How to stop getting irrelevant job offers from recruiters
Recruiters flood inboxes with low-quality pitches, pay cuts, and requests to train AI models that automate professionals out of their own fields. Sifting through this volume of unwanted slop wastes time and obscures any genuinely good career opportunities.
What people tried
Every workaround mentioned in the threads below. We haven’t tested any of them — and nobody here is claiming they worked.
Found another way around this?
Share your steps and trade-offs so fellow engineers don't have to reinvent the wheel. No account required.
- 1Treating most recruiter messages like junk mail unless the company name is recognized as paying wellDid this help you?
- 2Avoiding them until personally discontented with current workDid this help you?
- 3Taking interviews for practice and seeing what is out thereDid this help you?
- 4Blocking those recruitersDid this help you?
- 5Ignoring job postings that lack a pay range or have mismatched responsibilities.Did this help you?
- 6Asking peer networks and online forums for direct recommendations of alternative staffing firmsDid this help you?
- 7Setting LinkedIn notifications to do not disturbDid this help you?
- 8Ignoring messages that slip throughDid this help you?
- 9Checking account settings to ensure resume sharing features are turned offDid this help you?
In their words
Unedited, grouped by where they were said, most upvoted first within each place, each linked to the thread it came from.
“Do you guys get annoyed with all the messages, in mail, connection requests you get on a weekly basis from recruiters trying to poach on LinkedIn?”source ↗
“I've been getting anywhere from 2-8 messages a week for the past few months from recruiters, and I am not searching for another job.”source ↗
“I am always looking, but all they send me is meh and none of it is anywhere near the quality of what I already have, never mind better.”source ↗
“Is there any way to work with recruiters without dealing with loads of slop?”source ↗
“Looking for firms or recruiters that actually lead to real interviews or placements, not just the high-volume ones that spam.”source ↗
“Has anyone seen the job offers to train Ai on how to pretty much take your job?”source ↗
“I must say they are really high offers but I refuse to train Ai and I am wondering who is actually taking these jobs?”source ↗
“I keep mine on do not disturb and just ignore the ones that slip through, same volume as you”source ↗
“Applying for jobs today & came across this gem. It’s listed as a Senior Accountant, outsourced accounting. I read the job description it says: you will provide assistant controller level support. No pay range provided. So that means you want an assistant controller but want to pay for senior accountant, got it. Yeah, not one I’m applying to that one.”source ↗
“There is a setting to share your resume with recruiters without having the “open to work” feature turned on. But even with that turned off, I get a few recruiters each month reaching out to me.”source ↗
Where this came up
People with this problem also raised
- 9Why do recruiters ghost and waste time during a job search?
- 24Why are job boards full of impossible roles and ghost listings?
- 7Why do hiring managers reject qualified candidates over superficial things?
- 14Should I take a very low-paying entry-level job out of desperation?
- 11Why can't I even get a job interview with years of experience?
- 2How to deal with the awkwardness of volunteering after a job rejection