We Interrupt This Program...
I was all set to get up this morning and review the first two films I've seen at this year's Seattle International Film Festival. I thought I might write about my next big international trip, currently in its delightful planning stages. But no. This morning, you get a rant, because I'm pissed off.
I'm pretty picky about my mornings. I set my alarm clock for a particular time. I enjoy waking up to a kitty who wants to cuddle (even if she's being a pill about it). I enjoy the warmth of blankets long slept in, and the relaxation following a good night's sleep.
But every now and then, this morning pleasantness is broken by a phone ringing, usually somewhere around 6:30-7:00 AM as it was this morning. Now, like most people, if a phone rings at a time outside what might be considered normal, reasonable hours (say, I don't know, 9 AM to 9 PM), I get a little worried. Most people don't call other people outside of said hours unless something is wrong or something is urgent. My experience of such calls is dramatic enough that I get a shot of adrenaline when I hear a ringer, and I will bolt out of bed to get the phone, worried about what I might hear.
This morning, as has happened a couple of other times, the call was from a recruiter with a foreign accent, calling to ask if I was interested in a job opportunity. Sometimes these guys are calling from Bangalore. Sometimes they're calling from Atlanta. I understand that it's this guy's job to make cold calls looking for client prospects. But--DAMN IT--I don't care how polite and well-mannered you are, manners and politesse don't matter if you're calling at a time when someone might be freaked out by a phone call. They don't matter when you're pulling someone out of bed. If your job is to make a sales connection, at least have the brains to look at an area code, a map, and a clock and figure out whether or not a call at such a time might be welcome or might piss off your prospect. These people are probably trained to call at an hour when prospective clients might be home and available--but early in the morning will invariably piss me off.
I have, on occasion, tried to educate such cold callers in as restrained a manner as I possibly can. Really, I try to be polite but firm, and insist that perhaps they ought to be aware that Seattle is three hours behind Newark, twelve hours behind New Delhi, and so on. This morning, I didn't have the patience for that. I was polite but surly (I'm currently employed; no, I don't know anyone else looking for this sort of work) and the caller was bewildered. He was well-trained; he stayed polite and thanked me for my time, but I hung up before he could conclude his patter.
I think the worst thing about this phenomenon is how many of these calls I took when I was really desperate for work, how many of these people tried to engage me, and what they actually did was take my resume and never respond to me again despite normal follow-up. Or they called offering me rates that, in my industry and geographical region, were insulting or inappropriate. Or showed that, despite their statements about my being an excellent candidate for a job, demonstrated that they had never actually read my resume or understood my skill set.
If you're going to do a job, do it well. Do it with forethought and care. Do it with awareness and consideration. And for the love of all that's good, don't--please don't--call me before 9 AM.
I'm pretty picky about my mornings. I set my alarm clock for a particular time. I enjoy waking up to a kitty who wants to cuddle (even if she's being a pill about it). I enjoy the warmth of blankets long slept in, and the relaxation following a good night's sleep.
But every now and then, this morning pleasantness is broken by a phone ringing, usually somewhere around 6:30-7:00 AM as it was this morning. Now, like most people, if a phone rings at a time outside what might be considered normal, reasonable hours (say, I don't know, 9 AM to 9 PM), I get a little worried. Most people don't call other people outside of said hours unless something is wrong or something is urgent. My experience of such calls is dramatic enough that I get a shot of adrenaline when I hear a ringer, and I will bolt out of bed to get the phone, worried about what I might hear.
This morning, as has happened a couple of other times, the call was from a recruiter with a foreign accent, calling to ask if I was interested in a job opportunity. Sometimes these guys are calling from Bangalore. Sometimes they're calling from Atlanta. I understand that it's this guy's job to make cold calls looking for client prospects. But--DAMN IT--I don't care how polite and well-mannered you are, manners and politesse don't matter if you're calling at a time when someone might be freaked out by a phone call. They don't matter when you're pulling someone out of bed. If your job is to make a sales connection, at least have the brains to look at an area code, a map, and a clock and figure out whether or not a call at such a time might be welcome or might piss off your prospect. These people are probably trained to call at an hour when prospective clients might be home and available--but early in the morning will invariably piss me off.
I have, on occasion, tried to educate such cold callers in as restrained a manner as I possibly can. Really, I try to be polite but firm, and insist that perhaps they ought to be aware that Seattle is three hours behind Newark, twelve hours behind New Delhi, and so on. This morning, I didn't have the patience for that. I was polite but surly (I'm currently employed; no, I don't know anyone else looking for this sort of work) and the caller was bewildered. He was well-trained; he stayed polite and thanked me for my time, but I hung up before he could conclude his patter.
I think the worst thing about this phenomenon is how many of these calls I took when I was really desperate for work, how many of these people tried to engage me, and what they actually did was take my resume and never respond to me again despite normal follow-up. Or they called offering me rates that, in my industry and geographical region, were insulting or inappropriate. Or showed that, despite their statements about my being an excellent candidate for a job, demonstrated that they had never actually read my resume or understood my skill set.
If you're going to do a job, do it well. Do it with forethought and care. Do it with awareness and consideration. And for the love of all that's good, don't--please don't--call me before 9 AM.