Lately, it has become increasingly obvious to me that having the word "Director" in your job title—or anything that implies "decider" in an org chart, really—is a curse.
As a software developer, or even in most cases an engineering manager, my inboxes—both email and LinkedIn—were most often filled with requests from recruiters. Some of them were well-matched, but most... not even close.
But ever since I made the transition into middle management, that shiny "Director" title seems to have become a beacon for account reps, biz dev folks, and sales people. Sometimes they come bearing offerings in the form of gift cards, Apple products, or meals—all of which I turn down because it feels gross—but most of the time they slide into my DMs with a poorly targeted pitch and way too much enthusiasm.
I can deal with most of this, though.
Contacting me using my company email won't win you any favors, but it also won't make me angry. Even LinkedIn, which is technically an appropriate place for this type of inbound, won't make me too frustrated—unless you harass me (pro tip: if I don't respond, then it's a no, not an invitation to double-down).
But the one thing I absolutely can't handle? Trying to sell me on your services via my personal channels.
I'm not sure which company is selling this information (ZoomInfo, probably?), but sending a sales pitch to my personal email address or calling my personal cell phone—don't even get me started with texting it—is a surefire way to guarantee I will have no interest in doing business with you.
And lest you think that I've invited this harassment by publishing my personal email address on this very website, let me tell you that the email addresses and phone numbers that are getting contacted are not the ones I've shared publicly, so I know that these folks aren't even bothering to target me specifically.
I'm just a name and a title in a database filled with contact information, and I'm honestly fucking sick of it.
So, in the name of all that is holy, please... stop trying to sell me shit.
I'm not interested, and I'm not buying.
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This is post 025 of #100DaysToOffload