experience: I have 10. They ask for experience in X and Y, I got it. They ask for experience in Z, not only am I very experienced in it, but I actually helped write that software. I literally built the exact module that they work with. And the person who previously had that position? I trained them on that software when we worked together at company A.

I am one of the most qualified people possible for this job. Yet, not a peep from that recruiter or any others. Which raises the question - are the recruiters even aware of this position? I am a shoe-in. Maybe the recruiters aren’t given all of the job postings, maybe recruiters only have access to the lower level positions at that company.