How do I politely tell the recruiter I don’t want to go further?

A recruiter reached out to me yesterday on LinkedIn about a job opportunity. I told him I wasn’t actively looking for another job but that I was open to opportunities so we set up a call and essentially I had an interview. He asked me what I was looking for in salary and I told him mid-high 70s since the only reason I’d leave my current job is for a higher salary.

He said that since I only have almost 2 years of experience, we could negotiate to a base salary of 65k, which is about 3.5k less than what I make at my current job. He asked if I would still like to continue with this process and I didn’t know how to decline after talking about money (I didn’t want to seem greedy) but this job would require me to drive 30mins as opposed to 5mins now and I need to go home during lunches to let my dog out.

He told me to email him my updated resume this weekend but I have no interest in wasting time in this job when I know I don’t want it. How do I politely tell this recruiter that I’m no longer interested after thinking it more through?

Just email! Say exactly what you've said and say you're grateful for the opportunity but that you're happy where you are for the time being and if things change in the future you will reach out, job done! :)

Yes. And nothing long or drawn out or with a back story -because if you give him details he may continue to pursue you to resolve your "details".

"I enjoyed our conversations about the opportunity. On reflection I don't think it would be a good fit for me at this time. Thank you again."

I had to do something like this -but earlier on -with a new "friend" who I didn't realize was also going to try to sell me on her MLM opportunity. I nipped it in the bud much earlier - telling her directly and politely "I will never use those products so I don't want to take samples from you and I'm not interested in the business. However, I'll be happy to refer people I meet to you if they seem interested". She backed off and I think appreciated my early on directness and honesty. Polite is important too but not if it means using a lot of words/flowery language -be as direct and concise as possible.

"Thank you for this offer. Upon further consideration, this particular position is not a good fit for me". Also keep in mind they work on commission usually paid by the hiring firm, so you are just meat he needs to send there for his own purposes and quotas.

He told me to email him my updated resume this weekend but I have no interest in wasting time in this job when I know I don’t want it. How do I politely tell this recruiter that I’m no longer interested after thinking it more through?

"Thank you for this offer. Upon further consideration, this particular position is not a good fit for me". Also keep in mind they work on commission usually paid by the hiring firm, so you are just meat he needs to send there for his own purposes and quotas.

I was a recruiter many years ago. The employer paid the commission. But no, the applicants were not just meat and here's why. Very often applicants become the employer. Very often applicants refer their friends to you. Very often if you're not in a good relationship with the applicant it can harm your relationship with the employer -if the applicant is made to feel like meat or the employer feels you just inundate her with irrelevant candidates everyone gets hurt. And oh yeah there's this thing called morals and ethics -when I was a recruiter I was not going to make commissions in an unethical (or of course immoral) way - for my own values. You can condemn all sales people in this way (because your comments would apply to anyone who makes a commission) but I think sales people -and recruiters- play a valuable role. My former boss when I was a recruiter helped me get a great job, helped my husband with the same many years ago, etc. And that's because she was highly ethical (she still is, she just retired from the business some years ago).

A recruiter reached out to me yesterday on LinkedIn about a job opportunity. I told him I wasn’t actively looking for another job but that I was open to opportunities so we set up a call and essentially I had an interview. He asked me what I was looking for in salary and I told him mid-high 70s since the only reason I’d leave my current job is for a higher salary.

 

He said that since I only have almost 2 years of experience, we could negotiate to a base salary of 65k, which is about 3.5k less than what I make at my current job. He asked if I would still like to continue with this process and I didn’t know how to decline after talking about money (I didn’t want to seem greedy) but this job would require me to drive 30mins as opposed to 5mins now and I need to go home during lunches to let my dog out.

 

He told me to email him my updated resume this weekend but I have no interest in wasting time in this job when I know I don’t want it. How do I politely tell this recruiter that I’m no longer interested after thinking it more through?

Ask yourself, how does this situation benefit you and how does it benefit him

You gain ZERO. you probably would lose out.

dont be a afraid to tell people in a professional way that this situation isnt the best for you going forward.

Boy you need a little assertiveness training... This is your life, your choices, your income and you need to make no apologies if someone makes you an offer that doesn't appeal to you for whatever reason.

This is about business so just behave professionally rather than reacting personally. send a polite email that says, thanks for the contact, but the job is not what i'd be interested in in terms of pay or location..

Btw it's not 'greedy' to know what you're worth and to actually ask for more than you're worth. It's a free market and they don't have to make you an offer or you accept one unless it works for both of you. When I was starting out I decided I wouldn't take another job until some made an offer that was 50% more than my current job, and someone did and I took it!

It is very common for people to expect at least a 10-25% increase when changing jobs, especially when you are young and gain more experience. Expecting you to change jobs and get paid less is ridiculous if the recruiter tries that on you.

If the recruiter cannot meet your salary, you tell them "no, i am sorry, the salary does not meet my criteria. Thank you for the consideration" and leave it at that.

Boy you need a little assertiveness training... This is your life, your choices, your income and you need to make no apologies if someone makes you an offer that doesn't appeal to you for whatever reason.

 

This is about business so just behave professionally rather than reacting personally. send a polite email that says, thanks for the contact, but the job is not what i'd be interested in in terms of pay or location..

 

Btw it's not 'greedy' to know what you're worth and to actually ask for more than you're worth. It's a free market and they don't have to make you an offer or you accept one unless it works for both of you. When I was starting out I decided I wouldn't take another job until some made an offer that was 50% more than my current job, and someone did and I took it!

 

It is very common for people to expect at least a 10-25% increase when changing jobs, especially when you are young and gain more experience. Expecting you to change jobs and get paid less is ridiculous if the recruiter tries that on you.

its not greedy to like your job and decide that you don't want to leave -- and say that it would take buckets of money to change your mind and that's the only reason you would leave. It would be greedy if you have been unemployed 2 years and have kids to hold out for the ultimate salary package

I got offered an internal transfer from my company right after I got promoted. They were planning to offer me a different position. They contacted my new manager only days after I'd started in my new position. Talk about awkward! My new manager came to me and asked why I was trying to transfer only days after they promoted me. I explained that I'd withdrawn my application but apparently the recruiter didn't receive the notice.

Since it's within the same company I had to be careful. What I told the recruiter was that I'd been offered and accepted a promotion only recently. I thanked the recruiter for their consideration. I received back an email congratulating me and thanking me for letting them know. No hard feelings.

Recruiters are used to this. It's what they do on a day to day basis.

Thanks for everyone’s input! Yes, I shouldn’t stated right there and then when he asked on the phone if I would still like to continue that the salary he was offering would not meet my needs. I’ll take this as a learning experience and definitely be more assertive next time