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10 Things Recruiters Won’t Tell You (But I Will!)
Recruiters have one job: Find the right person for the position.
Their performance is evaluated on how efficiently and effectively they match top talent to job requirements.
Ironically, in the current economy, recruiters are finding their jobs harder than ever.
I’m serious.
There’s too much talent for them to weed through. What used to be “finding a needle in a haystack” has now become “finding a needle in ten haystacks.”
As a result, recruiters have to determine a candidate’s marketability much quicker.
Translation: Candidates must pay even more attention to the power of the first impression factor.
People skills, attire, etc. all become more important when competition amongst talent is this fierce.
Reality check: Those who are failing to make a good first impression get put in the “no” pile and are never contacted again.
So, if you aren’t getting called back by a recruiter after either an in-person meeting or talking by phone, there’s a good chance that, in addition to the fact you didn’t have the right skills, you also might have displayed one or more traits on the “I can’t market them” list.
Now, most recruiters won’t tell you what you did wrong.
Why?
For one reason, they aren’t paid to give you the bad news. Second, they don’t want to burn a bridge. And third, as I mentioned, they just don’t have the time.
And yet, how are you going to fix the problem if you don’t know it exists?
I’ve put together the most common reasons why a recruiter writes a candidate off. You may not like what you read, but the good news is with a little attention and practice, all of them can be improved upon. So, ask yourself, “Am I guilty of the following?”
Top 10 Things a Recruiter Won’t Tell You
- Your interview attire is outdated/messy/too tight/too revealing/too flashy.
- Your physical appearance is disheveled/outdated/sloppy/smelly/overpowering (i.e. too much perfume).
- Your eye contact is weak/shifty/intense.
- Your handshake is limp/too forceful/clammy.
- You say ah/um/like too much.
- You talk too much/use poor grammar/say inappropriate things (i.e. swearing) when you answer interview questions.
- You appear overconfident/pushy/self-centered/insecure/aloof/ditzy/scatter-brained/desperate.
- You talk too fast/too slow/too loud/too soft.
- You giggle/fidget/act awkward/have facial tics/lack expression.
- You lack sincerity/self-confidence/clarity/conviction.
So, How Do You Fix These?
Well, given 93% of communication is non-verbal, I can tell you that many of the negatives above can be improved by focusing on one thing: attitude.
If you are angry, fearful, or confused, it’s going to show. You must find a way to feel good about yourself and your ability to contribute. This comes from knowing your strengths and embracing them. It also comes from doing your homework on a company so you can articulate clearly and with enthusiasm why you would be a great fit for the job. I realize this is easier said than done, but it can be done.
Your Next Step
School teaches you everything except how to get the job. You must invest time in learning the right way to job search.
I just finished four new training videos for you – they’re all about executing an easier job search in this economy.
My videos are completely free and I’m confident you’re going to find them useful. The link to access the first one is below.
I hope I’ve convinced you to take a hard look at the 10 reasons above and to commit to finding a way to improve your first impression factor.
It’s your career.
Own your actions and take control of your professional development.
I promise, recruiters will take notice.
Your Turn
Feel free to share any reasons I missed below. Better still, if you’ve got a resource you’ve used that has helped you get over one or more of these first impression-busters, please share it below so fellow readers can use it as well.
Photo Credit: Shutterstock
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Joseph
May 15, 2013 at 11:57 PM
Have to share this post, as found on Monster today:
The ideal candidate will possess:
A minimum of two years customer service and sales experience;
Ability to shift and manage multiple priorities and meet deadlines;
Tech-Savvy knowledge to quickly learn new systems, and maintain internal databases;
Ability to be produce results within a dynamic and unstructured environment;
A flexible attitude, to shift and respond to changing priorities; and
Possessing excellent written and verbal communication skills.
All of this, to be a recruiter at Manpower!
Let’s see:
2 years – yep, most high school jobs will cover that
Ability to shift and manage – starts to border on redundant, but okay, fair enough
Tech-savvy – isn’t that pretty much a given these days?
Ability to be produce results – of course; your job depends on it! But again, don’t all jobs?
(Re-read that line and then see the last point about written skills…)
Flexible attitude, to shift and… – see point two
Written and verbal – didn’t stop the last recruiter who contacted me!
(And talk about redundant – the ideal candidate will posses possessing excellent written…)
So, it’s no wonder that looks count more than skills to a recruiter – they still think that they’re in high school!
(Maybe a little more structure in their environment would be a good thing…)
Craig
May 9, 2013 at 10:35 PM
In looking at some of the much older comments, I see a lot of discussion about recruiters being nearly the scum of life and that one doesn’t need them.
I have applied for a position for an engineer through a recruiter. As a result of thinking about these comments, I decided to do web searches with the text of part of the job ad to which I had applied (and for which I am a 100% fit). I found THE EXACT SAME JOB POSTING all over the ‘net! I did not, however, find a posting that was not a recruiter. I’m wondering if the job is a real job, or if lots of places and people are just trying to gather resumes/CVs.
It’s somewhat disillusioning, particularly for someone who has been looking for work for a long time.
Craig
NAL9612
May 8, 2013 at 8:16 AM
Interesting, in meeting with many recruiters over my career. I could safely say that most if not all of these 10 things can apply to many recruiters as well.
In the past few years, I have noticed that many of these so called “recruiters” have become very unprofessional, seem very inexperienced not only about the position and industry they are seeking to fill (that they are getting paid typically 20% of the salary of the candidate whom they place) and seem lacking in even the most basic professionalism and courtesy.
Maybe someone can answer why a recruiter thinks its OK to contact you about a position — debrief you about your background for 15-30 minutes just over the phone, tell you what a perfect fit you are for the role, suppposedly submit your Resume and then you never hear another word from him or her. If you dare to follow up a few weeks later even you are told either the client A) cancelled the job opening B) went with someone else. well my question to the recruiter is Was there a reason you couldn’t communicate that information to me when you found out?? catches them like a deer in headlights
Frennajet
April 28, 2013 at 1:10 AM
games
Iknow
April 21, 2013 at 5:28 PM
“A needle in ten haystacks”? More like a hundred needles in a handful of hay. There are more qualified people than ever before 4/21/2013
MAS
April 24, 2013 at 10:42 AM
The hay stacks represents all the qualified candidates (not the job market) and the needle is the most qualified candidate.
Alexa
April 18, 2013 at 8:42 PM
Love your article and agree 110%. I’m 25 and was lucky enough to get a year conract with a great company, straight out of college. I’m learning time and time again that getting hired it really comes down to having a great personality, excellent communication skills and just general giving off a positive vibe to coworkers. Even though I was deathly afraid on my first interview, I was energetic, had a sense of humor and tried to come off as a knowledgable, solid, trustworthy person. Professionalism is certainly underrated these days.
We interviewed a creative director today, and not only did she show up to a corporate environment totally underdressed, she had the whackiest haircut I’ve ever seen. She also mentioned some really unfortunate personal things during the interview which, in my opinion, had no relevance to the meeting and probably put her at a disadvantage. People don’t like or trust what makes them uncomfortable, and even if you feel like its fake, you should make the effort to be professional and please everyone. You’re putting yourself in a position to be judged, so don’t give people anything to criticize. Especially in corporate environments.
I’m very interested in getting hired on full-time at my company. Have been working here for almost a year, and my contact isn’t one to hire, necessarily. They’ll either have the option of hiring me on as a full-timer or, well, not. Wondering if anyone has any general advice for how to approach this situation. I’m well aware they need me, but I’m not sure whether they’ll try to replace me or not. Maybe if someone has experienced this or knows what companies like to hear / see from employees in this position.
NAL9612
May 8, 2013 at 8:22 AM
being 25 also helps. you are seen as easy to control, fun to be around, will work for less pay than someone who has quantifiable experience in the industry… I am about 10 years older than you. I am sorry to say but I have found many in your age group that I have worked with who have that great personality, fun the be around, loves to talk about their weekend and how drunk/high they got etc.. also typically need the most handholding, didn’t learn what attention to detail really means, have to be trained on anyone over the most basic excel functions
DonnaQuixotic
April 16, 2013 at 5:53 PM
Wowwwww the author has never recruited software engineers, (arguably) (one of) the most difficult and elite sector of talent in the world.
I’m redoing this list from a tech recruiting perspective:
Top 10 Things a Tech Recruiter Won’t Tell You Because it Doesn’t #%&$%&@ Matter:
1. Your interview attire is outdated/messy/too tight/too revealing/too flashy.
*Lol flashy. boobs are fun let’s do some in ASCII. Hoodies and New Balance 4 Life. Even at Google.
Your physical appearance is disheveled/outdated/sloppy/smelly/overpowering (i.e. too much perfume).
*You’re going to be coding alone in a corner 98% of the time. We give out a lot of swag because you won’t have time to go home and change. You’re going to be putting in 18 hour days until launch buddy.
Your eye contact is weak/shifty/intense.
*If you DON’T have weak, shifty and/or intense eye contact, we will assume you are no far enough along on the autism spectrum to code 14 hours straight.
Your handshake is limp/too forceful/clammy.
*If your handshake is too strong and dry, you haven’t been coding enough. Red flag for sure.
You say ah/um/like too much.
*See point above about autism spectrum.
You talk too much/use poor grammar/say inappropriate things (i.e. swearing) when you answer interview questions.
*Its/It’s has no relevance in C++. Inappropriate/swearing: if you’re too socially adjusted we will assume you have a life and therefore cannot code 18 hours straight. Interns especially pay attention here.
You appear overconfident/pushy/self-centered/insecure/aloof/ditzy/scatter-brained/desperate.
*As long as you don’t set the building on fire and keep your petty rivalries on your blog where they belong, we don’t care.
You talk too fast/too slow/too loud/too soft.
*See point about aspie programmers above.
You giggle/fidget/act awkward/have facial tics/lack expression.
*Jayzuz. See Aspies points above again.
You lack sincerity/self-confidence/clarity/conviction.
*We don’t give a rat’s a$$ if you buy into our company’s unique, driving vision to optimize Facebook “like” clicks to craft a revolutionary product perspective built on cloud computing’s big data architectures of paradigm-busting awesome. Can you %$&*#^@* code or not?
Deu
April 19, 2013 at 11:11 AM
Woow!!!! I agree!
It is a miserable attempt to blame the victim, once again. Can you believe how petty are some of those HR/recruiters?
“I am sorry, but I am against hiring MR. X, he has an accent!!!”
“I am sorry, I do not want to have to look that candidate everyday, that one has a slightly twisted upper lip.”
“Oh, certainly we are not going to hire a person so ugly! are we?”
I believe it should feel embarrassing only the though of becoming that petty.
You know what?!? Get your “you know the term” perfect society and shovel it up those perfect HR/Recruiters “you know where”!
Incredible!
bearded captain
May 8, 2013 at 6:51 AM
Recruiters are the expressions of a sick western society. The idealisation of human talent the extrapolation of signs of characters and so on…. pseudo science to reassure an investor, most of the great men and women pivotal to our evolution do not fit their criteria.
charlatans, sale force that created a need.
Iknow
April 21, 2013 at 5:29 PM
Amen
Shrek
April 11, 2013 at 12:12 AM
Hi,
I had a phone interview, and I thought it went very well. So I was really surprised when I got an e-mail, saying they won’t go forward with my application. No reason given at all. I’m not too sure in this situation if it is appropriate to call the company why I haven’t been selected, so that I can learn from my mistakes, or is this definitely a no-no. I’m playing the interview again and again in my head and I can’t figure our what went wrong.
DonnaQuixotic
April 16, 2013 at 5:57 PM
Don’t bother, this is standard crappy practice these days. What you’re probably dealing with is a clueless, overworked recruiter who has no idea why you were rejected, probably because s/he has poor understanding of the job and has 10 other people screening for it.
Another possibility is they fear pushback and even lawsuits by giving you feedback on your interviews. Still another possibility is there’s a better candidate.
It’s just a phone interview, you most likely gain nothing by calling them back.
For onsites, a rejection should always be followed by a phone call.
hhunter
April 18, 2013 at 2:51 PM
Corporate recruiters don’t call anyway, unless they want you to come in to see their hiring managers, then they won’t call you back unless they’re ordered to because there is further processing necessary to remake your happy and smiling unambiguity into another sould dead brick-in-the-wall. Headhunters usually keep in touch because even a b- c- candidate is good for something, like a corporate AVP HR job. About the writer of the article, on written communications skills alone I would rate J.T. O’Donnell a c- d+ not because she isn’t right about a few largely insignificant things or because she fails in the empathy department or gets a solid f in imagination. No not those things alone but because she, unlike her possible younger, fresher and more talented sibling, Rosie O’Donnell, who she resembles, J.T. has never actually done a job. She’s never done any job she refers to, nor any job of headhunting but alas, was possibly a corporate HR recruiter. She could make a good nanny for my triplets, all boys now in their thirties who would introduce a dose of reality into her probably unenthusiastically deflowered but not yet disallusioned self.
dee
April 26, 2013 at 2:27 PM
Be thankful you even got an email. Im noticing very few even bother to do rejection emails. Ive had several employers say after an in person interview they will let me know either way (which is usually a kiss of death) and they dont.
R
April 3, 2013 at 4:12 PM
“if you aren’t getting called back by a recruiter after either an in-person meeting or talking by phone, there’s a good chance that, in addition to the fact you didn’t have the right skills, you also might have displayed one or more traits on the “I can’t market them” list.”
If. Believe it or not there are those of us that can find work with or without a recruiter’s help. To us, you article above makes the wrong first impression.
BPFH
April 2, 2013 at 6:41 PM
DO NOT POST IN ALL CAPS. IT LOOKS LIKE YOU’RE SHOUTING!
heather
April 1, 2013 at 12:23 PM
I have a quick question! Should I call the recruiter one business day after having a very promising interview(seemed promising to me)? Or is this to pushy? I also read that if they don’d have anything for you that day, then more then likely they will not be calling you back? Just need a little help.
JW
April 1, 2013 at 1:45 PM
If by recruiter you mean the person who ultimately hires you then yes, 1 day would look a little over eager. Part of a good interview is when they give you a time frame to hear back from them. If they don’t bring it up then it should be your last question before you leave your interview.
However….
If by recruiter you mean the staffing agency then I would’t put too much faith in anything they tell you. Until they get you a “real” inteview they’re really no more trustworthy than car salesmen. I’ve had great “agency” interviews that went absolutely nowhere.
By the way, if it was just the agency/staffing firm you’re talking about then wait a few days then follow up. They talk to 100′s of people every day and after a couple of days if they don’t have anything for you and you stil want to take a contract or placement from them then keep in touch every few days.
Either they’ll get tired of you or find you something. Either way you’ll know pretty soon if they’re doing anything for you or are just a bunch of resume stackers.
Randy Randerson
March 31, 2013 at 6:25 PM
And, the number 1 thing a recruiter won’t tell you…there actually isn’t a job and we’re just interviewing you to fill our quota or database so we can brag about the number of recruiters we have. A close second goes to we’re not actually retained to recruit for this position so you’d so assuming I have a tenuous at best relationship with the ACTUAL hiring manager, you’d be just as likely to get the applying yourself via the company website. I just tell you not to so I get the commish if I decide to send a form email to the hiring manager and they end up liking you, despite the fact that twenty other recruiters, who are also not retained, are sending their guys in the same way. NAILED IT!!!
lj
April 4, 2013 at 11:00 AM
Randy,
This is not really true in all cases. I received an email for an “urgent job” in my junk mail. I didn’t think I qualified so I ignored it. The recruiter called and encouraged me to apply. I asked if he had a direct relationship with the company and he said he did, so a little reluctantly, I applied. Within a day I got a telephone interview, the next day a face-to-face and I start next week! Turns out this recruiter has a 9-year relationship with this high-profile company. I had to go to the recruiter’s office to show my passport and found them to be very professional. All this experience was an eye-opener that there are indeed legitimate agencies/recruiters out there, the problem is knowing who they are! I was a little nervous about asking if they paid into unemployment insurance, but I had to know…they do, but they were not happy to be asked this….that was the only negative.
lj
March 29, 2013 at 11:11 AM
I wanted to share something very important that some recruiters don’t share, some agencies don’t contribute to unemployment insurance! Imagine working a year and then filing for unemployment, only to find they didn’t contribute (the claim goes back 18 months)…you are out of a job and out of any income. I always ask if they contribute before I accept a position, surprisingly many don’t!
JW
March 29, 2013 at 11:21 AM
If you were a W2 employee of the agency that’s technically illegal but good luck finding an attorney to work pro-bono to pursue it. If you worked less than 40 hours they can get away with it as well. If you were a 1099 employee your out of luck as well.
I love that term 1099 “employee” It’s an oxymoron you can’t be both a contractor AND an employee but again, workers are powerless so they just keep doing it.
lj
March 29, 2013 at 5:08 PM
My accountant said working on a 1099 can cause a tax audit, so I only work on W2 with unemployment contribution. I have been very lucky to be able to work and then reopen my claim with EDD during the gaps. It’s been a very restless 4 years, but compared to many others who go through their savings, I feel blessed.
JW
March 29, 2013 at 6:32 PM
If you’re a W2 employee they don’t have any choice but to pay unemployment insurance. 1099 employment is actually more risky for the employer than it is for you since they have to prove you’re NOT an employee but a contractor. The only difference you see is filing your taxes every year and paying self employment tax. There are a lot more tax breaks working 1099 but you have to itemize deductions and can’t get away from paying Social Security/Medicare on the money you made as a 1099 worker. Also, I know it can hurt when you need every dollar but if you can get taxes withheld from your Unemployment check you’ll be better off at tax time. Unemployment compensation is taxable income so might as well get it out of the way. You’ll miss that money a whole lot less than if you had to pay it in taxes later.
Howard
March 25, 2013 at 1:13 AM
I applied to a position at a company I am very interested in. The recruiter had contacted me, but a few days later I see another job posting for a position much more suited for my skill sets and I would prefer to do that job.
How should I proceed? should i tell the recruiter i am interested in the new position over the one I applied for? (The new position is very similar to the position I have now and I am more confident I will be able to perform better)
JW
March 25, 2013 at 9:17 AM
I didn’t see anything about “job offer” in your question so you’re under no obligation to anyone. The only time you’d have anything close to an issue is if it was the same job and you signed an “exclusive right to represent”
Now if you actually had an offer on the table and accepted it then the old adage of “bird in the hand” but till an offer is on the table anything goes.
Bottom line is it’s your job search not the recruiters, you don’t owe them anything till they get you back to work.
Howard
March 25, 2013 at 11:25 AM
To clarify, both positions are at the same company. So I would like to ask the recruiter if I can interview with the other position instead or will that be a turn off
JW
March 29, 2013 at 11:18 AM
Chances are it will be a turn off. The key thing to remember about recruiters is that they don’t represent you they represent the company. Anything you do to upset their schedule will get you written off fast. Just go with what you have, remember what they say about a bird in the hand being worth 2 in the bush. If you get the job you’ll be in a better position to get what you really want once you’ve been onboard awhile.
DonnaQuixotic
April 16, 2013 at 6:00 PM
Tell the recruiter you’re interested in both. Interview for both. The more people you talk to, the better chance you have. You might even end up with a hybrid role if the positions are closely related.
Jeni
March 22, 2013 at 8:26 AM
If you really are serious about wanting to know what’s wrong with your performance, I can point out a few things. I’m wondering, though, if you are just venting. However, I will say this, it may help.
First, you spelled “know” as “no”, those words are spelled different because they mean different things, even though they sound the same. You spelled it wrong twice in this comment, so I suspect lack of good spelling is one of the reasons they don’t want to hire you. Good grammar & spelling is one of the main things a company requires in jobs that require writing; your writing leaves an impression on everyone you come in contact with, & it represents the company to other people, and you. I would suggest that you study spelling & grammar, perhaps take an English course or two at the local community college. No matter how excellent your spoken word, if you cannot spell, you will be at a decided disadvantage in this society.
Second, ask yourself if your job is best served by you, or if you are best served by this job. I have found that when I really want a job, sometimes it’s best for me & the company if I do not get it. Perhaps this company doesn’t like your attitude, or your personality. Even though you can do the job & some customers like you, the company employees may not like you. There is a corporate culture in every business out there, and fitting in socially is a prerequisite for holding any job for long. That is something they are not teaching in school & definitely should. No matter how much you qualify for a job in experience or talent, if the company doesn’t like you, it won’t keep you; it will find an excuse to get rid of you.
I hope this helps.
Em
March 13, 2013 at 8:15 AM
Question: Is it ok to apply directly to a company if a recruiter has already submitted your resume to Company X?
Here’s my specific situation:
A week ago, I had a recruiter contact me via LinkedIn about a job that fit my qualifications.(I didn’t know him, nor his firm.) I Googled the job title he’d used and found it posted on the jobs page of Company X, so it was publicly available. I called the recruiter to discuss the job and mentioned I’d seen it on Company X’s website but had not yet applied for it. I sent the recruiter my resume and he said he submitted it. I am now seeing that job posted by other recruiting firms. Would it hurt my chances to also submit directly to Company X?
Thanks!
Chad Pursley
March 14, 2013 at 8:48 AM
Yes it will hurt your chances to apply to the same job directly or through multiple recruiters. Often your application can be rejected on that alone. Your best bet is applying at multiple different companies rather than at many different jobs at the same company.
Em
March 14, 2013 at 9:30 AM
Thank you Chad, for the reply. To take this a little further, what if I know someone who works at Company X who can vouch for my qualifications and fit for the position — would it be all right to ask them to forward my info along to HR and put in a good word?
The reason I want to take matters into my own hands, is that I did not approach the recruiter — he approached me. I hadn’t heard of him or his company before. He just found me on LinkedIn after Company X had posted the opening on their own website. And, based on events that transpired after the first contact, I don’t have faith that he’s acting in my best interest, but rather what will get him the best commission.
Here’s why: A few days after I sent him my info, an associate of his called and said it had been passed to him and that he thought the Acct Manager would be a better fit for me I got the impression he hadn’t even read my resume, since those duties don’t fit my qualifications at all! I suspect it was all based on the Acct Mgr job being closer to my current salary than the job I applied for, which by the way does fit my qualifications almost perfectly. So what if it’s more than I’m making now — that’s what getting ahead is all about, right? Anyhow, my guess is that “first guy” handles higher salary candidates and based on my current salary, he decided I wouldn’t bring him as good of a commission if I was hired, and turned it over to “new guy” who probably handles mid-salary candidates.
lj
March 5, 2013 at 3:38 PM
Can someone answer this mystery?
Why, after a successful phone interview with the recruiter’s client, can’t the recruiter call them for feedback? The interviewer sounded like he was really interested and told me if I don’t hear back by the end of the day to call the recruiter as the interview would be in a day. This seemed to be moving along quickly, but then the recruiter told me they hadn’t heard back anything from their client and to be patient, they should know soon. Well, a half a day passed and if interviews are tomorrow, why can’t they call back the interviewer for feedback so I can either prepare for the interview or move on? Am I supposed to assume they found someone else and drop it after my 2 days of submitting applications, and exhausting pre-interview? Do all recruiters wait around, don’t any call back the client?
I’m sorry if I sound naive, but it seems like a top-notch agency could try a little harder!
lj
March 12, 2013 at 4:57 PM
Anyone kind enough to read my post, I have an update. The reason I never heard back after my phone interview was that the position was put on hold. This is my 3rd “hold” experience this year, it seems to be a new annoying trend! If you don’t have the budget, don’t post the job!
JV
March 15, 2013 at 1:19 PM
LJ
I am a recruiter. What you described happens more than you think. As a recruiter, we vet the client the best we can to determine the seriousness of their candidate search. It is frustrating for both of us. We as recruiters will expend time and energy to find quality candidates, we submit them and then we receive no feedback. We can only push the client so hard. A few times we have pushed for any response only to receive a curt email that our services are no linger needed.
Hang in there and Good Luck
JW
April 1, 2013 at 2:00 PM
Push anyway, if they’re just using your staffing firm as a free screening service then they’re not doing anyone any good. I’ve consulted for years and my rule of thumb is that a client who doesn’t pay you isn’t a client.
There’s too many people out there wanting to work to waste anyone’s time with dirtbag employers like you described. I hope they pay some kind of retainer before engaging your services.
Let their lazy HR department put an ad on monster if they don’t want to be serious about filling a position.
lj
April 4, 2013 at 3:35 PM
Is there a “one post” limit on this site? The other things I wanted to share have not been uploaded? Are you limiting people’s posts?
FedUpWithTheParasites
April 15, 2013 at 6:29 PM
The industry of recruitment is preventative to people finding jobs. If you need a toothbrush, you just to to Safeways and buy one. If you need new shoes, you go out and choose a pair.
If you want a job though, you almost always now have to engage a middle twat to send YOUR CV detailing YOUR EXPERTISE to someone they have “contact” with. Recruitment is one of the highest employee turnover industries in the 3rd world. Why is that? Because it’s not about filling clients requirements with quality people, it’s in fact about making as much $$ from each contract as possible. Because it’s a business. Fair enough.
However, othe problem then exists that the person engaged to “asisst” you is tasked with serving the Recruitment company. Not you. Not the client. So if the client pays $1000 a day, the recruiter isn’t going to put the $700 a day guy up, they are going to put the $500 a day person up for the role. So the agency make the same coin as the employee. So for a few phone calls and some schmoozing, the agency now makes the same $$ per day as the employee does for every day that person works.
Tell me how that is not one of natures perfect parasitical scenarios. The industry invented itself to fill a non-existant gap in a marketplace yet to be filled. Professional recruiters that work for companies almost always are effective, because their loyalty is to the bottom line of the company they are working in, not “for”. The sooner people realise the futile and huge added overhead the recruitment industry brings to the table, the better for job seekers everywhere. Go back to the stones you crawled out from beneath.
Recruiter1
February 26, 2013 at 5:32 AM
I have been unemployed for a year now. I lost my last job due to breach of Contract, the company did not pay my pension for 5 years! Since then I have had 4 interviews. I have dealt with recruiters all over the world, but none are more useless than the UK recruiter. They only send me for entry level and junior jobs as they easy to fill. I have been in management for 8 years after working myself up for 20 years. I am well qualified. UK Racists recruiters are the biggest problem in UK recruitment. They see all immigrants as people who come here to do the jobs no one else will do, so they BLOCK your career progress. They all claim they specialists recruiters, but this is more ego as they mostly under 25 years with no common sense, most recruiters seem to be the people who cannot find jobs themselves and then come and judge you? You are expected to jump hoops for them and build a relationship. I have done this and its not been fruitful, they keep looking for a negative reason to put you down. Recruiters are so lazy they don’t want to maintain a relationship, you will have to hound them everyday for months and then come to a conclusion they will not help you. Just ignore them asking for things. What ever they want will be a waste of time or cost you money. I don’t give a inch anymore. When they ask for test, I refer to my CV resume as my selling point and test I do in the class room, I have enough diplomas and certificates to proof my knowledge. If they really want me they will make the sacrifice, so no real reason to jump hoops for them. Be realistic. I have had to threaten some so called recruiters with legal action as they turned out to be RECRUITMENT RATING AGENCY selling your profile to other clients and recruiters, highly illegal (Blacklists companies). Now when they call, I test them to see if they have read my CV resume, if they have not, I just hang up the phone, no point dealing with scumbags. Write down their name and number so not to be tricked again. The ones who do not read you resume don’t have anything for you, they just wasting your time so they can tell their boss they called x amount of candidates or they ILLEGAL PROFILING!!! Any human rights lawyer will be happy to take the case. When I see private and unknown numbers on my mobile I just ignore. Anyone who have something to hide are scary already! Why hide? They don’t want you to know who they are. Then you give them all your details over the phone thinking you going to get a job to Mr Unknown who you never met before? Steer well clear of these numbers no matter what they say. There is no reason to hide your number.
Sus
March 28, 2013 at 6:16 PM
Recruiter1 you are so true. My experience is similar after completing MBA from a premier business school I had the shock of my life with the recruiters in UK. After working 18 odd years in project management they asked me if I knew what project life cycle meant lol. For recruiters there has to be a bench mark and qualifications for handling specific jobs.
In my experience 2 most globally hated people are recruiters and the university accommodation officers.
Recruiter Keep Away
January 23, 2013 at 11:01 PM
In my 16 years of IT exp in one of big ERP S/W i got all good job in best companies not by recruiters. i.e. to find best job you don’t need recruiters.
One funny exp: I was called by and recruiter for and contract job XXX$ per day. My profile was good agreed, next they come with and NDA for 3 month job, but the validity of NDA is 6 months.-stupid Second they need 2 ref (again funny in same field who worked with projects) I am crazy. They want to find ref from be who can do same job better than me. He/She tried best for me to sing the NDA and ref.. finally told then pls remove my name from your db.
What crazy is this… I don’t care you may be international recruiter.
There are good recruiters also in industry
Erica
November 30, 2012 at 9:55 AM
Just a couple of tips for job seekers to help you get to the point that get to speak with the hiring manager.
#1 – Never post a resume in Text format. It looks awful and gives the impression that you don’t want to take the time to impress.
#2 – Always have someone else read your resume before you post it. I cannot tell you how quickly typos turn people off. I assume that when you send me a resume you have taken the time to send me your best possible impression. If their are typos in the first paragraph, I can only assume it is going to go down hill from here.
#3 – Never put your name and/or contact information on your resume as a header/footer. Many companies utilize databases for their resumes these days. That database extracts your info and populates important fields, such as your contact info. If you have put your name and/or contact info on your resume as a header or footer, a lot of times, the system does not understand. So, I may be able to see your resume and it looks great, but I don’t know who you are, or how to get in touch with you, so I have no choice but to move on to the next person.
#4 – If I don’t answer when you call, leave a message or send an email. Do not call me five times in ten minutes. Most people have caller ID these days, I do see that you are calling and I have to wonder about you as a candidate as a result. I cannot tell you how many times I have been on a conference call, or away from my desk and come back to see that the same number called me repeatedly and never left a message.
#5 – If you really want the job, take a few minutes and make some adjustments to your resume based on the job description. If the job description says you need XYZ software experience and your resume doesn’t say that you have XYZ experience, I won’t be calling you. I will call the other 20 candidates who do.
Good luck on your search.
George
November 30, 2012 at 1:32 PM
You mean like writing “their are” instead of “there are”? ;-)
All valid points, especially getting a friend to look it over. What reads well to you may be confusing to someone not intimate with your experience.
But please clarify – by “never put your name/contact in a header/footer”, do you mean ONLY in the header/footer? My résumé is three pages, and I have my contact info on page one as part of the content. However, pages two and three use a footer to add my name, phone number and email address, in case they get separated from the main page. Can I assume that that is fine?
Thanks!
George
November 28, 2012 at 1:05 PM
No, the NUMBER ONE TOP THING that recruiters won’t tell you is that they found the job that they are advertising on some other web site! And that you too can find it with a little detective work.
My biggest mistake was in thinking that they had some exclusive connection to the companies that they claim to represent, and that the company hired them to do their head hunting for them. They don’t!
My advice: check out their ads, then Google search for the wording they used to find the original ad. Chances are that they copy/pasted from the original ad as seen on Monster, Workopolis or even the Careers page on the company’s own web site. Then apply directly to the company.
Jennifer
December 5, 2012 at 2:51 PM
George,
Please keep in mind a “recruiter” also may mean in house recruiter. That said, being in house, the above rules still apply. And Erica – excellent additions.
Jennifer | Talent Acquisition
George
December 5, 2012 at 4:41 PM
To be sure, the points themselves are very welcome. As much as some people try to remain objective and focus on your skills and experience, first impressions will still weigh in on the decision, because they are the same first impressions that the employer’s customers will have of you too. So if I as a customer would get a bad feeling when meeting a lawyer with an exposed midriff (or going in the opposite direction – a tattoo artist with no ink of his own!), then the recruiter is well within his/her right to consider the impact that that first impression would have on their business.
John
December 5, 2012 at 4:09 PM
George,
No offense but your number one comment is reversed. Yes these jobs are on other websites however many companies post the job themselves and when they don’t get qualified candidates, these firms then use recruiters.
George
December 5, 2012 at 4:30 PM
None taken! Just telling it from my view, that pretty much every offer I’ve ever seen or been contacted for from a non-inhouse recruiting firm, was already out in the open. Even last week, I had two different firms come at me for the same position within half an hour of each other. So unless the employer was engaging multiple recruiters, instead of working closely with just one, it seems like they both found the job the same way I could have.
JW
March 29, 2013 at 6:42 PM
Actually I’ve seen more of the reverse of your statement. Most companies don’t actively recruit anyone, they farm it out to a handful of “staffing” firms which is why you see the same job ad 6 times from 6 different agencies all of them waving exclusive “right to represent” forms. Only AFTER that route fails does the job either get put on hold or thrown back into the lap of the company HR department. May be different for executive level jobs but I’m not an executive.
Denise
January 23, 2013 at 10:41 PM
George, I disagree with you, I am an in-house recruiter and if anything, all roles we adervtise are direct from the clients we work with. If you see the same/similar role as what the recruiter you’re dealing with has posted, it’s because the client has a panel of vendors they work with. A good recruiter will always check with you and see if you have been submitted for a similar/same role and a good candidate will always check with the recruiter if the client is the same, once job specs are discussed.
George
January 25, 2013 at 2:15 AM
Too funny, because the same day as you posted the above, I got a Workopolis Career Alert email. In it were two job listings: one from a recruiter “hiring on behalf of our client”, and the other; the exact same ad direct from the client themselves! Word for word, line for line, the exact same job description. Just proves my point – that most jobs are already out there.
Denise
January 25, 2013 at 3:25 AM
Well there you go. You know who you need to go through.
Jake Snikleworth
November 13, 2012 at 10:00 AM
Dear Recruiters,
This poem is for you.
******************************
Hello I found your resume
On Monster.com
Please update it
So I know where you’re coming from.
Send me your profile
And LinkedIn Page too
I have a great job
That is perfect for you!
Do it right away
Time is running out
For this excellent opportunity
I’m so excited I can shout.
A day goes by,
No, two, three, no five!
I wonder if this recruiter
Is even alive!
I did what they asked
In such a hurried task
But they leave me here
Like a half drunk flask.
I never heard back
From the recruiter again
GeeWiz
I thought they were my friend.
But recruiters are scoundrels
Each and every one!
They love to lie
They do it for fun!
Pat
November 13, 2012 at 10:43 AM
You’re the BEST! Thank you, Jake, for making me smile! Right on target!
Jake Snikleworth
November 13, 2012 at 6:40 PM
You’re welcome, Pat. LOL. Glad I could make you smile. I wrote it myself ;) Feel free to share :)
Victoria Odimba
November 29, 2012 at 12:32 PM
Fantastic piece, Jake. I can’t stop laughing. This has brightened my day. Thanks.
Jake Snikleworth
November 29, 2012 at 3:00 PM
LOL Victoria that’s awesome! I’m glad I could add some humor to your day. LOL
Jake Snikleworth
November 13, 2012 at 9:58 AM
Out of my 20 years in my industry, and being contacted by hundreds of recruiters, only two (2) of those contacts with recruiters turned into a job that was worthy anything!!! Recruiters are worthless. Don’t use them.
MR. R
November 12, 2012 at 10:43 PM
1. RECRUITERS DON’T CARE ABOUT YOU, ONLY THEIR CUT.
2. USE RECRUITERS ONLY IF IN DIRE NEED OTHERWISE PUT A LIL’ WORK IN. GOOD RESEARCH CAN TURN UP GOOD LEADS. HAVE WE, A SOCIETY BECOME SO DEPENDENT ONE HAND OUT THAT WE NEED THE ASSISTANCE OF OTHER, TYPICALLY THOSE WITH A HIDDEN AGENDA TO LEAD OUR CAREER SEARCH?
3. WHEN A JOB BOARD POST AN AD – IF YOU ARE NOT LEAD TO A COMPANY PROFILE HIRE PAGE, CHANCES ARE THERE IS AN EMAIL ADDRESS FOR WHICH YOU CAN UTILIZE THE SUFIX TO FIND OUT WHOM THE COMPANY IS. THEN GOOGLE THEM AND RESEARCH, YOU CAN AND WILL FIND AN EMAIL. LAST RESORT, CALL THE COMPANY VE VERY NICE, AND YOU WILL GET THE RECEPTIONIST TO GIVE YOU AN EMAIL ADDRESS OR HR CONTACT PERSON OR NAME.
4. USE LINKEDIN TO FIND THE COMPANIES HR PERSON.
5. DO NOT OVER SATURATE THE MARKET WIT YOUR RESUME WHETHER ONLINE AND OFF. AS AN EMPLOYER AND EMPLOYEE, IF I SEE THE SAME RESUME POSTING ONLINE AND THEN FAXED TO ME, IT IS A MAJOR NO NO. AS AN EMPLOYEE, GENERAL JOB BOARDS LIKE MONSTER OR THOSE TYPES DON’T REALLY FOR FOR A PERSON WITH A CAREER WITH OVER 5 TO 10 YEARS IN THE TRADE. AS A SPECIALIST, IT IS YOUR JOB TO GO IN DEEP DIVE AND FIND INFORMATION.
6. BE HONEST AND THE TRUTH SHALL SET YOU FREE. AS AN EMPLOYEE WHO OWNED HIS COMPANY FOR 6 YEARS, ONCE IT WAS TIME TO CLOSE MY DOORS AND FIND A JOB, I WOULD NOT BE HONEST THINKING IT WOULD RUIN MY CHANCES, AND IT NEVER OCCURRED TO ME THAT I HAVE DEVELOPED A REPUTATION, THAT IT WAS EASY FOR ANY EMPLOYER OR RECRUITER TO DIG ME UP QUICKLY BY A SIMPLE GOOGLE OF MY NAME + MY COMPANIES NAME FOR AN INSTANT 10 PAGES OF INFORMATION OF ME AND MY COMPANIES AND MY TRIALS AND TRIBULATIONS, SUCCESS AND PRESS RELEASES. I HAD TO FACE THE FACTS, I WAS A BUSINESS OWNER AND THIS IS PART OF MY BACKGROUND AND WHAT I HAD TO OFFER. YOU EITHER VIEW IT AS A BLESSING OR SEE IT AS A CURSE.
7. DRESS APPROPRIATELY FOR THE JOB – IF YOU A NUMBER CRUNCHING SUIT AND TIE ALL DAY. IF YOU’RE A DESIGNER, TRENDY AND STYLISH ALL DAY. IF YOUR A WAREHOUSE MANAGER CASUAL DRESSY KHAKI AND NAVY BLUE BLAZER AND TIE. YOU DO NOT WANT TO GO INTERVIEW FOR A POSITION AS AN STOCK BROKER WEARING A PAIR OF FITTED JEANS AND A DENIM BLAZER.EVEN IF THEY ARE $300 JEANS.
8. LASTLY, BE SELECTIVE WITH THE RECRUITER IN WHICH YOU DECIDE TO WORK WITH, BECAUSE YOU MAY HAVE TO LIKE IT OR NOT. TREAT THEM WITH RESPECT EVEN THOUGH WE KNOW THEY SUCK. IT IS NOT LIKE THE OLD DAYS, WHEN TALENT WAS NOT A DIME A DOZEN AND RECRUITERS CARED AND TOOK PRIDE AND DID NOT ASKED YOU TO JUST SUBMIT A RESUME.
HERE’S TO THE OLD DAYS WHEN HUMANITY STILL HAD THAT PERSONABLE TOUCH. WHEN PEOPLE SPOKE AND INTERACTED AND LIFE WAS NOT CONSUMED BY INTERNET SOCIAL MEDIA. WHEN PEOPLE PICKED UP THE PHONES AND CALLED ONE ANOTHER. BEFORE MEDIUMS OF TEXTING AS A MEANS OF NOT HAVING TO TALK TO SOMEONE, OR E-MAILING AND POSTING UP HOW YOU FEEL RATHER THAN VERBALLY TELLING.
CHEERS.
Briana
October 25, 2012 at 1:45 AM
There’s something headhunters know, but will NEVER. tell you: You don’t need them.
The smartest businesses save a lot of money not hiring headhunters to find staff for them. And the smartest candidates don’t need headhunters to find them work: they do it on their own, and smart employers love those go getter leader types the most.
People who go to headhunters are lazy, and headhunters are useless crooks.
Pat
October 25, 2012 at 12:51 PM
Briana, I don’t consider myself to be LAZY. I got my job through a “headhunter.” Is it safe to assume you can’t get a job, no how… no way? Who are you to make such an ignorant blanket statement?
JW
April 1, 2013 at 2:11 PM
I know this comment was 6 months old but so what…
The smartest businesses, that’s an oxymoron. Business isn’t smart, it’s either profitable or bankrupt, no in between. Aside from a handful of companies like Microsoft and Google most corportate HR departments are nothing more than Payroll/benefits clerks.
Now if you happen to be related or friendly with someone in a company that has some pull then yeah, you got a leg up on the rest of us but then that’s where networking (and sometimes nepotism) comes in.
The worst first interview you can have is with the company HR department. They can be in the room but you want someone who you’d actually be working with to be there. Otherwise you can get shot down for wearing the wrong color suit or a personality conflict with someone you’ll likely never see again if you did get hired.
Anne
October 21, 2012 at 1:27 PM
I couldn’t imagine trying to find work when your out of work. I have a very unsatisfying job and looking for a change. I have not had any luck whatsoever. I want another job, I don’t need one. I would greatly appreciate an email, at least, saying by the way you suck please don’t apply here again. Nothing. Just send an automatic response and say go away. Don’t keep people hanging.
It would be greatly dishearting to look for work and not get any sort of response.
If I was an employer I would want to train someone how to do things that my company is doing. I don’t want them to bring in baggage. I want them to be eager to learn new things. But, it’s the same old thing in the corporate world. It’s about who you know and not what you know. I wished they taught me that in school. I was and too busy learning and working hard. I have been an idiot for not networking and doing a little more #$& kissing.
anon1111
September 6, 2012 at 11:17 AM
I have to agree with Peter the last poster regarding recruiters. Many are extremely unprofessional and lack even common courtesy. When you have someone go one an interview with a your client with less than three hours notice on the same day, the least you can do is give prompt feedback — not say you will ‘definitely know something’ then not call, then when I call to follow up days later act ‘put upon’ that I dared follow up. Or the one at MP (initials ) who contacted me about a possible position, spent 30 minutes on the phone debriefing me on my Resume (including salary and reasons for leaving) and never sent me the job details or contact details like he said (then hide behind the receptionist or voicemail when dared to contact him). These are just 2 examples. For some reason rudeness, condescending behavior on the part of recruiters toward applicants is somehow accepted
Drew
September 6, 2012 at 12:12 PM
All of you are right to feel the way you do. Sounds like some pretty bad experiences. There are lots of bad Recruiters out there, but there are also very good ones too! These are the ones that will keep in touch, will give you feedback, respect your time, and are up front from the start so there are no surprises. A lot depends upon their areas of specialty too. If anyone out there is actually interested in getting connected with these types of Recruiters, the “Professionals”, please let me know. I’m not talking about mass resume emailing. I’m talking about dealing with one, maybe two Recruiters that specialize in what you do. Maybe I can help?
- Drew
CD
September 19, 2012 at 10:40 AM
Really? I disagree. I have dealt with people who I thought were “good recruiters” and who I thought I had a professional relationship with HANG UP ON ME after I CAUGHT THEM IN A LIE!! I am sorry, but there are NO GOOD RECRUITERS.
Peter
September 6, 2012 at 4:10 AM
My experience with recruiters has been nothing but negative. If company pays a recruiter a dime them it’s too much. A recruiter wouldn’t know an exceptional candidate if that person bit the recruiter on the ***. They look at resumes not to find an employee, but to find a reason to reject that person. Even for temporary work, the recruiter tells the candidate to keep in touch. They are lazy and not worth second of anyones time. This article sucks.
Russell Orton
September 4, 2012 at 3:42 PM
There are a lot of great comments on this article. I don’t have much to add except for the fact your site is in fact fascinating. There is so much useful career advice here and I’m happy to have found it. Keep it up, CAREEREALISM!
Ivy
August 20, 2012 at 8:45 PM
Also, The recruiters are somewhat in the same position because they have to have a certain percentage of getting enough clients for hire. If they don’t met the quota, they will be terminated.
Drew
August 30, 2012 at 2:23 PM
I have been a Technical Recruiter for 13 years. The problem, in my opinion, is timidity. Recruiters, Sales, etc, have become so timid in dealing with their own clients, it’s killing our perception in the industry. Rather than being Consultants and Experts and taking control of the relationship as a Consultant ought to do and the Client expects, too many Recruiters are satisfied with getting anything to work on, don’t qualify, don’t ask the right questions, and are afraid to close! If the Hiring Manager does not say “yes” right away, action stops! Sometimes you have to tell your client things they might not want to hear, but they will respect the fact that you are actually doing it! Isn’t that what a Consultant is supposed to do? It’s no wonder that most HR or Hiring Managers treat many Recruiters and Staffing Firms as just another resume bank. In the competitve Technical market, the Recruiters that actually consult and advise will be financially rewarded for it!
Amber
August 7, 2012 at 10:02 AM
I have been working at a company for almost two years I know everything there is to know about this store, my DM let me run the store for three weeks with no help because we didn’t have a manager. I asked her if I could get the job as being store manager she told me she didn’t think it was a good idea because I didn’t no how to do paperwork and I didn’t have people skills, but I have customers that come and tell me I do have people skills and the only reason why they come to the store is for me. She ended up hiring a new girl and she wanted me to help train this girl. I didn’t fell like it was right because she told me I didn’t no paperwork so why would I train her? Now this girl has left and she only been there a month the spot is open again I ask her for it she tells me the same thing and said she has a new manager coming in to take over the store everything she says about the reason for her not hiring me are all wrong and are lies!!! So what could be the reason why she wont give me the store?
Pat
August 7, 2012 at 10:47 AM
This sounds very similiar to my own experience in this situation. I performed a job function that NORMALLY required a degree… ANY degree. The degree didn’t have to be related to the job or field. Anyway, I was in this position for over a year when I saw an ad for MY job. I was toold by. Human Resources that I wasn’t qualified because I lacked a degree! My argument was I was actually performing the duties for over a year, so where was I lacking? Anyway, the job was given to someone with an unrelated degree who lasted until her probationary period and was let go… the job remains vacant and I’ve moved on. Once again, mind-boggling stupidity on corporates part. Don’t get discouraged!
Amber
August 8, 2012 at 12:30 PM
Do you fell like I would have a case on personal discrimination or race because her best friend also who also works for the company told the old manager be for she left the real reason why i didn’t get hired was because I was lazy and didn’t have management skills, but I know that she is racist because she got mad that her assistant hired a black girl and her words were, “Why did you hire her they are known to be lazy.”
Pat
August 8, 2012 at 2:35 PM
You can try… what do you have to lose, Amber? Do you have anyone who would be willing to come forward as a witness? You’ll need that, because its hard to prove based on your word against their word. I once was let go by a manager who didn’t care for me and said all kinds of disparaging things about me. Against all odds, I convinced the CEO that this guy was bad news, and I was reinstated while he was FIRED. Of course that’s a rare thing but the truth always wins out. Sometimes, its all about regaining your dignity. I’ll keep you in my prayers…
amber
August 9, 2012 at 7:29 PM
yes i do i talked to the naacp and they told me that i have a case so i go see them thursaday
pat
August 9, 2012 at 8:22 PM
Good luck! I wish the best outcome for you. Like I said before, sometimes it’s about your dignity! Like, how DARE they disrespect me that way!! Losing a job is one thing but dealisg with ignorant racism takes the issue to a whole new level. Keep in touch and remember, you’re in my prayers.
Gaga
August 31, 2012 at 12:34 AM
Correct!!! I dont’ trust recruiters… RECRUITERS ARE SALES PEOPLE… GOING THRU RESUMES TO MEET QUOTA… they dont care about the candidate, the company, the client… they all care about the sales… period… the key is to hit the right recruiter and the right timing… don’t get discouraged… it’s all about timing only… not your personality… not your qualifications… all there is the timing.
Jen Small
May 29, 2012 at 11:06 PM
During a recent job search, I met with several recruiters. I only got one call for an actual interview with a company. Unfortunately, I got this call six months after I met with the recruiter. I never heard from the other recruiters despite promises to the contrary. I’m sure recruiters work for some but, I haven’t had any luck with them.
pat
May 30, 2012 at 2:16 PM
Same here. I signed up with SEVEN recruiting firms. Only one has been effective. I had a recruiter call me with great enthusiasm regarding a potential interviw for a position that was PERFECT for me!!!! Needless to say, I haven’t heard from her since, and only found the job was filled when I called to inquire. I suppose once they get their commission, they have memory, and character, lapse. Good luck!
Vicky Deeble
May 23, 2012 at 6:03 AM
Many moons ago – I “temped” at a recruitment agency – to put their “paper” information into the computer system. I was horrified!!! The people who scored the highest points were those who presented themselves best. Skills took a back seat to “attractiveness” – not entirely, but I came across my own file – and I acheived 100% in Office, typing skills were 80WPM, audio typing skills – but I didn’t score highly, as I didn’t turn up in a suit and closed in shoes. Girls who were “very good looking” were given a higher score than me – but had failed their Office test and typed 30WPM and didn’t have my qualifications, skills or experience.
FB
May 17, 2012 at 3:06 PM
Very interesting piece, J.T. – excellent read!
AO
May 16, 2012 at 5:09 AM
Not being called back by recruiters is frustrating…
Venessa
May 10, 2012 at 9:08 AM
Thank you for this wonderful article, J.T.!
Drew
April 26, 2012 at 10:43 AM
What a shallow article. How about the 10 things that a recruiter does wrong. Technical recruiters are ruining the field. How can one tech recruiter after another be a tech recruiter without any real hands on tech experience? And don’t even get me started on tech managers who have no tech experience. Perhaps this article applies to lawyers or doctors where all those shallow traits still matter.
Rob J.
April 24, 2012 at 9:21 AM
According to your “10 things,” 98% of the population would be immediately placed in the “no pile.” This is nonsense. I’ve been working with recruiters for years (freelance mostly) and sometimes I will land the gig after an initial interview and sometimes I won’t. I still end up being placed by many of the same recruiters for other opportunities.
circosan
April 21, 2012 at 8:34 PM
This is a fairly lame article. In real life, sad to say, many if not most recruiters are incompetent and hardly know anything about the actual position(s) they are trying to fill. They’re monkies in the middle, and the best thing to do is take hold of your career, give a recruiter the info they need to relay to the client (a.k.a. hiring manager). Getting over that hump (ahem, recruiter) is easier the more you talk to them.
Nycolle
May 2, 2012 at 12:47 PM
Clearly you have had a bad experience in the past and feel it necessary to lump all “Recruiters” into the incompentent category. In all reality, we do know the position and do know that there are very few candidates perfect for what the Hiring Manager is looking for. That’s why they hire us. Please remember the candidate doesn’t pay the Recruiter – the Company does. Lets hope you don’t find yourself unemployed one day and have to get through a Recruiter for your next position.
Pat
May 16, 2012 at 12:32 PM
And may I hope, Nycolle, that YOU don’t find yourself on the other side of the fence as well. Recruiters such as yourself need to have a great big mouthful of your own incompetence to fully understand JUST how inept you surely are. I wonder how most of them manage to keep thier positions while displaying such incompetence while interviewing. I once “interviewed” with a recruiter who was absolutely unable to conduct an interview. Period. I had to take control and wound up interviewing that moron. Get a grip girl.
JW
March 23, 2013 at 5:50 AM
No, sorry but I’ve dealt with just about every major agency and staffing firm in the country and it’s obvious that someone calling you for a Java Developer when your resume clearly says Windows System admin doesn’t have a clue.
That’s alright, the industry is getting its comeuppance now. Most of the emails I get are from staffing firms outsourced to India. That’s even worse than the bad domestic recruiters. They have zero information, bad english comprehension and are completely incomprehensible on the phone. If I can’t understand them how is the employer going to?
I wish I had good advice but networking, headhunters, etc just aren’t working mostly because they have nothing to work with. I just wish they’d be honest about it. I can take a turndown but stringing me along just makes me want to go postal.
Think outside of the box and find something other than what you find in useless articles like the one above or sad comments that come after them.
Sorry but that’s just how it is. The old ways aren’t working and neither am I.
One Fella
April 15, 2012 at 10:05 AM
Bull sh*t.
All those 10 things are absolutely bullycrap because if the person is capable doind the jon then all above 10 things are bull poop. Some recruiters so anal that they get screwed big time by looking at those 10 things and miss out very good candidates. When will American change? Even after we got screwed this much?
Cassidy Tamien
April 2, 2012 at 11:31 AM
As a HR specialist myself I can only totally agree with this article. When I have an interview with a person and he or she is too upbeat or on the contrary to that too sad and blue I would probably reject this particular person, because according to my experience such people don’t really fit to all sorts of working companies and so on. Thank you for sharing this, this might be very helpful to those people who are looking for abetter working position at the moment.
Drew
April 26, 2012 at 10:45 AM
In other words, you are looking for a boring lame mediocre person that you can try to fit into 20 different positions, that won’t create a conflict. Great. And no wonder I don’t use recruiters.
George
January 25, 2013 at 10:43 AM
Maybe Cassidy specializes in hiring for funeral homes? ;-)
Pat
May 16, 2012 at 12:40 PM
Ummmm… you consider yourself a “specialist”? Holy Cow! You made my day honey!!! Go back to sleep. Let me know when you’re job hunting for yourself. I’m an HR manager… and I EXPECT you to be upbeat as your present yourself to my clients. I wouldn’t bounce you for having that great quality and confidence in yourself; however, I would bounce you out the door for being as arrogant as you just presented yourself to be. Are you just starting your career in recruiting, or are you simply stupid?
HJ
March 9, 2012 at 5:38 PM
Question, what if you were contacted by a recruiter on the phone after they found your resume online? I spoke with him and he said I would be a good fit and would get me set up with an interview. After not hearing back in a week I tried contacting him again but could not get through until 2 weeks after the initial “i’ll set up an interview”. He apologized and said he would set the interview up and let me know of the next steps. It has now been another week. Should I try contacting him again? Am I being a pest or should I be aggressive in obtaining this interview? Do recruiters take a while to set up the interview or will they forget about you if you do not contact them because they are busy with other things?
Leia
March 10, 2012 at 7:15 AM
If the recruiter was hired by a client to search for candidates then it would take 1-3 days to setup the interview. In reality, clients who hire recruiters need to fill the position within 2-4 weeks that includes the on-boarding (paperworks, drug test, background check).
Other recruiters don’t have a solid deal with a client yet. So they collect resumes and submit them to several clients. If a client ‘bites’ your resume then the recruiter will call you again.
In either case, it would help to ask an email copy of the job description from the recruiter then send your updated resume (that fits the job desc) with a note to the recruiter that you are highly interested. Good luck!
Former HR Person
March 20, 2012 at 12:02 PM
The recruiter said you would be a good fit. He’s just trying to get your permission to send your resume to the client (and probably does think you’re a good fit). That doesn’t necessarily mean the client will agree. So it is entirely possible the recruiter sent your resume to the client and the latter turned thumbs down. Happens all the time.
Connie
April 16, 2012 at 1:14 PM
Absolutely get back a hold of your recruiter. Stay in touch as much as it takes. Your recruiter deals with many candidates a day, and sometimes it takes you calling them, and making that connection to stop all else and find out about you and the position(s) you have applied for, qualified for, and interested in. Never just sit back and wait. That’s what I tell my candidates anyways. “Please do, put me on the spot.” I want to know you’re serious about finding a position and will show up for interview and the first day on the job with no issues. If I get the feeling that you would rather stay at home and collect your unemployment benefits because you still would like time off work, then of course, I’m not going to assist you as hard as I would my other qualified candidates that are serious about finding a position. Sometimes the energy you put off, is what it takes. As long as you are serious, then your recruiter will see that, and work hard for you too. I will take the time with them when they call, and check out other positions even if I haven’t heard whether there’s an offer yet to discuss or not. I’m sure there’s no good news for you on that position, but don’t allow your recruiter time to forget about you. They deal with a lot during a days time with all the contract positions that are out there. Stay in touch:) We are here to find the “perfect” candidate for the client, with the skills they are seeking, and we strive to do so. But if we fail to do so, then we not only failed our client, but our potential candidates too. There are many qualified out there now, in this economy, but there’s that one who will prepare their resume and skill set exactly what the client is looking for, land the interview, and impress the client (hiring manager) with the outstanding, up-beat personality. That’s all that it takes. Difficult? Yes and no, but just some effort, and believe me, there’s a lot of people out there, from my experience, that don’t really want to work.
I do agree with Leia – as she stated, you want to get the full job description from your recruiter. I always try to e-mail that out to my candidates that are even close with experience that my client is seeking, or at least talk with them via phone and pull out more experience in the field that they’ve had, but have failed to list it on their resume. Another thing that I always tell my candidates, is that I want everything listed on your resume, and I mean everything, and I will take it from there. I will fit the resume to the position, but I have to have it all in front of me first. Enhance, and beautify the resume for the client. Put what’s important where it needs to be. Professional Summarys should always highlight the required skills that you have experience in that’s required for the position, and then the preferred. In my book, there’s not a such thing as a too long of resume. Not to me. Let’s get the important stuff and move forward on creating what the client wants to see.
Christina
May 1, 2012 at 12:43 PM
Stick with it. Contact the recruiter every few days via phone and email call whatever you have to do to let them know you are still around and very much interested. If not they will forget to send that email or make that call to the hiring manager in reference to the job.
kylabean
August 27, 2012 at 7:10 PM
Don’t put All your Eggs in One basket.
No one is better “selling” ones self – Then’ One’s Self
Make your self Linked-In profile apply to jobs on it ..And..
Go on and apply – make sure to send a cover letter’ always with ones resume.
I have 2 cover letters, one is business professional, simple straight to the point and the other is creative and shows my unique or charming side.
Be that said- use your best judgment on which to send, whom.
Phone Interviews are not my strong suit- but when having on be ready, prepared with answers to questions, have resume in front, smile when talking , stand up with little movement , look int he mirror helps facial expression- have short answers to questions and be honest- if you like the job ask for the 2 interview, if it doesn’t fit your fancy decline.
You will know after your off the phone how it went- by your GUT’ feeling..
In person interviews- Have a Sales Pitch’ elevator Speech.. It’s a 1 min intro “speech” with 3 things- feature, benefit, outcome-example
Your selling your self’ think like you -r- the product
Take interviewing in person as more of an interacting, conversational arena. Not a drill back an answer to their questions, and when you answer try to bring in a point back to your “Sales Pitch” how you can offer what they asked to there organization..
You want to leave – with them not forgetting that you were even there-\
So, right -and I mean asap – you get to computer email a Thank You” for the interview” and personalize it- If you are on top of your game send a personal letter to them in Mail-
Be persistent ask also whats the processing in hiring, how many other candidates are up for the position.
Ask them what you can do to put yourself above them” as leveraging your self in front..
Don’t be afraid to soft – or hard close for the Job..Depending upon the type of job..
Epifania Bhagat
March 5, 2012 at 1:09 PM
Aw, this was a really nice post. In idea I would like to put in writing like this additionally – taking time and actual effort to make a very good article… but what can I say… I procrastinate alot and by no means seem to get something done.
Lorenzo Boock
March 2, 2012 at 2:12 PM
Hello! I just would like to give a huge thumbs up for the great info you have here on this post. I will be coming back to your blog for more soon.
Rina
February 23, 2012 at 9:05 PM
I want to make a list of “Top 10 Ways Recruiters Ruin Lives” … or maybe “Top 10 Ways Recruiters Should Commit Suicide” … no, no, wait. How about “Top 10 Ways Recruiters are Completely Useless People Who Want to Feel Like They Have a Purpose in Life”?
I’m starting it now. I’ll update you soon.
Pat
May 16, 2012 at 12:44 PM
Great idea!
pat
May 30, 2012 at 4:25 PM
Well… where’s that list? LOL!
MFK
June 14, 2012 at 1:20 AM
Pat, you have a huge chip on your shoulder. Would I be as bold to presume you are currently out of work at the moment??
Pat
June 14, 2012 at 12:33 PM
You have presumed incorrectly. BTW, how does it feel way up there on your high horse? You made me grin today! Might you be either hopelessly unemployable….or just a garden variety recruiter?
Youngsville
February 13, 2012 at 5:44 PM
What do they mean by “outdated” physical appearance. It sounds like recruiters don’t like you if you’re too old. I find this offensive.
Mike
February 11, 2012 at 10:21 PM
There is one more thing that influences lots on decision making while in an interview. It is unintentional behavior which is strong. Many inexperienced recruiters tend to use intuition and personal preference methods which is non-professional as well. Just need to know this before coming to an interview and bet ready for that.
Em
February 2, 2012 at 3:12 PM
The problem my husband has realized is that the recruiter knows nothing about the actual vocation. He’s had 20 something yr old recruiters ask him questions that make no sense whatsoever about his line of work- my husband has actually told them the questions didn’t make sense. It’s crap that these people hold the ultimate upper hand in whether you’re put through nor not when they don’t know their own hand from their ass!
Obvious
February 9, 2012 at 7:42 PM
Exactly, this is more like top ten ways for recruiters to be even more lazy and useless roadblocks to getting a job then they already are. Exactly what is left for the recruiter to do if all those things are taken care of? So now they not only know nothing, but do nothing also. This just further cements me never using a recruiter… thanks for that.
I will celebrate the day when recruiters and HR people no longer exist.
Jay
May 6, 2012 at 2:13 PM
Not is all cases, you should be looking for qualified recruiters. Our recruiters for accountants hold CPA’s. We have a young hedge fund recruiter who did accounting and operations for hedge funds for over 5 years. Today’s market is tough, you can’t blame the recruiter, you are in competition with allot of people. It’s not easy finding a candidate that the employer wants, especially if they are picky.
Opportunist
January 26, 2012 at 10:36 PM
Great article and it makes perfect sense. I for one have not had much luck with agencies. I have many job interviewers through employment agencies but have never gotten a decent job using them. All the ‘good’ jobs that I have been hired for were all on my own.
The reality is, if an employer is looking for a candidate through an external agency and posting the position on their site, the agencies candidates are at a disadvantage. Why would the employer want to pay a fee when they can hire on their own?
I prefer to sell direct as the middleman (the ageny) just adds an unecessary layer. If the middleman made things easier, which they don’t, I’d be inclined to agree with the agency approach to job searching. I am not a lazy job seeker so they are pretty useless in my opinion. There’s a reason job sites normally have the option to unlist agency ‘spam’ positings. I agree with Ema on this one.
Elton Snider
January 26, 2012 at 12:05 PM
Awesome post! I will keep an on eye on this blog.
Cathy
January 19, 2012 at 7:02 PM
OK, here’s my question:
When you’ve been rejected for a job, why won’t a recruiter/hiring manager come out and tell you so? I’ve interviewed recently for two jobs, and in both cases when I followed up 10 days later asking “where do you stand in the hiring process?,” the responses were always vague, such as “We are still in the process of interviewing candidates and will be in touch soon.” Why don’t they just come out and say “Unfortunately, you were not selected among the final group of candidates.” As a job-seeker, I would MUCH rather know the truth so I can get closure and move on.
TD
January 23, 2012 at 6:47 PM
Could not agree more… so, so frustrating.
Former HR Person
March 20, 2012 at 11:59 AM
Couple of reasons for this seemingly rude behavior. One is time. No one has enough of it and once you’ve decided not to hire someone they’re yesterday’s news so it’s time to move on. Remember, the HR folks have jobs already and really can’t relate.
More importantly everyone in HR is afraid of getting sued, and companies can be sued for anything these days. So no one is going to say anything about why you didn’t get the job that could result in some kind of discrimination suit. At one company I worked at (now defunct) we had a $30K tolerance level for nuisance laws suits. If we could buy you off for less than $30K it wasn’t worth it to us to go to court.
When it comes to the actual hiring managers they’ve been coached by HR not to say anything, and who really wants to give people bad news anyway? That’s what HR people are for, so it will be very hard to get any feedback out of the actually hiring managers themselves.
vzor
April 12, 2012 at 11:18 PM
> Couple of reasons for this seemingly rude behavior.
Umm, it’s not only “seemingly” rude. It is, in fact, rude. There might be legitimate reasons for this behavior, but that just means that there legitimate reasons for this rude behavior. It doesn’t become less rude just because it is motivated by necessity rather than by capriciousness. Nor does it become less rude because it is your job to do it. It just means that it is your job to be rude on occasion.
> One is time.
That is actually not a factor in this case. Since the HR was responding to someone who already contacted them, it would take just as much time to inform them of rejection as it would to stonewall them.
> No one has enough of it and once you’ve decided not to hire someone
> they’re yesterday’s news so it’s time to move on. Remember, the HR folks have jobs
> already and really can’t relate.
There is something else to remember though. You interview at least 10 people for each person your hire. Which means there is 10 times as many people who will be rejected as there are people working for the company. That’s a lot of folks to form an opinion of your company and to spread that opinion around.
This goes doubly so for recruiters. A bad experience with 1 recruiter will most likely be communicated to 5-10 different friends and family members. It will reflect on the agency as well as the individual recruiter. And given that most agencies specialize in some field, that means that in a short period’s time most people in the field will share that opinion.
Drew
April 26, 2012 at 10:48 AM
Because most hiring managers don’t want to admit they base their decisions on personal opinions of how they like you and they don’t want to seem unprofessional.
Kelsey
January 12, 2012 at 3:55 PM
I’ve heard a lot of comments about interview attire playing a big role in how the interview gets judged. After all, a first impression is made in seconds, and a large part of that is your attire.
However, one thing they never touched upon in College was an, “outdated attire” causing an issue. Is this relevant in all industry interviews, or just the fashion industry?
NAL54345
January 5, 2012 at 11:20 AM
I was interviewed for a long term temp position – met with three people was at the company for over two hours and told the next day that I had “poor communication skills” — recruiters feedback was only “applicant did not ‘communicate’ their background sufficiently.” I cannot think of what I did wrong. They didn’t ask me anything I couldn’t answer and I did give examples of my past experience and how it would relate well to this project
Drew
April 26, 2012 at 10:49 AM
I’ll tell you what poor communication is. Long term temp. What does that even mean? I have never found a recruiter I could work with.
Food for Thought
November 17, 2011 at 11:21 PM
As a Professional Recruiter with over 10 years experience, I’d like to add an important one that wasn’t mentioned. Do NOT arrive way too early to an interview. I know you think it is well intentioned and shows your eagerness to find a job, but 1) You look desperate, and 2) You are basically saying you don’t respect the Recruiter’s schedule, since they have to interrupt whatever they were doing to see you early. It is actually a big turnoff and shows that you also do not follow directions. ARRIVE ON TIME, or not more than 10 minutes to your scheduled interview.
Sandra Gregston
November 10, 2011 at 3:25 PM
I have an honest question. I don’t want to let employers know (including temporary agencies) that I just earned my MBA in 2011. It makes me look overqualified and I know that I am not. So, I don’t tell them this. I graduated with a undergrad in 2009, but I haven’t worked (for pay) since 2007. I’ve been volunteering and I was told from two temp agenices already that I need to have “recent work experience”. What is “recent” mean? 1 year ago? 2 years ago? I’ve been told that 1. working on a degree counts as work, since it is WORK. and 2. doing volunteer work is still WORK even though it is not paid, it is a great way to get experience. So, is what I heard WRONG? So, how do I find a job when it has been 4.5 years since I worked for pay? I was told to go back to the temp agencies so I can find paid work, but two of them have already turned me away. Why do they say that my education is not “Work” when we all know you have to be able to work on a team and you have to have time management skills to get your reports done and to earn a busienss degree. Please help
Lara Tewes
January 30, 2012 at 1:43 PM
I usually do not separate pro bono from paid work. As long as the volunteer jobs have applicable skills to what you are pursuing in your career, it should not matter. But I have definitely seen a bias against people who are not currently employed. You can also create a skills resume (usually used when switching careers) that highlights projects completed and professional accomplishments. Good luck.
Drew
April 26, 2012 at 10:51 AM
My solution to the “we don’t like unemployed people” is I just work for myself. It’s easier than putting up with incompetent managers who don’t deserve to be in tech. I have never meet a recruiter I could trust in NYC.
MFK
June 14, 2012 at 1:30 AM
Drew – by the sounds of it, you never had good relationships with recruiters or your managers, did you think that maybe the problem was you?
Maybe you were not able to secure a job through a recruiter because you were actually no good.
Dan S.
July 2, 2012 at 2:59 PM
Inept as Recruiters are they are the gatekeepers to employers in 2012.
Having met quite a few recently I find them intellectually challenged yes not challenging.
I quote a real example from a recruitment company in the UK (MP).This was in relation to a position with the Arcadia group – what the recruiter who could have been no more than 23 said really does beggar belief. – “My client does not look for people who show an entrepreneurial fleur it is not what the company is about.” I am so glad Mr. Green was not present for the sake of this recruiter.
As for attire when is someone going to tell male recruiters that they are neither rock stars nor are they footballers with gelled up hair, and extremely large knotted ties and please, please someone tell the females to lay off the permanent tans and overpowering use of perfume. If these beings are to be the gatekeepers to clients then heaven help us mere mortals the candidates.
John
June 7, 2012 at 4:07 PM
You need to start putting your MBA down to account for the time gap. How long did it take you to complete? My MBA program was two years. You do not want employers/recruiters to think you were doing nothing while you were actually earning an MBA! If you get an interview, you will be asked about that time period, and they will find it very odd that your MBA was not on your resume when you explain.
Bingo
November 1, 2011 at 5:28 PM
Recruiters are nothing more than corporate HOBO’s that play “match maker” with employers wish lists; The challenge with them from the employer perspective is they spend too little time actually talking to a candidate, and are in love with everybody they send.
Our company used them in the past, and will never use one again. The fees they want are laughable, and believe me, when you negotiate with them, they will fold like a cheap shirt. From a candidate perspective, they for the most part are monumentally clueless in working with anyone who does not exactly meet the criteria, which is a “wish list”… What they refuse to understand is there is a difference in what companies desire and what they will actually hire.A recruiter who knows this, (and believe me, “very few” if any do) will actually “recruit” to fit the actual performance needed for the position. 10,000 recruiters in a lake is a great start……
Jay
May 6, 2012 at 2:24 PM
Depends, companies need to link up with the right recruiters. Ones that will send you good candidates and they may not be folding. They negotiate to keep good relationships, if the candidate is not willing to bend then they will not be able to negotiate. Some agencies have 3 recruiters trying to fill the same position, they have gone through 100 people for you to find that one person. I used to work for a company that did everything in house, I spent weeks trying to find a good candidate to fill a spot on the team, the quality of people were horrible. On paper they looked great but some were unable to communicate at all.
SOR
October 18, 2011 at 5:39 AM
Hey, thanks for providing the webinar and information.
J K
September 15, 2011 at 7:06 PM
My personal strategy that seems to work during job interviews:
Get a fresh haircut
Wear a new dress shirt
Give myself ‘the talk’ before (“Okay, you’re going to be yourself, yet also be on your best behavior”.. etc)
Plan to arrive 1 hour early, then just sit and relax somewhere close by the interview spot (coffee shop)
Remember peoples names – especially the name of the person interviewing you. Thank them by name for
their time when the interview is over.
Remember that if they can’t see that I’m the best candidate for the job, then it’s their loss.
Pat myself on the back for giving it my best attempt.
Guest
September 12, 2011 at 10:36 PM
Thank you, J.T. O’Donnell. I have a good insight of what role is played by a recruiter. I would like to add the top 10 reasons for rejection may become an addition for some companies. I see people who dress like they are going to a middle school to study and have name tags that identify them as part of the company.
Anonymous
April 28, 2011 at 2:15 PM
I think the gist of this post is that people in general don’t like to be brutally honest and tell people what they really think and what really happened. We like to let people down easy. In a career context, people often find it hard to learn about what they’re doing wrong because no one ever tells them.
Carl
Drew
April 26, 2012 at 10:54 AM
I am brutally honest with any hiring manager I talk to about a position. I tell them, if you do this, this and that, I will quit. Because from experience, I know what things a manager needs to succeed. And if the manager breaks their promises, I know it wasn’t my fault. Otherwise, I just work for myself if I am not taking a chance on another manager/team. My latest new rule. Don’t work for a manager without tech experience. The same can applied to any profession. That’s like working for a manager of a hospital who was never a doctor.
David Inzlicht
February 25, 2011 at 4:28 PM
Most job seekers have a huge misconception about recruiters. They don’t understand that they in fact are not the client. Often job seekers are under the impression that a recruiter is here to help them find a job. That’s simply not the case. A recruiters primary role is to help employers recruit for a specific position. If you as a job seeker fit those requirements, great, a recruiter just helped you get a job in the process. Otherwise, your placed on a shelf until the next time a suitable position becomes available.
Now understanding the reality of the situation a job seeker can do many things to make themselves more attractive. I would advise following the suggestions J.T. O’Donnel made in the post. Also read the lively discussion between Emma Hammer and RecruitingANIMAL in the comments above to gain some more insight into the Recruiter/Job Seeker relationship.
David Inzlicht
@ProforceJobClub
Chitra
March 11, 2013 at 7:06 AM
Recently I had been for a job interview which went very well. The interviewer nearly offered me the Role but was only waiting for some kind of approval from
his higher Manager. The Agency verbally confirmed me that the hiring Manager was keen to get me on board and waiting for the above approval. I was kept hanging for a week and after that Agency confirmed that the Role was filled internally.
I got back to him asking what was the Reason for Rejection but all he mentioned was it was not case of
Rejection at all, but they just had found someone to fill it internally.
I was actually interviewed directly by the higher Manager 4 years ago and I wasn’t offered the Role then. I kept wandering if that was the reason for Rejection but was re-framed as mentioned above?
Because the Recruitment agency advertised similar Role again after a month and when I applied/emailed him he seems to ignore me!!
Messanjah5
November 6, 2010 at 4:03 AM
Just the kind of stuff I was looking for. Thanks for this!
SFC
November 6, 2010 at 4:05 AM
So glad I found this post. Thanks!
Meckna
September 22, 2010 at 9:05 AM
Thanks for the tips…
Kelly
August 15, 2010 at 7:48 PM
Interesting post, I like the first point about attire :)
Drew
April 26, 2012 at 10:55 AM
In my tech profession, we wear shorts to work. And I’ve worked with some better people. These tips apply to the old world.
Hmcbill
August 12, 2010 at 12:42 PM
any candidate that exhibits these behaviors is not an “A”layer and beyond the help of a recruiter. They ought to try a life coach!!!
Hmcbill
August 12, 2010 at 8:42 AM
any candidate that exhibits these behaviors is not an “A”layer and beyond the help of a recruiter. They ought to try a life coach!!!
98089
August 10, 2010 at 2:13 PM
These are great and very useful remarks. Still we might do'nt know why we may not get hired in the future.
Dave Homrighouse
August 10, 2010 at 2:04 PM
How ironic. An HR manager grumbled, complained, and whined about an interviewee who grumbled, complained, and whined, so therefore “doesn't fit the company culture”.
I think I popped a fuse.
Sandpit
July 12, 2010 at 11:35 PM
Great share! Saying “like” too much certainly grates me… lol! :D
Ian
June 8, 2010 at 4:09 PM
One things recruiters will tell you: if they have a job that you fit. They will be over you like a rash!
Recruiters only put you forward for positions they have advertised if:
1. they have a job that you fit
2. You will represent their agency in front of their client well enough to ensure their future business.
Charles M
August 10, 2010 at 10:30 AM
Here it is: An interview is merely proving that you are the piece for their puzzle that fits. That your personality is an extension of their beliefs!
Porsh
February 9, 2012 at 6:05 PM
That’s deep and insightful, Charles, and amazingly apparent, now that you mention it. I’m really going to let that soak in and guide me in my course to find meaningful work in a thoughtful manner, that is simpatico with both my future employer’s beliefs, talents and values and my sincere own. I feel ya Brother. Thanks!
Jim Karter
May 11, 2010 at 12:10 AM
Outsourced recruiters working for multiple clients in a third-party broker relationship, and are variously called headhunters, search firms, agency recruiters, recruitment consultants or agents.
Harold
March 9, 2010 at 5:34 AM
With a great attitude about your skills, how do you avoid falling in the trap of #7, feeling overconfident, arrogant, self-centered?
Stephen
May 31, 2012 at 1:46 AM
Good question… to hell with all of these self-deprecating rules as to how to successfully paint yourself over and lose your dignity.
Elias
January 11, 2010 at 9:28 AM
You could post this article every single day. It's that useful. Job seekers should take those 10 things and re-play recent interviews in their mind and try and see if any of them apply.
J.T. O'Donnell
January 11, 2010 at 10:05 AM
Thanks, Elias!
It is hard to hear, but if people are honest and think through past situations, as you so smartly suggest, I do think they will see what went wrong.
Glad you stopped by to comment – thanks for sharing!
staffpower
December 9, 2009 at 6:08 AM
The secrets things of recruiters listing is very nice. Thanks for sharing it.
Watch Family Guy Online
October 16, 2009 at 4:13 PM
This was really helpful. I'll be saving this one.
deborahshane
October 6, 2009 at 10:36 AM
I would add one thing that I think sends a bold message..Being prepared about the company, it's principal's and the vision and mission. These are all usually on their website, or googled somewhere. A little preparation goes a long way, for making the case on why they should get another interview. If you really want the job, your ten are essential, plus the preparation. Thanks for your post.
RecruitingANIMAL
October 3, 2009 at 6:27 PM
Phil,
How can it be against the law to say you're boring. Or uptight. Or too lively for a staid bunch of people like those we have here.
You would have to say they think I'm boring (or lively) because of my religion, race, age, ethnicity. Mind you some people might try that.
daveisbell
August 17, 2009 at 10:23 AM
Great post! So many clients I have worked with have stumbled repeatedly because of these seemingly innocuous types of things. One thing I would add to this advice is that people need to realize that a recruiter’s first impression literally starts with the first awareness of a person’s existence! If that first awareness comes from a referral by a trusted professional who is a mutual acquaintance then it immediately colors the lens through which the recruiter views the candidate. Likewise, if the first awareness the recruiter has of the applicant is a sloppy, unfocused resume that was uploaded to a database, it immediately directs the recruiter toward a thought process that will probably not be beneficial. Professional recruiters will always attempt to keep objectivity intact but it is human nature to judge the content by the source through which it was received. This is more often than not what separates two otherwise equal candidates! It is also the reason why people need to start by examining their message before they send it. J.T. posted above that “if you are angry, fearful, or confused, it’s going to show. You must find a way to feel good about yourself and your ability to contribute.” If your friends and acquaintances know you as “giving, reliable, trustworthy, etc.” then how willing do you think they may be to make a recommendation to someone else about you, and when they do, what is it that you think they will say? Your attitude (and who you are) when you are alone is quite literally the beginning of what other people are going to understand about you. Recruiters are really quite adept at reading people very quickly and weeding out those who are sincere from those who are not. True, sometimes you have to fake it until you make it. However, any good actor knows that to convince the audience, he must first convince himself that he is the character he is playing. When he is successful, he brings enough of his own characteristics into the role that, when meshed with the character’s, becomes a new creation that is real, organic, and believably alive. Therefore, every time he finishes a production, he has learned, grown, and been changed by the experience and a little bit of that character will stay with him forever.
ilovegarick
July 16, 2009 at 8:48 AM
Having been a technical recruiter; you hit it right on the dot. Now as a student Employment Advisor, I do try and develop my students to be aware of their social skills and how they might show an employer that they not only understand the business, but are enthusiastic about the company in particular.
After all, there are hundreds of people out there who might have the technical skills necessary to complete the job. Either way though, each company does things differently and you'll still have to train and adapt to their particular methodology. As an employer, I can always teach someone how to do the job. But how do I teach them to get along with everyone else and really meld with the rest of the team? At a certain point, the interview is about personality match and culture fit.
Thank you for putting such ideas into a succinct and clear presentation.
Ian R McAllister
July 9, 2009 at 3:49 PM
Great article JT! This is the key piece for me: As a result, recruiters have to determine a candidate’s marketability much quicker. Translation: candidates must pay even more attention to the power of the first impression factor. People skills, attire, etc. all become more important when competition amongst talent is this fierce.
The truth is, I pick a candidate as a recruiter who will wholly represent my brand, and not let me down. If you fail me, I might not get another brief = reduced fee income. If I think you might not fully represent my brand, then am I going to put you in front of my client: no, never in a month of Sundays! Clients don't pay my fee's because I bring them average – I have to deliver consistent high quality
One of the key issues I always tell job seekers to ask recruiters, is how are they renumerated? If it as a percentage of salary/total package, and its a one-office recruiter business, then if you get rejected once you are very unlikely to be immediately put forward for another job: reasons of my brand. If its a multi-branch recruiter, then its possible to get multiple opportunities; but beware, part of their remuneration may be based just on the volume of applicants they find, and that's just a numbers business.
Job Seekers need to build up relationships with recruiters before they become job seekers – I'll work for you then, and guide you forward, helping you remove the large rejection lumps and improve in areas where I know you will gain me large fee's again and again. Come to me as a career switcher who needs a job tomorrow, in a polyester suit, and I'll eject you through the door quicker than Paris Hilton's bodyguard!
Robert Merrill
June 12, 2009 at 11:27 AM
Quite a good and mostly practical article, thanks!
I think most of those things are too prevalent, but can be fixed pretty easily. Candidates need all the help they can get to stand out in this current economy. Beyond not just doing the wrong things, in your opinion what are some simple things that will help a candidate stand out positively on a first impression?
Laurie Ruettimann
June 6, 2009 at 11:55 AM
You won't be told that the recruiter himself isn't really liked by the employer.
Tweetplate
June 5, 2009 at 12:25 PM
Good stuff!
Anonlymous
April 19, 2009 at 6:36 PM
If you haven't been hired a while, I'd recommend Googling yourself. As an artist, I have run into a situation where the words used to tag me on a video project were not the most flattering. Great to promote my video, bad for my professional life. Since I didn't make the tags or try to promote the video, I didn't know they were there. So sign up for those Google Alerts and look at them so you know what's going on. No surprises.
naike
April 18, 2009 at 7:09 PM
thanks for the insight. I feel like as a recruiter they should tell you all those things so you can get prepared for the interview. But i guesss they are not obliged to do so.
EmmaHamer
April 18, 2009 at 2:18 PM
Great points, JT. While I've only been following your blog for a short time, I appreciate the *unvarnished* quality of the truths you speak – and it validates my own approach. Here's a link to a post I wrote just yesterday (proving my “great minds think alike” theory) about why recruiters are not necessarily the job-seekers friend: Recruiters: Useful? Or Not? http://tinyurl.com/cv364l
Recruiting Animal
April 24, 2009 at 5:08 PM
I visited read Emma Hamer's site article but her site only takes comments from members. So here's my reply that posting.
Dear Emma,
You seem to be a Canadian. Well, I'm a recruiter in Canada.
It's possible, as you say, that if a recruiter sees that a company has been looking for a long time she might send over an unsolicited resume to see what happens.
It sounds like a good idea. And someone might get a job as a result. But I don't know anyone who does that.
We will market a candidate to companies that might need someone like her. It's not social work; we do it so we can make money but what a fantastic free service if you get it.
Here's something you're right about.
If you don't have any strong skills a recruiter can't do much for you.
So, if you want to make a career change, I can't help you.
I mean if you have five years experience in inventory management and you want to move into pharmaceutical sales, an area in which you have no experience, you're not really a good candidate.
But if you have good experience as a bookeeper, payroll clerk, Supply Chain Manager, Controller, Sales Rep, programmer, etc etc etc, and you want to continue in that career path, you might as well send your resume to a recruiter.
Why not have it in her database so that she can give you a call if a good opportunity for you comes her way.
However, most of the people I place do not come to me. I'm paid to find people who are hard to find and I go looking for them.
So, if a recruiter calls you on the job, you would be wise to be nice and establish a relationship. Because she might call you out of the blue with a good next step in your career – for no fee at all. The employer pays the shot.
All in all, Emma, when it comes to recruiters you've got a bad attitude. You only see the negatives. The people you work with might not be suitable candidates for recruiters — that's the impression I get — but that doesn't make us the enemy.
Regards
Recruiting Animal
http://www.recruitinganimal.com
EmmaHamer
April 24, 2009 at 6:57 PM
Hello Recruiting Animal,
Unfortunately, you didn’t register with Disqus, either, or we could have had this discussion where everyone else can see it, and make up their own mind. Instead, I pasted your comment into my site’s comment box; I hope you don’t mind.
When I wrote about ‘recruiters’ in general, I meant all ‘providers of temporary, contract or permanent staff’. While you may not push candidates ‘on spec’, and I respect that, many recruiters do. My attitude is not negative; it is based on the experiences of my clients – most of whom are in fact career shifters or career changers. I stand by the gist of my post: that recruiters tend to place people that are easily pigeon-holed, and will not go out on a limb to promote an excellent candidate from a not-so-obvious background, and in that sense, recruiters are NOT the job-seekers best friend. The recruiter’s / headhunter’s / placement agent’s first and primary concern is accommodating their client: the company that has posted a vacancy. And, again from my experience, when there is a vacancy, companies generally are even more risk-averse than normal, and terrified of making a hiring mistake; hence the insistence that only candidates that have extensive experience in the exact same job and industry will be considered.
I agree, that if you’re a bookkeeper, and wish to remain in the bookkeeping field, it can’t hurt to send your resume in to a recruiter – but you can do just as well without one, if you are savvy about using your contacts, both professional and personal, to uncover opportunities.
And on another, but related note: recruiters that place you have to make money, as well – which comes out of the hiring company’s budget = less for you. Placement agencies, for instance, have an hourly mark-up of 15 – 20%; that’s their price for doing your marketing for you. If the candidate found the job themselves, they could negotiate 15 – 20% more per hour, and still stay within the hiring company’s budget.
Ditto for recruiters/headhunters; they commonly charge between 10 and 20% of the first year’s salary as their placement fee – also money that, if the candidate found the job themselves, could be added to their package.
What I tell my clients is that recruiters and placement agencies are for LAZY job-seekers, or for job-seekers who are still employed, therefore have no time to network, and just want to change companies.
For everyone else: developing and leveraging your network is the way to go. But thanks for your feedback!
RecruitingANIMAL
April 24, 2009 at 7:32 PM
Emma,
You sure sound negative to me.
Your problem is that recruiters can't place career changers.
Well, companies come to us because they need people with special skills. Your clients don't want to market the skills they have; they want to be juniors again. Common sense says that this is going to make them less marketable. It's not my fault.
And you think that if a recruiter was not involved in an employment transaction her fee would go to the candidate. Maybe but I doubt it.
In my experience, when people like your clients call people like me we often take the time to tell them how to job hunt on their own. But they don't want to.
Having a network is good. Seth Godin agrees with you that it's the way to go.
But good networking takes time and effort and, to some extent, a personality and skills that most people don't have.
And you have to build and maintain your network on a regular basis. Most people won't do that. They want to start networking when they lose their job.
Also, networking, like most marketing, is going to work best when you have a distinct professional identity. What JT calls a brand. Did someone say pidgeonhole?
EmmaHamer
April 25, 2009 at 3:46 PM
Hey, RecruitingANIMAL (do you have a given name? I find it a mildly awkward to call you Animal…)
Anyway: enough already with the “You have a negative attitude” – I don't. I just have a different perspective. Let's try and discuss the issue, without getting personal, shall we? I'm happy for you that your recruiting business is flourishing. Well, so is my Career Strategies business – and I do work with my clients to a) help them redefine themselves and learn how to articulate their value (you might call that “branding), and b) coach them through the minefields of professional networking.
As with all generalizations, there are always exceptions to the rule, and you're obviously proof of that. But a less strident tone wouldn't hurt. Disagree with me, by all means, but don't disrespect me. Or anyone else whose opinion you don't share.
Thanks (and apologies to JT for taking up space on an discussion only tangentially related to your original post).
RecruitingANIMAL
April 25, 2009 at 7:14 PM
Emma, who said I don't respect you? I don't think you're right, that's all, and I read you as having a chip on your shoulder about recruiters.
I myself hardly qualify as the exception when it comes to decent recruiters. I know a lot of nice recruiters. And smart ones too. I'm sure there's low-lifes but I'll bet there's a
few career coaches who aren't the cat's meow either.
My problem with your remarks is that you think that we are generally unnecessary and you don't provide good reasons to back up your argument.
If the average person was so good at networking, neither of us would be in business. Networks would replace me and no one would need to learn about networking from you.
But they aren't. They might be with the advance of online technology. But probably not.
I will agree with you that recruiters are, often, not that useful to job hunters. But I have a business friend who wanted to move from one of the big four accounting firms into
industry. So he was a job hunter even though he had a good job. And who sent him out to about six interviews? Recruiters. And did he get hired by a good company? Yes.
In fact, he was hired twice. Didn't like the first firm so he left when a recruiter called me after a couple of months. (JT I'd like to talk with you about that last point).
Emma, here's a funny article you might enjoy – http://cli.gs/ANT1U7 – I thought it was pretty funny. (Familiar title, JT?)
Emma, speaking of JT, I'm sure she won't mind us livening up the comment section. What's worse than a blog without comments? And a lively conversation is not always couched in neutral terms. But I won't turn it into a flame war. You don't have to worry about that.
As for my name. hey, we live in a multi-cultural society. Have some respect for my diversity. Please.
Best Wishes from me.
EmmaHamer
April 25, 2009 at 8:16 PM
Well, “me”, we're done here. I think we agree to disagree. I did enjoy the article you linked to – actually, it partly supports my position that recruiters are not necessarily in it to help job-seekers … Even if the article is a bit tongue-in-cheek, and probably exaggerated, it brought a smile to my lips. Thanks for that!
RecruitingANIMAL
April 26, 2009 at 3:39 AM
Thanks.
The role of recruiters in the lives of job hunters is an interesting topic to investigate.
The recruiters I know are primarily involved in finding hard to find people for companies. And the passive candidate who isn't looking for a job is the key.
So I think that most would agree that walk-in candidates are not that useful.
However, there are a lot of ads in the newspaper from recruiters so in some sectors this probably isn't the case at all.
Me / Recruiting Animal / http://www.recruitinganimal.com
J.T. O'Donnell
April 26, 2009 at 5:19 AM
Hi Emma & Recruiting Animal,
I've truly enjoyed the dialog between you two on this post. I've read every comment as you've posted them and felt like it was better to sit back and listen to your perspectives as opposed to jump in the mix. I feel this is the perfect place for this discussion and I'm grateful you were both willing to share your candid thoughts.
That being said, the posting of this article has reminded me of several things:
1) The term 'recruiter' is very broad in nature.
2) There's a disconnect between some types of recruiters and the people who seek their services.
3) The use of recruiters is evolving (or some may argue, swinging back in to vogue).
I am really looking forward to exploring this more and providing much-needed perspective to readers of our site. In fact, I'm also hoping (fingers crossed) to talk more about it when I'm a guest on Recruiting Animal's radio show this Wednesday, April 29th.
http://www.recruitingshow.com/
Thanks again for sharing. More importantly, thank you for helping our readers get better educated on the subject. Honestly, what transpired here is what I love most about blogging.
Recruiting Animal
April 16, 2009 at 6:30 AM
Yes you did point out that the recruiter won't tell you why SHE is rejecting you if it is for more than purely technical reasons like lack of specific experience or professional designation.
I meant on the other end. If she likes you and puts you forward but the the hiring managers don't like you, she will probably not say.
Many recruiters long to think of themselves as being transparent. So they claim that that they are fully transparent when they say something like “It's just not a fit”. Of course, that's quite opaque, not specific at all — but there's no reason for them to be embarrassed. Only a child (or a believer in radical honesty) thinks that you have to be completely honest all the time.
I, personally, have a terrible time telling someone I'm not putting him forward when the reason is one of personality. You never know how the person would take it. And I'm not always sure that I'm right in rejecting the person. Not everyone has the same taste in personalities as I do. (Tho I'm usually right).
But people have a hard time taking grooming advice — and that's about something they can change. So how will they take advice about something that is unchangeable or difficult to modify. (eg an introvert is not going to become talkative in time for a meeting with a client).
I'm almost always recruiting people who already have jobs but when dealing with someone who is out of work and having a hard time finding employment, honest feedback might be the last thing the person needs because it will be taken out of perspective as the voice of doom.
Jeni
March 22, 2013 at 8:43 AM
“voice of doom” Well, I want honest feedback, if it’s done in a loving manner. One can tell the truth like hitting someone over the head with a hammer, or they can tell the truth in a loving way. If you are positive & genuinely trying to help, it will usually go over much better. You have to care about the person. The best people I’ve ever worked for were loving people who truly care about other human beings, not just doing a job.
Marci Reynolds
April 16, 2009 at 11:16 AM
This is great advice.. I recently had the experience of working with a head hunter who was hired to fill a sales leadership role at a company in the greater Boston area. Since she understands the challenging job climate- She put me through a rigorous interview preparation process which was both annoying and helpful. When you’re 40+ you like to think you know everything and don’t need any help.. But, it didn’t kill me to take the time to write down my answers to common interview questions and practice my “tell me about yourself” answer. Ultimately her diligence helped me on the interview for her assignment- and several others since then.
GamingRecruiter
April 15, 2009 at 4:02 PM
I think you guys should distinguish between internal recruiters and agencies. An agency recruiter, such as myself, only gets paid if I place someone at one of clients. So it’s in my best interest to share as much information with my candidates as possible. I know damn well that if they were passed on by one of my clients because of a wardrobe malfunction or they had a negative attitude I am going to certainly tell them, so at the next interview I get them they perform well. Any recruiter would be wasting their time not sharing information with candidates, since our motivation is to get that candidate the job. On the other hand, if it’s an internal recruiter with a salary and no motivation to push for a candidate, than of course he has no duty to share feedback with candidates.
Twitter me @gamingrecruiter
John Rose
April 15, 2009 at 6:50 AM
You are so right when you say “they [Recruiters] aren’t paid to give you the bad news”, unfortunately this is the attitude of NON Professional Recruiters, who are only interested in the mighty $ [or what ever currency they get paid in]. People are the product for Recruiters, and it is the People who make them their money…There is potential in every person a Recruiter talks too, the better prepared and presentable the person is makes them into a candidate for clients…
I don't believe this applies only to recruiters. I am aware of many 'Hiring Managers / HR Managers' who after meeting the interviewee, grumble, complain and generally 'whing' about the non verbal failings of each interviewee…it is the nature of the beast.
For a Recruitment Professional to do their role and selves favours, they must groom, prepare and help develop the non-verbal skills and performance of their candidates as well as the candidates verbal presence…I know that in these politically corrected times people do not want to be seen as offending people, guess what folks, that is part of the nature of our business…identifying the shot-comings and turning them into positives…by taking the view 'from people to candidates' recruiters will make money. And not 'make money – from people' – this is how to make the profession in the same category as pimps – don'y care about the product just give me all the money…
Gregory
April 14, 2009 at 12:34 PM
Recruiters WILL tell you you did not get the job becuase of your personality if they understand what thy are looking for…Example, we place VERY High Level Sales Executives you w2 more than 200k per year. We know our clients and know the type of agressive, outgoing, hunter mentality our cleints are looking for……
If our candidates don't do well on the interivew with a particular client, but they are qualified for our network of cleints, then we express to them their personlaity flaws anc coch them to preform better.
SORRY YOUR EXECUTIVE RECRUITER WAS NOT STRAIGHT WITH YOU, BUT WE ARE!!!!!!
cs
April 13, 2009 at 12:15 PM
#1 is a problem for me because currently I cannot pay for my own food or other living expenses; therefore, I have no money for dress clothes or any clothes, including second hand, which usually is outdated anyway.
#10 is a problem because I find it hard to be excited about a job interview with a company I have little or no interest in. I'm there for a survival check. People have told me to pretend I'm interested, to tell them what they want to hear. I'd feel like a hypocrite, like I'm misrepresenting myself and being dishonest. I'm just not good at acting and it does show. The chance of finding an opening in a company that matches my interests are very small. I feel like I'm between a rock and a hard place.
Gregory
April 14, 2009 at 12:39 PM
Attitiude my freind is number one in LIFE…Job sarch, love search, self search…..Attitude..
So based on this letter you will not find your dream job…But when you start belieiving you will find a great job..And tell yourself everyday, 10 times a day, that you are great and a great job you will find…
Then and only then wil you find you dream “job”
MSrago
April 20, 2009 at 4:09 PM
CS, depending on where you live, there are not for profit organizations like “Dress for Success” that have Career Closets. These are typically relatively current and gently worn clothing donated to the organization. I am not certain what your current situation is, but something like this relative to your location could be tracked down through google.
TGB
June 19, 2009 at 7:45 PM
I find this very strange. On the one hand, you say you're struggling to survive, and on the other you don't care. I would have thought if you were that desperate and that much in need of a job, you would be able to muster up the enthusiasm to actually desire whatever job it is you're going for. And let's see… fake smile or eat at night… your choice. Misrepresent yourself or pay your bills… tough decision. Put aside your moral indignation and allow your survival instincts to kick in. Hands up everybody who works for a company they actually respect and have enthusiasm for, and mushy happy feelings about. They're in the minority – life doesn't work like that, and a job, particularly at the entry level, is not for personal fulfilment – you work to live, you don't live to work – you get money to pay the bills, you walk out of the building at the end of the workday and you get your personal fulfilment from your friends and family and other shit like that.
Cos what I'm reading here is “I'm too poor and I can't be bothered”.
Jeni
March 22, 2013 at 8:35 AM
He/She is mad at the world. They have a chip on their shoulder. It’s like the alcoholic who hasn’t hit bottom yet, they won’t get a change in attitude until they do, and until they get humble, they won’t stop drinking.
This guy isn’t ready for any job, he may never be. Not everyone appreciates what they have, I know I didn’t & sometimes still don’t. I have to remind myself that I’m not perfect but it doesn’t matter because nobody else is either. We just have to be ready when the right fit comes along. In the meantime, I’m working on myself so I will be better when it does come.
Michael Willett
April 12, 2009 at 7:47 PM
This is quite useful. Thanks for distributing the information.
Mike Willett
Willett Corporate Communications
Recruiting Animal
April 12, 2009 at 6:42 PM
Nor will a recruiter tell you straight out that you didn't get a job because of your personality.
J.T. O'Donnell
April 12, 2009 at 7:01 PM
Agreed! Was hoping the post pointed that out.
Thanks for stopping by Recruiting Animal. I'm a fan of your show!
JT
John
April 15, 2009 at 6:54 AM
I concur, but wonder, If the recruiter presents you as a candidate to a client, then he/she [recruiter] must know if you have the right 'personality' – Yes?