Just got off a call with a low voltage project manager I have been trying to reach for three weeks.
He finally picked up, heard my name, and said: “I am not really looking, but I will give you five minutes.”
That’s the line. That exact response, or some version of it, is what I hear from almost every candidate who ends up being a serious fit.
After 14 years of calls into electronic security, I have noticed a clear pattern. The candidates who open with enthusiasm, who tell me they are actively looking and excited to hear about anything, are rarely the ones who we place. The ones who tell me they are not looking but will give me five minutes almost always are.
Here is why I think that is.
The “not really looking” candidate has leverage. They are employed. They are not desperate. They have the ability to say no to something that is not right, which means when they say yes, it means something. Hiring managers feel that. Offers to passive candidates close differently than offers to active candidates.
The “five minutes” part tells me something too. They are curious. They have not slammed the door. They are open to being surprised. In my experience, the best career moves happen to people who were not planning on making one.
What I have also learned is that the five-minute call is a test I have to pass, not a courtesy they are extending. They are listening for whether I actually know their industry, whether I am going to waste their time, and whether the opportunity is worth a real conversation. If I cannot clear that bar in five minutes, I have not earned the next fifteen.
If you are in electronic security and you are not looking, that is fine. Pick up the phone when a recruiter calls. Give them five minutes. The right opportunity has never once announced itself at a convenient time.
And if you get a call from someone who actually knows the industry, knows your role, and has a specific reason for reaching out to you, that is worth five minutes of your time.