In most cases candidates are ignorant as to what a recruiter’s job entails and how the recruitment industry works. So often their communication to recruitment consultants comes across as irritating or sometimes just plain rude.
One consultant stated the following on LinkedIn – and these sentiments are felt by the majority of recruiters:
“I’m getting tired of candidates sending me their friend’s resumes; I’m also getting tired of receiving unsolicited resumes through LinkedIn and people who come to my web site. When I’m recruiting, a resume is only worth something if I have a search that aligns with the candidate it represents. I don’t really care whose looking for work when I’m recruiting; I care whose looking for talent. Seems harsh but it’s true. I care about helping people, but I need to make a living too.”
Here follows some tips to assist you in dealing professionally with a recruitment consultant:
- Don’t ask recruiters to meet with you out of the blue.
Ask yourself: Why would a recruiter want to meet you? Are you a candidate for a role he or she has posted? Do you have potential clients for them? What is your value proposition? If you would like to meet with a recruitment consultant, be prepared to offer something of value.
- Don’t send unsolicited CVs.
Unsolicited CVs get deleted. There is absolutely NOTHING we can do for you as recruiters unless we have a suitable vacancy on our job board. Loading your CV onto our database is probably the best we can do – but even so, your CV will simply just sit there.
- Research the Job Details before Contacting a Recruiter
By contacting a recruiter randomly about “some” job you saw on their website is wasting not only the recruiter’s time, but also yours. Recruiters will often be working several job specs at the same time, so without the specific job title or specification details, they will be unable to link you to a vacancy. And we are quite good at determining whether a caller is “fishing” for any job opportunity and not actually calling about a specific role.
- Calling your Recruiter
If you want to stay in touch with a recruiter, don’t call every 2 weeks to find out “If you have anything for me”. Once interviewed, you would be on the active database and be contacted should the recruiter feel they have a suitable match between your skills and experience and a job spec. If your CV or circumstances were to change – sending an email is a much better option. The recruiter will then have a written record thereof and be able to update your profile in his / her own time. Have a look on their website instead as to what vacancies are listed.
5. After Interviewing with a Client
Don’t call the recruiter often to find out if the client has reported back regarding an interview you attended. The recruiter wants to place the job and will feedback to you once she has received feedback from the client. Be patient.