Ugh, another recruiter just messaged me on LinkedIn about some opportunity at some undisclosed company. This is about the hundredth time this year.

I feel blessed that so many recruiters ping me, however the roles are hardly ever for positions I would be interested in. Then to top it off, the recruiter leaves off the name of the company. They all do it.

Today I worked up the gumption to actually ask one of them why. The recruiter replied "Unfortunately adding the name of my client would make my job pointless so that is why it is not there."

It's totally unreasonable to think your job is pointless if you put the name of the company on the initial communique. This seems sensible at first glance, but it's totally not.

Interviewing for a new job shouldn't be like a suspense movie.

The job of a recruiter is to forge relationships. Recruiting is largely about matchmaking. The recruiter has the relationship with the company. You don't. Without naming the company it's like going on a blind date. If you had the name of the company you could do a little research about them. Let's not waste both of our time.

It's not like you really have the option to cut and run once you see the name of the company. That is unless you know someone working at the company and that person will refer you internally. The odds of that happening are slim to none. Recruiters have much more experience selling your skills than you do. Once the recruiter has contacted you, it would be a fool's errand to contact the company directly just to get lost in their bureaucracy. It can also take dramatically longer going down this path.

Actually it can get much worse, but that's a topic of another post.

Good recruiters are hard to find. If you happen to work with one that treats you well, maintain an open line of communication. You will be rewarded.

What do you think?