Who cares what the candidates think?
An improving jobs climate may soon force recruiters to listen to what’s been said about them. But when the going’s good again, will they really care about their communities?
As the number of UK marketing jobs continues to rise, today’s candidate may well be tomorrow’s client. And if this is true, recruiters have some smartening up to do…
Recruiters have had their say so here’s what the candidates think should be done to improve the jobseeker/recruiter relationship:
1. Return the call
Unsurprisingly the no.1 gripe from jobseekers is recruiters not returning their calls or responding to emails. Whilst a recent UK Marketing Lounge LinkedIn discussion compounded the issue by suggesting it “used to be better years ago” it also conceded that [recent events] have seen recruiters “overloaded with candidates”. In any event, though, customer service is now “not that good”.
Rarely before has the phrase Catch 22 been better exemplified than in the recent jobs market. As recruiters battle to contain the influx of applications, the demand for public relations increases.
By returning a phone call it is possible to learn more about a candidate than is evident from a CV. Rather than letting a ‘CV scanner’ do the work, “why don’t recruiters spent more time getting to know their applicants in a way technology cannot possibly achieve”, it is considered?
2. Stop being estate agents
Not that there’s an abundance of those around these days!
“I only trust recruiters I have met,” opined one jobseeker. “Most recruiters see candidates with a fee stuck to their head. Why can’t they meet their prospects face-to-face, instead of acting like some sort of CV factory?”
Of course, it is impossible to consider that any recruiter in the current market could possibly meet every prospective candidate – there would be no time in the day to identify the jobs. But perhaps by organising an event or gathering it might be possible to kill a number of eager birds with one particularly clever stone? Just a thought. [ed]
3. It’s my career, not yours
“Career choices are among the most important decisions of our lives. And it’s not just about individuals, either. It impacts on our families and their lifestyles, too,” suggests one former jobseeker. “To this end I would encourage all recruiters to treat candidates as humans, rather than a set of electronic acronyms that tick the boxes”.
4. Fake job ads
One freelance web marketing consultant is fed up with the number of duplicate – or even fictitious – jobs posted online. “When I’ve spoken with recruiters I get the impression they only ever work on more than, say, five jobs at any one time. And this makes sense. Why then do I see four-times this number being advertised with the same consultant’s name? With the alleged number of applications per job it is little wonder there’s no time to respond to them all. Whatever happened to employers advertising in the paper? At least you knew they were real jobs”.
Evolution, eh!
5. Feedback, please…
“Even if I don’t get the job, I still want expect feedback,” is the overwhelming feeling of the UK marketing jobseeker. Of course, in recruitment terms, no news is bad news and whilst candidates are beginning to realise this, frustration at the lack of tangible communication post-interview is a genuine concern. In most instances recruiters are driven by their clients and in the absence of feedback from them, there is nothing to pass on. Which brings us to…
6. Manage my expectations
By definition marketers are educated folk who take their careers seriously and, much like today’s hardworking recruiters, don’t have time to waste. So an update on the status of a job application would ease both concerns and frustration. And it doesn’t have to be a phone call, either. “I’d be happy if my recruitment agent dropped me an email quickly explaining the situation. Then I know and I can work around it,” one jobseeker explains. “In the absence of this information I’m likely to do one of two things: 1) call the recruiter for answers, or 2) give up thinking about it. In either regard I’ll lose respect for the recruiter.
7. You’re not the MI5
Not knowing who the end client is can be frustrating.
The advent of social media and the development of the digital engagement in which this phenomenon sits, has increased our expectations on transparency. With so much freely accessible information the need for recruiters to keep the identity of their clients secret has receded. Furthermore, most employers now operate refined preferred supplier lists, reducing further the information ‘leak’. On this matter one marketing manager suggests “it is impossible to tailor a CV to meet the employer’s expectations if the company is unknown. Plus, I’m able to keep a secret”.
8. Know your client
“A recruiter reciting a job brief without having the faintest idea what the client is really looking for, is the definition of annoyance,” claims one marketing manager. So the second part of the job title ‘Recruitment Consultant’ has never been more important. The ability to grasp the client’s actual requirement, rather than the proposed ideal one, is essential. And it’s not just about the tangible skills, either. Sending a fox-hunter to interview for the League Against Cruel Sports is unlikely to produce a result, for example.
Getting under the skin of your client (so consulting) will reap rewards both for the short-term placement and the long-term business development. Though as Chris Callaway, owner of specialist recruiter Financial Marketing Recruitment says: “It has become more difficult to foster a relationship with a line manager, since much of recruitment is managed by large outsourcing agencies, whose HR personnel are administrators with little understanding of recruitment or the company they represent.”
9. Stop spamming my CV
“Yes, we want a job,” scream jobseekers in unison, “but not at the detriment to our integrity.” Whilst in today’s over-subscribed climate there should be no excuse for sending unsolicited CVs, it still happens. Quick to win the race against registration deadlines, some recruiters continue to bombard prospective clients with CVs from candidates who know nothing about it. Whilst on the face of it the jobseeker should be ‘grateful’ for this ‘proactvity,’ the upshot is often a web of confusion.
10. Don’t go all ‘social media’
Social networking is fantastic. It opens doors and provides windows of opportunity that would otherwise go unnoticed. But there’s still nothing better than a cup of tea and a chat.
So recruiters, what do you think of these comments? Are they fair? Jobseekers, do you agree with this? What’s your candidate experience been like?
Read what recruiters want from jobseekers in 13 ways to impress your recruiter
Please note: these views are those of jobseekers and in no way reflect the opinion of Only Marketing Jobs. We think both our communities are great!
Simon Lewis | Editor | Only Marketing Jobs
Related posts:
- How do recruiters find the best candidates?
- Guess what? Candidates are customers, too!
- Recruiters: treat your candidates like a good neighbour, or die
- Job boards versus recruitment agencies: the gathering storm
- Jobseekers need to learn a little respect
- Marketing jobseekers use ‘old boy’s networks’ to secure employment
- Recruiters preparing for 2010 lift-off
- Charging jobseekers for recruitment services. Is it really so wrong?
- Is the role of the traditional recruiter being eroded by social networking?
- Marketing jobs in Manchester: 60-second interview
Why Mr Lewis did they honestly ever care about what candidates really think ?
Regards
Ryback
Well, Ryback?
I guess it’s because recruitment these days is about communities, when once it really wasn’t.
Slow on the uptake, maybe, but I believe jobseekers will be getting all round service within 12 months and if any of it is a result of pointing out each other’s follies, then so be it.
A superbly written article, Simon. You have captured the essence of recruiters perfectly!
In a nutshell, all we do, all day long, is dream up ways of being mean to our candidates. We hate them all, without exception. Any recruiter who returns a candidate’s is frowned upon. People snigger and make jokes about them behind their backs.
A good day at the office involves mailshotting everyone in our database, preferably with a £100k CV to small companies for maximum effect.
We love to tell our candidates who our vacancies are with and actively encourage them to tell everyone about it, as in the interests of fairness we firmly believe that every client should interview 20 people.
We are robots and our hearts are made of tin.
And yet despite all of this, we cry ourselves to sleep at night, sucking our thumbs and wondering why everyone is so quick to judge and never to praise!
Anonymous Nasty Recruiter makes a cynical, but not wholly inaccurate point. We really are not out to make people’s lives a misery, we generally have the best intentions – but here’s the reality check from someone not hiding behind a pseudonym – we cannot talk to, performance manage and have “tea and a chat” with every jobseeker.
From a purely business angle – because we are all in business – our income comes from the recruiting clients, whereas the service to jobseekers is free. A recruiter’s daily actions are dictated by the needs and demands of our clients and the jobseekers who specifically match those demands; as their fees for successful focussed campaigns pay the recruiter’s wages and keep them employed! (it’s a cut-throat industry). I have managed recruiters who loved spending their days speaking to jobseekers, inviting them in, and making more tea than Earl Grey himself – but they made no money.
All that said – there are some very pertinent points here. Courtesy, client knowledge and well considered CV promotion are the least you can expect from your recruiter. Furthermore, your CV is your property, so you deserve to know where it is going in a P&C manner.
The points above should be read by every recruiter in the land, because they are in the most part, and in a perfect world – extremely valid. However please, please temper your expectations of your recruiter. I receive 100 CVs a day in my inbox as a reward for good marketing and advertising, but more than 70 over them will be irrelevant, frivolous, or `push-button` applications. What are we to do with those 70 people that didn’t care to read the job requirements?
Invite them in for a cup of tea?
Excellent comment, Steve. A very considered and balanced response to what is intended to be a generic outline of jobseeker thoughts and interpretations of their experiences.
Clearly the past couple of years have been difficult for everyone and having witnessed it from both sides I know the feeling of rejection, dejection and angst surrounding all concerened.
One assumes Nasty Recruiter’s [slightly bitter] reposte is a result of some of this frustration. Whilst we can clearly see through the sarcasm, I am not convinced it will appeal to the disgruntled candidates currently seeking something better in the market.
All this said, do bear in mind this was the second part of two-way investigation to recruiters are equally encouraged to ask jobseekers to consider their stance.
Well, I must be lucky but I’ve meet some really nice recruiters and they are the ones I contact every time I need a new project. That said, there’s plenty that just spam mail me job descriptions that don’t match my CV at all (I wonder if their filters just don’t work… some are way off the mark).
That said, what I find quite disturbing is when a recruiter calls me out of the blue and starts interrogating me about my current job and company. How are we supposed to deal with that without being rude and telling them it’s none of their business where we work or who’s our manager? I know it’s their job, but it’s kinda like a total stranger in the street asking you about your family life…
Hi Simon
Thanks for re-opening the age old debate about the ‘candidate experience’ that we have been on the soapbox about for over a decade. While I appreciate the comments of the recruiters who are overworked and inundated with 70 out of 100 candidates who are not relevant to the role advertised, I have no sympathy for individuals who cannot do the basic courtesy of responding to all candidates.
It is not hard to construct a basic email that explains your situation, what your process is and what the likelihood is of the candidate being qualified or contacted for the role. This isn’t even about ensuring the candidate stays in your pipeline or is a possible client later in life – it is just being human.
If your company can’t cope; get some technology, hire a graduate trainee/intern, stay at the office past 5pm, find a way to be human. It is not a process for candidates, it is a life changing experience. Remember the adage about ‘walking in another man’s shoes’? Try and see what it is like for a candidate and how they deal with your company.
See you at TruLondon, where the debate will continue with Simon.
Alan
The article certainly outlines the ten classic worse case recruitment flaws and some consultants are probably guilty of all ten! Equally good consultants, of which there are many, will aim not to make these mistakes.
With the shrinking in the industry over the last eighteen months there is indeed an arguement to say that the ones that have held on are the ones that are better at what they do. Being a better consultant would be to make less of the errors listed above.
That said some of the perceived errors above can be perceptual rather than real. Job adverts are often duplicated across a wide range of networks and jobs do get filled even though the adverts are still running. Sometimes the adverts can be removed but often the job adverts on job boards once posted stay until they expire.
As with all industries it is easy to throw mud and having been in recruitment for ten years and a recruitment trainer for five of those I can think of some people I’d like to throw some mud at! But equally I can think of very good business professionals who happen also to be consultants. They do quality work.
The value in the above list is as a check point for consultants in what not to do and how to be better than their competition!
Stephen