Recruiters in recent times certainly have gotten a bad name. They don’t listen to the needs of the candidates and most often they (candidates) feel that the recruiters are usually using them to meet the respective quota for recruiting in companies.
They are usually bad-mouthed for their unreliability and often standing firm in their beliefs in old methods of sales techniques. A minority of these recruiters are harshly judged because what happens in a candidate’s work life is simply outside the control of a recruiter.
For example, changing jobs, getting laid off, losing a project and so on. That doesn’t hide the fact that certain activities and practices do not help the public to see these recruiters in a positive light, especially in the recruitment industry.
As mentioned before, there are many tricks and schemes that these recruiters use to keep up with the quota. That include:
Recruitment Consultants Tips and Tricks:
1. General position calls:
Usually, these recruiters would put up advertisements (the paper, Craigslist) just so that interested candidates would call them up expecting a job.
While making such a call, handle the approach as most of these advertisements play to source basic information from the candidates. This happens so that these recruiters can extend their “candidate database” to potential clients/companies.
2. Baiting:
Be careful when a recruiter informs you, “we have an offer for you” or “I’ve booked a job best for your skill level “. They promise to contact you (which they never do) and when asked about the job offer they usually make up an excuse. This is just a conceptual trick to boost up your hopes and then leave you hanging.
3. Pigeon-holed:
When registering for a recruitment company, there is a higher chance that you might get pigeon-holed. Even if other companies come with exciting offers and chances, you might not be even considered.
Even if you have more qualifications than don’t guarantee you that you won’t be kept aside. So, the best method to prevent such happening is to give only details that are relevant to the job you are applying.
4. Silence:
This usually happens when you have done something wrong in the eyes of the recruitment company hence causing a bad name for them. For instance, rejecting a job that you thought was not suitable for you, taking leave on the first day of your job.
This will make them put you in their embargo list and most often boycott you from future prospectives. The chances of happening such things are usually low.
5. References:
Do not give your best references to recruitment companies. Save the best for the last or for jobs that you feel you are worth.
6. Calling themselves as ‘consultants’:
This is a misleading term. They are not consultants rather they work for a company where they are paid. They are just basically acting as middlemen in helping you find a job.
So do not come under the pretense that they are working for you. They are agents for the company, not for you.
7. Amateurish:
Recruitment consultants usually don’t have any experience or knowledge in the field that you are applying to.
It is your knowledge and competence that benefits them. Unfortunately, they are also the ones that have an upper hand in your career and work-related choices.
8. Beware of your surroundings:
Do not trust an individual who is not taking notes about your skills while conversing with you. Try to be careful to whom you give your personal information to. Do not get yourself involved in some employment or job scams.
9. Never give second chances:
When a recruitment consultant ignores your application, forgive them. Consider it as a mistake from their side. But if they repeat the same mistake, change from that recruitment establishment as soon as possible. If they don’t bother in submitting your application it’s time that you part ways with that firm.
Another bad practice is not giving feedback to the rejected candidates. Usually, this is since these consultants are seldom trained in this aspect and they hate giving feedbacks since they do not get any profit from the candidate in doing so.
Moreover, keep in track of what all companies and firms, the recruitment has forwarded your C.V or resume to. In this way, you can prevent getting proposals from jobs that you are not interested in.
How to Deal with Recruitment Consultants?
Usually, recruitment agencies defend themselves by stating that they find people for jobs and not vice-versa. They also add the fact that they take time in matching the skills of the applicants to the jobs that they are assigned to.
Hence, they are usually noisy in their client’s prospects and such. The only way to tackle such problems is for both parties to cooperate. A disagreement between both sides will make a negative impact on your work.
Below are certain things that you can follow as a candidate while handling such recruiters. These include:
1. Attend their calls:
Try to attend their calls if possible. If you are in a meeting or at work or some social gathering and a recruiter calls you, try to be as calm as possible and inform them to call after some time.
Do not get passively/overly aggressive on them and slam the telephone just because they called you at the wrong time.
2. Try, to be honest:
Do not add any false information when a recruiter is asking you about your previous or current job. They eventually will do a background check on you. In case you are lying, they’ll most probably blacklist you and you might end up being unemployed just because of a lie.
Try to be trustworthy and honest and provide them with only the required details. Too much information can also backlash at you when applying via an agency.
3. Stay in touch:
Keeping in touch with your consultant is always a good idea. Try to keep up with what all companies the recruiter have applied your resume to. But do not turn into an obsessive pursuant.
There is a fine line between staying in touch and being a stalker. That doesn’t mean that you don’t have the right to enquire about your job.
Try to be friendly but don’t go over the point where they feel uncomfortable and burdened by you. If they are responsible enough, they will inform you about the jobs available.
4. Steady relationship:
Always try to keep a long lasting professional relationship with your recruitment consultants. Do not wait until the last moment when you are searching for jobs and finding a recruiter.
The relationship between a candidate and their recruitment consultant is based on trust. So try to connect and expand your social network within recruiters while you still employed. Moreover, this can also give the recruiter a basic idea of what expertise you’re off. Hence, more tailored jobs for you.
One of the main factors, why most people find recruiters annoying, is that many of the professional industries saturating. This means that competition is also increasing. More and more talented individuals hire while people having mediocre experience shunting.
Hence job searching becomes more and more difficult. This is where the role of a recruitment consultant also knows as headhunters come in. And recruiting being a sales industry, the recruitment consultancy takes maximum benefit from desperate candidates for their benefit. This sounds harsh, but such competition is necessary for this fast pace life.
How to Find the Right Recruiter?
In most of the consulting cases finding the right person who could provide you with the correct job is a tedious task. Many traits can find in an ideal recruiter. These are:
They are true to their word and also respect your schedule as an individual. They do not try to barge in and disrupt your work life.
1. Recruiters try to contact you at a fixed time.
They are true to their word and also respect your schedule as an individual. They do not try to barge in and disrupt your work life.
2. They have a basic knowledge of the area that you are applying to.
If they are knowledgeable they can understand the terminology used in the industry and try to improve your skillset by recommending you for further certifications required for the job applied.
3. They provide you with alternatives in which you are interested.
They always try to improve you as a working individual and can give you tips on how to manage your social profiles (for example, LinkedIn) to attract future employers and other companies.
4. They are open to criticisms.
They are usually open for feedback which can help them in meeting future candidates and supervisors.
5. They provide feedback to the rejected candidates.
They try to inform the rejected candidates about what went wrong during the interview and what all factors take into consideration by the company representatives. This is usually not a common practice, but if they do so, take it as a form of constructive criticism.
6. They have high and satisfactory recommendations.
Try to do a background check on the recruiter that you associated with. Try to check how satisfactory he is in his work. No one wants to work with an individual who is not good at his job.
7. They have an interesting clientele.
If they are seasoned and highly trained, they will naturally have an impressive list of clients. This also adds an extra assurance to the candidate and a sense of trust towards the recruiter.
8. They are interested in meeting you and try to collect information in your area of expertise.
Usually, recruiters try to meet the candidates personally, if not they will contact them telephonically. Communication is a basic necessity in this field. Not being able to contact a job seeker always considers a big failure from the recruiter.
9. They do not trample on your expectations and gives you false hopes.
An ethical recruiter tries to be as frank as possible towards the candidates and does not make them interested in lies. Try to stay away from recruiters ho are giving you false advertisements and trick you into believing that there are tons of jobs waiting for you.
10. They have a really good relationship with the supervisors in various companies.
Experienced recruiters gain trust with companies and clients throughout the years. This naturally reflects in their social network. As a middleman between the client and the company, the supervisors also believe that the right recruiter can provide the best candidate for them and that the company won’t regret in hiring such a candidate.
Also, try to find the right recruiter depending on the type of employment that you want. That is, if you prefer a permanent or a temporary job or if you want to work in an environment that is highly dynamic and is unpredictable.
Why Recruiters follow such practices?
We as candidates are always happy about the idea of someone else searching for a job for us. But in reality, most of the permanent jobs in an organization are procured through the traditional method – that is applying directly to the company.
Recruitment consultants often hired by the company act as a bridge between the public and the company. Such recruiters are based on commissions which are usually based on the number of applicants they provide to the companies.
Also, takes time to provide such applicants. They are usually busy filling their wallets and supplying candidate information just to meet the sales goal assigned to them. They usually drive by financial incentives.
Such aggressive marketing is the main reason why many of the candidates and recruitment consultants end up on a bad note. As a candidate, try to be optimistic and also remember that there are tons of opportunities waiting for you and that it is a matter of time that you get a job that you are comfortable in. Recruitment consultants are a part of this process too.
