Question
Hello Nick, I have been reading your e-mails for many years and have learned a lot. It seems you always have such great advice.
I wanted to get your opinion on something I have seen more of recently. A recruiter contacts me with an opportunity. After my initial response, they ask if I have a Signal or WhatsApp account. If I don’t they want me to get one or the other to “make our communication much more convenient and secure.” My reaction has been no I don’t have either and do not intend to use either. If they want to talk to me about a legitimate opportunity, please call me. Otherwise I figure they are the ones with something to hide. Am I just being paranoid or am I right to be completely skeptical?
Thanks for your honest assessment.
Nick’s Reply
That’s a good question. I don’t have WhatsApp or Signal on my phone, either. I won’t even install Facebook Messenger. Signal may be cleaner but anything associated with FB is a version of spyware. It could be you’ve stumbled onto a pretty good way to judge headhunters.
I believe when a good recruiter has good reason to talk with you, they will call. If your salary is, say, $120K, you’re worth about a $25,000 fee to that recruiter. That’s a lot of money. They’ll call.
Every digital, automated recruiting tool is designed to help a recruiter process higher volumes of jobs and people. Not to make good matches. That’s why in general recruiters are lousy at what they do. They’re playing a numbers game. Technology (which I love and rely on) makes it easier for them to process more jobs and resumes faster. And to waste your time more.
If someone is worth $25,000, a good headhunter will make contact the most personal way possible. They want to get as close to you as they can because not doing so could cost them a big fee.
Everyone else is dialing for dollars. (Hah – poor choice of expression! They’re not dialing!) Those guys who want you to communicate their way know the odds of placing you and earning a fee suck. So that’s a pretty good way to filter them out. If a headhunter really thinks they can place you, they’ll use a Dixie cup and a thread if that’s what it takes. What’s up? Good question.
Follow your gut. This may be helpful: How to judge a headhunter.
Thanks for your kind words!
Can it really be that simple? If they don’t cooperate with your simple wish to have a phone call, are they probably lousy recruiters? I say yes. Follow the money. Headhunters that insist on “their way or the highway” betray poor business practices. Am I nuts? What silly requirements have headhunters tried to lay on you?
NOTE FROM NICK: There hasn’t been a newsletter in a few weeks because I’ve been moving to new digs and the move was more complicated and took longer than expected. Have to admit — it was great being without my pc! But I’d rather write and be with you folks than move!
: :
If they want to use WhatsApp there’s one of two possible outcomes:
1) It’s a scam.
2) It’s an Indian body shop.
Both are reasons to avoid. No legitimate recruiter will use it or any third-party messaging tools. Phone calls, emails, and possibly texts are it.
That’s what was top of my mind too.
Agree. There are many blogs regarding (fake) recruiters diverting interaction to WhatsApp.
I will only use Signal for personal use with closest contacts.
AI manipulated Job scams are increasing. Please pause, assess their message, trust your instincts and take time for due diligence research..including verification of the sender name.
A gentle reminder to stay anchored, neutral and calm. Pay attention to your emotions as to not slip into despair amidst this unstablejob market. Keep emotions separate.
Thank you for listening.
This is a very US-centric view and may indeed be valid within the US where iMessage/texting still rules today.
Outside the US, however, whatsapp is ubiquitous and almost impossible to live without. Family stuff, client work, high level deal negotiations, community groups, business accounts, etc – all function on whatsapp. Whatsapp calling has also killed the international long distance calling business.
Back in my earlier days as an investment banker I was mortified when a colleague from our HK office said he was going to SMS the client.
Yes, it is US-centric. Plus, if I am applying to job I don’t to use want all secret and encrypted messaging. I want to see communications coming from a company e-mail. I want to know the identity and full name of every person I am talking to I am talking to. I want FORMAL communications for a job interview situation.
Any company or recruiter wanting you to move to WhatsApp IS 100% a scam. No legit company or recruiter will ever ask you to do this. I’m surprised to see Nick not taking a hard line on this.
These scammers are posting fake jobs on LinkedIn and Indeed. LinkedIn is horrible at filtering out fake companies and fake jobs.
These scammers will either try to get your Social Security number, get you to pay them a bogus “fee” with a promise of getting work or god knows what else.
Absolutely agree with the above. It is 100% a scam
Hi Nick:
Based on my research and the people I know in the industry researching scams, supposed recruiters immediately switching to WhatsApp and/or Signal in the United States is a sure sign of a scam. Given our history of fighting recruiter scams in the industry, I was surprised you did not immediately recognize this as a scam.
Recruiters wanting to switch communications to Signal or WhatsApp screams scam to me… But as Nicolas has pointed out, WhatsApp is ubiquitous in many parts of the world. At my last company, my coworkers who have families and friends in India use WhatsApp for messaging instead of SMS/MMS.Their usage of WhatsApp also extends to their local Indian communities here in the US.
For folks who do not have unlimited talk and text on their phone plans due to cost constraints then using a messaging app like WhatsAop/Signal/Telegram is the way to go for messaging friends and family. SMS caps along with the cost is what drove the development of messaging apps which used internet data and not the mobile carriers SMS network. Not all countries/carriers offer unlimited SMS.
@Ken @Nicolas I’d say the strangest thing (which I agree screams SCAM) is the fact of moving immediately to WhatsApp / Signal or whatever else without a live discussion first, which could be on WhatsApp /Signal to Ken’s point (but I doubt).
After a 1st live discussion, then it would be perfectly fine to use WhatsApp /Signal etc. to arrange for logistics or whatever else would require simple asynchronous back and forth exchanges
That’s silly. Why would a legitimate company not use their *company* e-mail for communications or regular texting (from a hiring manager or HR) if they need to text? A lot of people don’t use Signal or WhatsApp. If an employer wanted me to switch to non-traditional communication channels it makes me think they don’t want their communications to be traceable. You have to think about why they would only want you to communicate on THOSE apps.
It’s obviously unprofessional and just gives off a sketchy vibe. Someone asked me to do that a few months ago and I told them to F*ck off.
I get the same sort of (automated) request for my LinkedIn. I only use LinkedIn for comic relief any more. The rest of social media is the same.
I have a phone, and email, feel free to use those for contact.
Something is hinky. Why wouldn’t a legitimate, prospective employer use their own phone and/or own email to communicate with you? I get it that in other parts of the world, WhatsApp or Signal may be the go-to way to reach out to job applicants, clients, customers, etc., but here in the US, I’d be very, very wary. What are they hiding or trying to hide?
Better still would be the ability to meet for 10 minutes to discuss the job, your qualifications, etc. before you waste time, energy, etc. only to discover that there’s a mismatch. I know I can give 10 minutes, and if it seems promising to both parties, then let’s meet for a more formal interview, and if not, then I haven’t wasted my time applying, talking, etc. and neither has the employer.
Imagine it is 1975—how would you communicate with job candidates and employers? There’s no internet, no email, no smartphones, no WhatsApp, no texting, no ATSes or AI. We’d have to mingle, to talk, etc.
Congratulations on your new diggings, Nick!
@Marybeth: The default assumption should be that such solicitations are questionable if not outright scams. That’s a given so I didn’t really get into it. But the added risk you take when you have any app on your mobile that’s related to Meta or Facebook, you can be assured Zuck is listening in. Your info is worth a lot to advertisers, scammers and other ne’er-do-wells. If you’re not paying for the service, they’re collecting your data as payment. Beware.
Even legit businesses have been quietly removing phone # contact info, email addresses and even regular mail addresses from their websites, making it nigh impossible for you or I to reach them directly to confirm whether any posting or rep interaction on WattsApp, Signal, etc, on their behalf was real at all. As an example, a former employer of mine years ago used to have a corporate # for other recruiters to use to confirm employee history. After they were acquired by another company and changed their name, all of their contact info vanished. What replaced it was a message field you enter into their website directly on the promise of someone replying back (which, of course, never happens). Granted, this was a staffing agency, but the same pattern has repeated everywhere since, and I’m thinking the days of being able to do basic, verifiable research on the Internet for jobs and careers are over.