Are You Committing Recruitercide?

Wonder why recruiters are not returning your calls? How many resumes have you sent with little or no response? Ever wonder why a recruiter is reluctant to provide “feedback” in the hopes it will help you figure out what you are doing wrong in an interview? Next time you get the cold shoulder or a blank stare from a recruiter you might just stop and reflect, “Am I committing “recruitercide?”

What is recruitercide you may ask? It’s when you kill your chances at ever making a good impression on a recruiter. You might think, “Screw the recruiter, I only need to get the hiring manager to like me!” well, think again. The recruiter is your entre into or out of a company or job interview you are wanting in the worst possible way. I’m not suggesting all recruiters are gatekeepers, but chances are mostly all have a valuable say in terms of who gets in or out of the interview line-up.

We all know how competitive the job market continues to be. Yes, there are more jobs created but the amount of people who are applying for those jobs is proportionately greater. Add in the factor of how technology is “expediting” that process and you can only imagine how the life of the recruiter has turned into the “Night of the Living Job Seeker!” Yes, in most cases you do look like a bunch of job-seeking zombies looking for the fresh scent of a new job. Finding the right candidate has become a virtual nightmare, as recruiters have to fend off the job seeker like a scene from “The Walking Dead”. It’s not a pretty sight. But knowing how to arm yourself with the tools and the skills to regal not repel a recruiter is something they don’t teach you when you are out looking for a job.

Maybe it’s wise to put yourself in the place of a recruiter for a day. Do you have any idea the number of resumes, online applications, tracking systems, requisitions, Linked-In profiles, hiring approvals, job posting boards and scheduling the recruiter has to do to even get a slate of qualified candidates lined up for one position? Think the movie “Source Code” and you’ll get a sense of the timing, endless repetition and the feeling you are saving the world to get a sense of the pressure that a recruiter is under.

It’s actually your job as a job seeker to make the process easier and well, maybe even a little enjoyable. I’m not suggesting you come to the interview with a cocktail shaker filled with a martini mix (although some recruiters I’m sure would not mind). But making the experience a memorable one for the recruiter is key. Consider that you are competing against a great mass of over-qualified, really qualified and not in the least qualified candidates all hammering for the attention of one, lonely and tired recruiter. How would you like having that many people thrust upon you and your job is to have to make the decision who gets in front of the hiring manager without making the recruiter look like they are not doing a good enough job?

So next time you think no one loves you when you don’t get a call back from a recruiter or no one responds to your resume thinking yours is the only one they’ve received, have a little understanding. Remember it’s up to you to make an impression and have great follow up skills and yes, help the recruiter out by being patient, courteous and diplomatic when you are asking them to consider you for a job.

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