Recruiter Pet Peeves

We have all been there once or twice; no toilet paper left on the tp roll or no soap left in the shower. Recruiter pet peeves aren’t quite that bad, but I thought I’d share a few of my pet peeves as a recruiter to try and improve the process for both job seekers and recruiters. To be successful and assist you in getting a job offer from our clients, paying attention to some of these details should help get you through the hiring process faster and more efficiently. Job seekers: Our goal as a recruiter is to help you find a job, so with just a little effort you can help make it easy for us to do our job well. Take your job search seriously and pay attention to the details. The extra time it takes to be prepared will pay off in so many ways. Like us finding you a job! Some of these pet peeves I’ve learned the hard way (candidates being turned down by clients – ouch) or others can happen on any typical day: 1. People who apply for jobs on a job board that they aren’t qualified for or really interested in. If you apply for a job that you are qualified for, then you should get a call about the opportunity. Your background should meet the minimal job requirements OR if you are trying to expand your horizons to a job that might not fit your background, at least write a cover letter and tell us why we should consider you. We are willing to look at “outside the box candidates” for our clients, but when someone who works at Macy’s applies for a Regional Software Sales position, we have to wonder what you were thinking. Give us a reason to call you for an interview and we will.  When we call you and have to leave a message, make sure to call us back too. 2. Resumes with minimal details or accomplishments. The bullet points on your resume should not read like a job description, describing only your responsibilities. You should describe your accomplishments like you are proud of what you do. Begin each statement with an action word such as: Generated, implemented, contributed, directed, managed, or championed. Use your resume to demonstrate where you excelled at your job and that will set your apart from all the other candidates.

3. Typos or misspelled words.       Spell check your resume! With spell check there is no reason to have misspelled words on your resume. Take a few extra minutes and make sure there are no typos or misspelled words in both your resume and LinkedIn profile. 4. Resumes and LinkedIn profiles that don’t match. With so many people embracing social media, most of our clients take a look at your LinkedIn profile as soon as they receive your resume from us, so be sure your LinkedIn profile is up to date and has the same information as your resume. If you say you graduated from college, it should be on your resume and your LinkedIn profile. If you say you worked at XYZ company in 2014 on your LinkedIn profile, make sure you have it on your resume the same way. Those little details matter to clients, so they matter to us too. 5. Have a professional picture on your LinkedIn profile. Today it is so easy to take a good picture of yourself, so there is no reason not to have a picture on your profile. It should be a professional picture, not one of you in a Superman costume or you at a party. 6. Going dark on us. I think this is my ultimate pet peeve. There is nothing worse for a recruiter then submitting a candidate to a client, getting a call back from our client that they want to schedule an interview with you and then not being able to reach you for days. You have to have skin in the game too and when we call you, call us back. Even if you are interviewing for other jobs and mine isn’t your #1 choice, that’s ok with me, just keep in touch with me. I would rather hear from you and know what you are up to, then to not hear from you at all. 7. Candidates who don’t prepare for an interview. Do your research on the company and be prepared to discuss how your experience will be a benefit to the company. Have some good questions to discuss with the person you are interviewing with. Preparing for your interview, instead of just winging it will help you think better on your feet and allow you to showcase your strengths. To complete the interview process job seekers should always write a thank you email that includes a reference to your conversation. This is a great opportunity to set yourself apart from the competition.     Final Thought Job seekers should know this but just in case: The best recruiters are your advocate and will work their butt off to help you get a job, so treat us like a valued partner and you will receive the same in return. Job seekers: Here’s your chance. I’m going to do another post soon on candidate pet peeves, so email me and let me know how we can improve your experience with recruiters.