As the founder and owner of a boutique style recruiting and consulting firm (See my blog about BOUTIQUE STAFFING here), I found it a bit disheartening to read this article from The Recruiter about recent ugly exchanges between a couple of recruiters and job seekers. Unfortunately, in these exchanges recruiters spoke in an unprofessional, arrogant tone, suggesting that candidates should be more appreciative of their assistance, and regard their opinion highly. We can’t be sure if inexperience, pent-up animosity because of their own career or life choices, simply a bad day or another unseen factor led these recruiters to make these comments. I believe that there are always two sides to every store-perhaps there is something we’re not seeing here. But no matter what the back-story or motives, stories like this are bad for recruiters everywhere.
At Building Team Solutions, our goal is always to give back to and serve our candidates and clients. While we want to meet our clients’ expectations, we also want to impact our candidates’ lives positively. We strongly believe that every candidate should be treated with respect. We’re always willing to provide candidates with helpful tips and constructive criticism that might help improve their resume and land a job, but we always make sure to deliver these tips in a tactful, appropriate manner. I completely understand that sometimes the day-to-day stresses in life can cause a person to speak or act before they think through the consequences. However, recruiters and managers alike need to understand the importance of treating candidates as they would want to be treated in a similar situation. In any recruiting or staffing agency, it’s the manager’s responsibility to hire quality recruiters and monitor them consistently. ensuring that they’re always focusing on building quality relationships while meeting candidate and client expectations.
At Building Team Solutions we strive to ensure that we’re meeting our clients’ expectations without discouraging an individual in their job search. In general, we use the following questions as guidelines:
1) Based on this resume, is said candidate a true match for our client?
-If the answer is “No”-We will file their application, thank them for their interest, and end the conversation
-If the answer is “Yes”-We will keep the application on hand, and re-engage the conversation on another day
2) Is said candidate a “potential” match?
-If the answer is “No”-Again, we will file their application, thank them for their interest, and end the conversation
-If the answer is “Yes”-We will keep the application, consider possibly re-engaging another day or handing it over to another recruiter.
3) Does said candidate display socially inappropriate behavior?
-If the answer is “Yes”-We will treat them with respect, but delete their application and end the conversation
-If the answer is “No “-We will keep their application, and continue the process
All in all, it never hurts to say, “I’m sorry” if you, as a recruiter, feel that a conversation with a candidate is heading the wrong way. Take a deep breath and consider whether or not your words might hurt someone or have unexpected consequences in the future. Always remember and communicate to candidates that your job is to find the right person for a job, and that they shouldn’t take it personally if the person isn’t them. Stay positive, keep calm, and focus on being a professional-even if, or better yet, especially if the person on the other end of the conversation is not being one themselves.