Why Won't That Silicon Valley HeadHunter Talk to Me?

Maybe it's because you are not in the niche or specialty that this particular recruiter works in. Many times, headhunters are quite specialized - they only work a specific niche within semiconductors, for instance, and only recruit design engineers with master's degrees in electrical engineering for that work. Further detailing the specifications they're looking for, the recruiter may only be interested in people with experience in a specific product type, like systems on a chip. If you don't meet every one of these specifications, you are not in their target space.

And they won't call you back, or even respond to your email. Which is bad manners, but understandable... The better headhunter will give you feedback, tell you what you're missing that is on their specification. And in a perfect world, suggest what other experience that you need and how/where to get it.

Why Won't that Silicon Valley HeadHunter Talk to ME?

Sometimes we're actually on vacation, or busy on another project... Sometimes it is just about task interference. You remember that? What happens when you have competing priorities, that you really can't prioritize? You remember those days - everything has a deadline, and it's today.

Be mindful of the fact that the recruiter can be in overwhelm. And the fact that s/he has 150 resumes in the queue to review makes her/him pretty cranky. And that pushy phone call that you made really is annoying. A better way to handle it is a well-written and respectful email - recognize that we have multiple jobs we're trying to fill, and that they may not have read your credentials yet. Especially in sales and marketing roles, I'm always looking for great follow up skills.