I have worked in the recruitment industry for ten years now, and have been in the workforce for well over thirty years. I love to work; I have always loved starting new jobs and have never really minded the application/interview/offer/negotiation process. Each company or individual with whom I have gone through this process has been great and I have had only good experiences. And do you know why? Because I only applied to jobs for which I was qualified. This seems to be a rarity these days as I field seemingly endless incoming resumes and applications for various positions.
We hear an incredible amount of talk these days about The Candidate Experience and making sure candidates are well taken care of. Frankly, I am sick to death of recruiters and hiring managers not being taken care of. Yes, this is a sound off, yes, I am a bit perturbed as I sift through the fifty plus resumes in my inbox, of which only three belong to somewhat qualified candidates. I am shaking my fist and ready to fight for Recruiters’ Rights, for Hiring Managers’ Freedoms.
Every recruiter and hiring manager has the right to receive resumes and applications from smart, qualified candidates – candidates who understand the position for which they are applying. Recently, a hiring manager, who also happens to be the CEO of a small tech company was looking to hire a junior developer – a junior techie. Sadly, several applications and resumes later, only one seemed remotely close to a fit at first glance-over. The CEO conducted a phone interview – the candidate was merely alright. Merely.
But somehow, through some convoluted and clandestine search of his own, this candidate got a hold of the CEO’s cell number and his home number and proceeded to call incessantly, one afternoon chalking up eight calls in two hours! And that was all it took. This hiring manager’s freedoms had been violated; he had not led the candidate on – he had told him that others were to be interviewed before a next step would be discussed. Recruiters and hiring managers have the right to qualified candidates. It is their job to be discriminatory, saying no to many and yes to one. When a candidate with no evident applicable skill or visible propensity for a particular job applies, are the applicants un-smart? Are they stubborn? Are they non-savvy? Are they delusional? Are they a pain? Some or all of the above are correct. And these are not attributes a hiring manager looks for in a new employee.
Unqualified candidates…, hello out there… You are not owed an interview if you are without qualifications for a position. I wonder if you are even owed an email back saying you are not getting an interview. If you are unqualified and cannot prove a reason for consideration, how could you possibly prove a reason for hire? When unemployment is high, there is going to be an inordinate amount of applicants streaming in. Not every position warrants nor should it require direct recruitment (headhunting). Recruiters or Hiring Managers who use job boards or social channels should not be subjected to a bad recruiter experience because they spread the news via the internet or (gulp!) classified ads in a newspaper.
I have always taken care of candidates who have been interviewed, calling them back to tell them no is one of the hardest parts of my job, but I do it. Why? Because I should, it is the decent thing to do. Quick question, how long do you have to pay it forward? That’s what I thought…
Rayanne Thorn, @ray_anne is the Marketing Director for the online recruiting software company, Broadbean Technology. She is also a proud mother of four residing in Laguna Beach, California, and a contributor for Blogging4Jobs. Connect with her on LinkedIn.
{ 10 comments… read them below or add one }
I like your article. I think that social media has done a disservice to people in a way. They are served everything on a platter and do not read anything, it seems.
However, there is also the other reality that says that, no matter your degrees, you are too qualified. I have gone through that myself for the last 3 years.
So, yes I agree with you on the principles. A hiring manager has the right to privacy and to only see qualified candidates. But, there are other factors at play sometimes.
Thank you for commenting, Cendrine. I would agree with the sometimes disservice social media can bring. We have become a “microwave” society wanting everything here and now – quickly and ready for consumption. There are very few who really read everything and gain a thorough understanding of the offering before them. And of course, other factors are sometimes, at play. There are those who may wish to change industries and think they are qualified for a position for which they have no specific experience, this type of jump would require that they know the hiring manager or apply in person and get that personal buy-in that is so necessary. This type of buy-in will never occur at a apply online portal.
-Rayanne
Interesting perspective….well don!
Thanks, Chris…
-Rayanne
I see both sides of this and agree that part of the problem with the hiring process is not the recruiter or the organization but job seekers who put in hundreds of applications a week for which they are not qualified for. It’s like shopping at the supermarket and checking out without having your wallet. You end of wasting everyone’s time as well as money making the shopping experience miserable for you and the people behind you in line.
Jessica
What I address here is truly only a minor part of the issues that exist between recruiters/hiring managers and applicants. I see both sides fairly clearly as I have been an applicant lost in a system and have been and are a recruiter filtering hundreds of resumes/CVs and incomplete applications, as well as random resumes of individuals who hand deliver or snail mail their info refusing to use the systems we have in place – like not following the suggested rules will put them at the top of the list. Not all hiring managers want rule breakers, as a matter of fact, most do not…
Thanks for commenting, Jessica…
The reason I blog is to open communication and drive conversation, thus opening minds and driving relationships. That only happens when we listen.
-Rayanne
You’re only addressing the problem from your perspective. The other side of the coin – at least for technical jobs – is that many job descriptions require so many – sometimes even incompatible skills and qualifications that no one in the entire world would actually be qualified for said job. Many job descriptions are riddled with TLAs that sometimes don’t even exist.
So, developers start gaming the system. They contrive TLAs and skills themselves and apply to hundreds of jobs to maximise their chance to at least get one response.
So, after all employers and recruiters get what they’ve asked for. If the job description is ridiculous you’ll get ridiculous applications or ‘garbage in – garbage out’.
Hi Bjorn-
I agree with you 100%… What I address is only part of the issue. There is responsibility on both sides of this fence. One thing I know, for sure, is that many recruiters/hiring managers do NOT know how to write a decent job posting. It is not supposed to be a job description – it is supposed to advertise a job opening. Sorry that this happens all too often. In your scenario, I suppose gaming the system would prove the tech skills of the applicant, correct?
-Rayanne
No, the ‘skill’ of being able to game the system doesn’t necessarily make the applicant a technically skilled person. It only proves his skill to jump through bureaucratic and otherwise completely useless hoops.
In fact, I’d even advise against hiring people who show ‘gaming the system’ skills because all they prove by this is willingness to conform to senseless rules – even if in a somehow clever way.
Mindless conformity is the last thing I’d want an employee to have. Developers (as a matter of fact every employee) should think independently and question dubious decisions.
Recruiter Rights begin with recruiter responsibilities. Sourcing that creates unnecessarily high applicant to hire ratios, candidate evaluation methods that rely on subjective word search and resume data review technology, and posting methods that present jobs to geographically distant populations are examples of recruiter self-inflicted wounds.
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