Mike McRitchie | Resume and LinkedIn Profile Writer | Telecom Marketing Content Writer

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10 Things Job Search Candidates do that Frustrate Recruiters

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Photo by Julien L on Unsplash

Working with recruiters and placement agencies can be a great thing.  But what you do as a candidate, and your expectations, can also determine your level of success.  Today we’ll look at 10 ways you can hurt your chances of landing your next job through a recruiter.

But before we do that, a little background on the different ways you can land your next job…

Apply Online

This is the quickest and easiest way of handling the job search process.  It can be done by you, at any time, day or night.  You just search online for the opportunities and submit your resume. Easy peasy.

Referral

The referral can be either you getting your resume to someone to submit on your behalf, or it can be a prior boss or coworker specifically recruiting you for a role based on your past work experience.  This is the method that has landed me my last 8 jobs in a row.  It moves you to the front of the line and is great if you’re just looking to move up or laterally in an industry.

Networking

This includes leveraging your LinkedIn network, friends, past coworkers, groups you belong to, industry association events, etc.  Like referrals this can be powerful.  Often you’ll want to work 3rd degree connections who are often more likely to refer you into a job than someone you know well.  I’ve often found this is the case because they aren’t putting their own reputation on the line as much.  They haven’t worked with you but can still pass you along without a recommendation – this get’s you into the hiring conversation, but without a big push by the referrer.

Recruiters and Placement Agencies

This is the one that seems the easiest.  Most recruiting companies and placement agencies don’t charge the job applicant for the search. They get paid by the future employer – either through a permanent placement fee or temp staffing markup and/or conversion fee when you convert to the company’s employee.  Employers like this model because it simplifies their life – the recruiter does all the legwork and they just interview finalists.  It also helps companies because they can try-before-you-buy with a candidate.  They get to see how you do in the job.  If you don’t work out it is less of a process to let you go.  They just call up the agency, and the agency takes care of it.

Okay.  Now that you understand the different ways to land a job, let’s talk recruiters specifically.

Working With Recruiters

Recruiters can often be your “fast-pass” entrance to some of the best jobs.  They get to submit candidates for jobs that may not have hit the “retail job market.”  Jobs you’ll never know about otherwise.

They’re usually looking to fill a specific opportunity.  Yes, some are trolling for generic candidates.  But even these fishing exercises are designed so they can respond quickly when a client opportunity presents itself.

You aren’t their client.  Their client is the one paying the bill.  And in the telecom business that is typically a wireless carrier, tower company, or construction company with lots of positions to fill.

The client most often retains a staffing company or recruiter to fill staffing needs related to projects.  Projects require staff.  And projects often don’t get staffed until they kick off.  This means they need to hire…and hire fast.  Sometimes it is a permanent placement.  Other times it is a bunch of temp positions just to get the client through a busy time.

When you enter the recruiter’s pipeline, you often are either a fit or not.  And they can typically tell that pretty quickly.

Working with recruiters is a great way to get access to a bigger piece of your target job market.

But as great as working with a recruiter is, job candidates can often unwittingly kill their current or future job placement chances with recruiters.

I’ve worked with many recruiters and staffing agencies over time in the telecom industry and have been a job candidate and have been on the client side hiring them to find people for my projects.

I reached out for the inside scoop of what recruiters see on their side working with job candidates and got their opinion as to what candidates should NOT do.

Thank you to Allie Pantaleoni with NextGen, who corralled some of her company’s recruiters and other team members to pull this list together.

Here’s how candidates ruin their recruiter relationship…

1) Ghosting

If you aren’t interested, are no longer on the market, or something came up, tell your recruiter.  Things happen.  They get it.  But responding is professional.  Don’t ruin your reputation in your industry.  Recruiters are people.  They talk.  They share their war stories.

2) Lack Transparency

Ignoring calls, not responding to  texts, cancelling interviews the same day.  Something’s up.  They know that.  Just be above board with them.  You don’t need to hide from your recruiter or dodge their messages.

3) Double Submit

Often agencies are competing against other agencies that a company has contracted with to provide candidates.  There are times where two or more agencies submit the same candidate.  You’d think that working with multiple staffing companies would increase your chances.  And while that is a possibility, not letting your agency know that another recruiter is submitting you for the same position can just cause problems for both recruiters you’re working with.  So be careful with this one.

4) Impatience

Recognize that recruiters have a lot on their plates.  But if you’re still in the running for a role, they WILL let you know of any important developments.  They DO want to keep you in the loop so you don’t lose interest.  But constantly bugging your recruiter for feedback when they’ve told you they haven’t heard back yet, calling after normal working hours repeatedly, on weekends, on their personal phone…not good. Once they have news, they WILL reach out to you.

5) Not Paying Attention to the Details

There is a lot of information to keep track of…both for you and your recruiter.  Things like hourly rate, overtime expectations, start and end times, scheduling details, etc.  Not paying attention, or not asking to clarify something to make sure you understand, can lead to future problems when an offer is presented and your recruiter is thinking the deal is done.

6) Backing Out of an Offer at the Last Minute.

Wow.  This is a biggie.  Your recruiter has been working on your behalf, selling you to their client.  Putting their own reputation on the line.  And then you back out.  It is one thing to back out when something changes or you get new information that affects the viability for you of this role.  But when you’re nodding your head, “okay” all the way through the process, accept the offer, and then back out.  That’s really bad.  So if things are not sounding right, deal with it before you get to that point.  And one thing you can do to avoid this is to, earlier in the process, REALLY consider what it will be like to step into this new role.  Many times people with an existing job like the CONCEPT of the new job, but when it gets down to actually TAKING the job, they get cold feet and stay where they are.

7) No Show to Interviews

Run into a problem before an interview?  Have a last minute conflict that you can’t avoid (maybe with your current job), reach out to your recruiter.  Much better to let them reschedule your interview or put it on hold due to some new development, rather than leave them in the dark and no show the interview.  Your recruiter is often ready and willing to help come up with a solution. If an emergency arises, please contact them!

8) Blame

Many times, a candidate gets through the hiring process to the point of an offer being made.  Then they get frustrated at the recruiter for the pay range being offered.  Don’t blame the recruiter.  Pay ranges are typically dictated by the client company.  Yes, your recruiter should let you know if you’re in the pay range prior to an offer coming in, but getting frustrated with the recruiter because you didn’t get the number you wanted isn’t fair and won’t help you build a strong recruiter relationship for the next opportunity.

9) Updated Resume

Not keeping resume up-to-date when active in the job market.  This is on you.  When a recruiter reaches out to you, they often have a job opening in hand they are trying to fill.  If you have your resume updated and ready to go, they can react quickly.  And this often means you get submitted and make the short list.  Don’t have a resume updated means it takes a few days to a few weeks to get it there.  Often it is a rush job which means it isn’t reflecting your abilities, experience, and accomplishments to their fullest.  And then you miss out.  That can be frustrating for a recruiter who KNOWS you’d be AWESOME in the role.  But because your resume isn’t ready for primetime, you both miss out. So get started on updating your resume.

10) Transparency

Being clear on your requirements up front is important.  No point in having your recruiter submit you for a part time role when you’ll only accept full time.  Or requiring a 100% remote role when they thought a flexible work schedule with 3 days a week work-from-home would have been acceptable.  If there are deal-killers, get them out there early so you aren’t wasting each other’s time.

There you have it.  10 things you should avoid doing that will hurt your job placement chances working with recruiters.

Need an updated resume?  Check out my services and how I might help.

In the telecom business and looking to add a staffing agency to your job search resources?  Reach out to NextGen.

NextGen, now part of the Kelly Science, Engineering, Technology, and Telecom Division, is committed to consequential and imaginative solutions and delivery to meet the needs of Service Providers, Energy, Private Networks, Education, and Alternative Industries.

NextGen’s core focus is finding the right solution or resource and delivering the most talented people in the field with the proper fit and within budget. NextGen performs a comprehensive analysis for all their clients. They assess, recommend, and implement the best solution or resource for the client’s specific requirement.

Under-the-Radar Wireless Staffing Agency…hidden in the Pacific Northwest

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Hinge Wireless Telecommunications Staffing Agency Pacific Northwest Jeanette Evans

Big staffing companies…like turf vendors…often dominate the telecom landscape.

They suck up all the oxygen as they bring a scale and market dominance that often drives out smaller mom and pop agencies.

But tucked away among giants like Amazon, Microsoft, T-Mobile, Verizon, AT&T…in the shadow of the Space Needle in the Pacific Northwest…a boutique wireless telecom staffing company has managed to successfully place top performers throughout the telecom employer market.  Without being crushed by the 800-pound gorilla agencies.

Why does this matter to you?

49.

Yes.  49.

That’s the number of companies this company has had staffing requisitions with.

An unheard number…especially for a smaller agency.

By working with them…you get insider preference to opportunities not visible to many job searchers…and many not even visible to the Big Agency Types.

A leg up on the competition.

So… are you working with them yet?

“Hinge” is the name.

Started in 2015, a fledgling staffing service company was born…one of the few with team members who actually worked in many of the positions they source.

The founder, Jeanette Evans, built regional and national relationships throughout her business development career in telecom before moving into the staffing realm. 

YOU get to leverage HER relationships.

It’s like she’s done all the heavy lifting for you.

Jeanette and her team make it easy to work with them.  Just reach out to Gabi (gabi.dasilva@hingewa.com)  to get on their radar.

Here’s some job postings they’re currently sourcing…

Maybe they have the right one for your next career adventure!

Want to be in the loop as I share wireless telecom job opportunities, career boosting insights, and get a couple of quick-start lists of companies that hire and recruiters you need to be connected with in the wireless telecom space?

Go check it out here ==> https://mikemcritchie.com/wireless-telecom-jobs-list/

An Open Letter to Staffing Company Candidate Recruiters and Job Searchers – From A Hiring Manager – How the Candidate Sourcing Process Really Works

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Candidate Sourcing | Recruiter | Staffing Company | Hiring Manager
Photo via Foter.com
Photo via Foter.com

If you’re a recruiter who sources candidates for temp or perm placement, then you’re probably used to getting bland, boring corporate procedure manuals on how to source candidates.  Or you’re thrown to the wolves and expected to figure it all out, with minimal training, while you scrape by paycheck-to-paycheck trying to get your candidates placed.

This is not that.

Trust me, I’ll get to the point quickly and you’ll have a little fun learning how to source candidates that will make a hiring manager, like me, salivate and ultimately choose your candidates more often.

And if you’re on the job hunt pay attention to how this works behind the scenes so you can craft your resume and approach accordingly.

So here’s the deal.

Hiring managers aren’t just hiring managers.  They have their day job.  And hiring is a pain.  We don’t like to do it.  But it is a necessary evil.

In general, we suck at it.

And our in house recruiter is overloaded, and has so many other tasks to take care of, that they just can’t help us along much in the process.

Option 1: Direct Referral

So we often ask coworkers and our industry network who they know who might be good for the job.  And if we find someone who is referred, we often do a quick interview, and if they can fog a mirror and not piss us off, we’ll hire them.

Because our planning sucks.

We don’t get to hire ahead of the need and get them onboarded smoothly and have them up to speed before the tsunami hits.

Noooo.

We have to wait until we have a screaming need (i.e. we’re doing two jobs ourselves).

Then we need someone now!

Option 2: The In-House Recruiter

So what happens when we can’t find a referral?

Then we dredge the bottom of our in house recruiter pool of cobwebby candidates who are out of work for a reason or are the industry retreads and job hoppers who are likely to stay in the role six months to a year before they’re on to their next bigger and better thing.

So if we hire one of them then we stave off the pain but often it comes back with a vengeance in a month or two.

Option 3: Recruiting/Staffing Firm

This is where you come in.

We don’t come to you unless we have to.

Why?

Because our bosses are cheap (no really they are). 

They get so hung up on the bottom line that they can’t see they are costing the company money due to rehires and lost productivity from bad hires.

And they don’t really understand the recruiting process themselves so they just can’t understand the need for a recruiting/staffing company’s help.

They’re hung up on the sticker shock of a recruiting fee. But really, to avoid the horrible HR nightmare of letting go a bad hire (even in a right-to-work state, and especially in the center of the universe called California), it is often worth it.

But you must supply good candidates…

So here’s the deal.  As a recruiting company, and you as the recruiter trying to find and supply candidates, you can’t just provide so-so candidates.

Why?

Because they won’t convert.

Yes, they may be someone the hiring manager uses as a comparison of who not to hire to make the others look better.

But you’re not doing the candidate any favors. Because if they’re not great, they won’t get the job anyway.

Why else do you need awesome candidates?

  • COMPETITION: Because your company is often competing against other staffing companies for the same placement. And in that environment speed and quality wins.
  • REPUTATION: Because if you supply so so candidates the hiring manager will start to assume you provide the same bad level of retread candidates that their in house recruiter or HR manager does. And then you can kiss future placements goodbye.
  • YOUR CAREER AND THEIR JOB: Because if you submit bad candidates, and don’t get placements, the candidate loses, and you lose. You get paid on a commission basis to produce, right?  And you want to progress in your career and make more money if you’re putting in the effort don’t you?

So who are the top-notch candidates?

  • GO-TO LIST: First you have your go-to list. Whether those contacts are those you’ve worked with in the industry, or candidates in your applicant tracking system (you are using that and ranking your candidates for future use, right?).

But often that list isn’t sufficient.

  • OUT OF WORK: So you have the people on the street. Those who are out of work and looking.  This is a motivated bunch (which is good because they are less likely to be salary sensitive when they’re bank balance is rapidly shrinking) but you need to be good at separating the good from the not so good.  References (other than managers) can be a good way to check out a candidate.

So you hit the final group.

  • HAPPY BUT LOOKING: The last group is the one you’re trying to coax out of a current role by selling them on a great opportunity. The key here is to know the job well to be able to effectively sell the candidate on checking out the opportunity.  You’ll often be trolling LinkedIn looking for accomplished people where this would be an appropriate next step in their career.

Now I’m not going to tell you how to do your job.

The last group often is the hardest to convert.

But those are the people we hiring managers love.

They’re the 3-5 year contributor.

The one we can train and won’t leave for a couple grand more a year.

So that’s the deal.

We Want Quality Candidates

To wrap up, hiring managers want quality candidates.  And you won’t get the call until we hiring managers have exhausted our own connections and internal recruiting sources.

But once you’re brought in, you often have a high probability of placement on your hands.  Don’t squander the opportunity.

Sincerely,

Your Friendly Hiring Manager (spilling his trade secrets to you)

P. S. Have a great candidate but their resume is old, tired, and unmemorable? Should you present it as is?

No way!  Don’t damage your reputation.

Kick it back to them for rework.  You have your professional reputation at stake as well as theirs.  By presenting an underwhelming resume you’re not doing them any favors.

And if they don’t have the time or ability to improve it, point them in the direction of a good resume writer to knock it out for them.  It would be well worth the few hundred dollars to give them a shot at landing that job.

Insights Into The Secret Lives Of Recruiters

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Recruiter Secrets
Photo credit: San Diego Shooter via Foter.com / CC BY-NC-ND

From the outside looking in they often seem cryptic, crazy, or an enigma.

As a candidate you may have been contacted by one.  Or they’re working on a job opportunity for you but have gone radio silent.  And you wonder if they’ve forgotten you or just haven’t heard back from the client.

In a prior post How Recruiters Think…Why Your Phone Isn’t Ringing…And Why It Might Not Be You I give you some of my insights into the recruiter world and how you might navigate it effectively.

In this post I take an article I read – Top 17 Songs Every Recruiter Can Relate to – and analyze each of the 17 “Songs” to give you an extra sense of what you’re dealing with.  And for recruiters reading this, you can probably recognize many of these situations.  I won’t cover all the 17 but pick out some highlights.

Inside the Secret Lives of Recruiters

#3 – Going directly to the hiring manager behind the back of HR (or the proper recruiting channels).

The best recruiters know that the deal is made with the hiring manager, not HR.  HR (or the designed recruiting process) is what is in place to make sure HR is kept in the loop and can make sense of things.  It is not for the benefit of the recruiter, or for that matter the candidate.

HR generally has way too many applications to process.  But the hiring manager is often not adept and doing effective screenings.  So if you’r ea good recruiter you satisfy the HR person and at the same time do what you can to develop a connection with the hiring manager so your candidate moves to the top of the list.

As a job candidate working with a recruiter, having someone who is good at what they do, and is getting in front of hiring managers, can improve your chances from 1 in 50 to 1 in 3 (by eliminating the competition other than the other 2 candidates your recruiter supplied to the hiring manager).

#5 – Sifting through rubbish applications.

Dealing with sucky resumes and job applications.  And often the insane follow up expectations that candidates have (twice-a-day follow up is too much).  Recruiting is often a volume game.  But that volume can at times be overwhelming.  And sorting through bad resumes can seem like you’re looking for a needle in a haystack.

This is where a good resume writer can be worth their weight in gold.  Get a resume that is well written and you jump from #80 of 200 to #5 or #10.  And if you can not annoy the hell out of your recruiter, they’ll do their best to put you at the front of the line.

#7 – Everyone’s replaceable.

Recruiters love it when they find the “perfect match”.  But often that perfection is a smokescreen for dysfunctional, unrealistic prima donnas.  And if the “perfect one” falls through, they often find another gem.

As a candidate you need to make sure you don’t oversell yourself.  If you’re remaining in the same industry and working with the same people you have in the past.  And assuming you did an awesome job.  You will likely be able to find yourself at the top of the candidate list.  And if the numbers work, you’re often in.

But what if you’re looking in a new industry?  Or looking to work for someone who doesn’t know you or your great reputation?  Well like someone selling their house, you view yourself higher than someone with no experience with you would.  For them you’re a scary unknown, not a must have hire.  So recognize that when you’re making your pitch.

#9 – The Pile of new requisitions to work.

This can be perfect timing for the candidate.  You’re in demand.  More opportunities than people to fill them.  But be careful with this situation too.  The mass hire to fill the team for a new project often means they hire many undesirables…people who are unemployed for a reason. Basically they were let go from other companies due to incompetence or drama.

So before you say yes to an opportunity that was way too easy to land, know it just might be that way for a reason.  So that is the time to evaluate it a second time.

Bonus Secret

So given the insights already mentioned, what’s one thing I can do to boost my chances (assuming I have a solid resume and there’s an available position the recruiter would be placing me in)?

Recognize that recruiters are people too (check out the rest of the “Songs” to get a sense of what they deal with on a daily basis.  It may give you a new perspective and allow you to connect with recruiters better and develop a good rapport.  And by doing that the recruiter will often work harder on your behalf than they would if you were a pain in their butt.

Enjoy!

Top Tips for Hiring Managers and Recruiters

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Whether you’re a recruiter or a hiring manager (or you’re checking out what recruiters and hiring managers are thinking when you’re starting your next job search), finding the right candidate for an opportunity can be challenging at best.  And reading between the lines on resumes, getting the most from interviews, and closing the deal – all have their challenges.

So to help you through this process I’ve pulled some of the top blog posts that relate to this subject to help you handle your most challenging issues and get the hire done.

Spark Hire

First off let’s go to Spark Hire a source of video interviewing solutions.

Why Retention is the Key to Successful Recruitment Strategy in 2016

60 percent of candidates take into account an employer’s reputation when applying for jobs and 68 percent of job seekers will accept a lower salary for a company that makes a great impression

three in five Americans would rather spend a night in jail than go without benefits like health insurance, 401(k), and paid time off

top three reasons people change jobs are a lack of opportunities for advancement and dissatisfaction with the company culture and leadership

8 Candidate Questions You Need to Be Prepared to Answer

For recruiters, hiring managers, and candidates – here’s eight questions that are on everyone’s mind these days.  Be prepared to ask or answer these.

How to Get Honest Answers From Candidates in a Job Interview

This is an area that many hiring managers struggle with.  Being that they aren’t interviewing experts or HR professionals, getting an honest answer can be tough.  Finding out in the first 90 days that the candidate isn’t what they respresented is more painful.

Asking the unexpected:

  1. The Magic Wand (“if you had a magic wand & could improve 3 things about your current job) – the best predictor of future behavior is past behavior!
  2. The Fly on the Wall (“tell me about a time when you handled a situation at your job poorly) – a subtle way to dig deeper into the candidate’s working style and leads you to focusing your time and energy on qualified candidates
  3. The Most Difficult Experience (tell me about the most difficult experience you ever handled on the job) – probes for problem-solving and interpersonal skills

The Recruiting Reel Episode 3: Tips for First-Time Recruiters

New to the recruiting business?  Check out the ideas in this post.  A couple high points are:

There is a secret formula about success in recruitment…lots of appropriate activity.

And…

Never ever mess with your reputation.

How To Tell If A Candidate Isn’t Interested

Want to know when to cut things short?  Like a first date that isn’t going well, knowing when to wrap up the interview or move past a candidate will save your energy and time for candidates who are a better fit.

…if your candidate’s questions stop after asking details in the pay and benefits, then this is a red flag.

Recruiter

Recruiter.com drives top talent to companies that want to hire them. Their Job Market distributes open jobs from employers to the largest network of recruiters on the planet.

Their centralized platform serves as a single point of contact for job seekers, recruiters and hiring managers.

5 Traits to Look For When Hiring Remote Workers

These days there are more remote workers and remote contractors that are required to get the job done.  Much of this is due to the specialized nature of the tasks at hand and the technology now available to make remote working a viable option for companies.

We look for people that are self-starters/have a high degree of independence, value continuous learning, and are receptive to feedback…

Previous work-at-home experience is a plus, especially if they’ve done it for a long time…

 

Undercover Recruiter

Undercover Recruiter  Undercover Recruiter is the #1 recruitment and career blog in the world.

The 8 Things No Recruiter (Ever) Wants to See On Your Resume

10 Awesome Interview Tips From Actual Hiring Managers

Preparing for, performing in, and handling the post-interview process is critical to both a recruiter or hiring manager’s effectiveness and the same with candidates.  Check out some useful tips here.

More than one in five hiring managers surveyed by CareerBuilder say they are less likely to hire a candidate who didn’t send a thank-you note. – Career Builder

I think every recruiter on the planet wants to give their candidates a first-class experience, but we have limited resources. If you’re too aggressive or unpolished during the interview process, companies will think, ‘Wow, this person is going to be really high maintenance if we do hire them. Pass!’” – Brazen 

Business.com/Recruiting

Business.com/Recruiting

The Small Business Guide to Recruiting and Hiring

 

69 percent of recruiters have had to increase salary offers due to negotiations

More than half of recruiters say lack of qualified talent is their biggest obstacle

78 percent of recruiters find their best candidates from referrals

 

Attract the Top Talent: Tips for Hiring Millennials in 2016

If your hiring process isn’t yet accounting for the Millennial workforce you need to get on board.  Despite the bad rap, Millennials are an ever-growing and highly talented hiring pool you don’t want to ignore.  Here’s how to get more from your Millennial hire opportunities.

Millennial workers are some of the most multi-talented employees. While a candidate may have majored in engineering, he may have also taught himself HTML and CSS, have a side hustle doing graphic design and run his own industry blog.

 

Brazen

Brazen.  Everyone deserves a job they love.

3 Things Candidates Care About More Than Money

What are candidates looking for these days?

According to CareerBuilder, one in five employees plan to change jobs in 2016

65% of workers ranked “job stability” as the most important factor when choosing a new job.

Glassdoor found that 96% of job seekers say that it’s important to work for a transparent company

 

Whether you’re new to this recruiting, interviewing, hiring process or a grizzled veteran, the field is constantly evolving.  You need to continue to bring your “A” Game – just as the candidates need to  evolve themselves too.

Now go make that next hire happen!  Like what you see?  Please share and like on your social networks.

 

Additional Resources You Might Like

How Recruiters Think…Why Your Phone Isn’t Ringing…And Why It Might Not Be You

[How to Get That Job] Insider Secrets to Candidate Selection

Do Millennials Know the Secret?

Ultimate Productivity Tips List: 74 Impactful Ways to Get the Most from Your Day

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