It won’t come as breaking news to anyone working in recruitment that recruiters have a somewhat bad reputation when it comes to the practices they do to find candidates and secure jobs.
Read any review site or forum and you will see the same old questions regarding recruiters:
Recruiters are, of course, busy people, but it's well known that they also have a lot of tricks up their sleeves to improve their performance and gain more candidates.
I’ve taken a look at 8 of the hallmarks of a bad recruiter and how you can avoid them.
The best approach to take is a targeted one. Connect with potential candidates and build up a relationship with them before trying to recruit them. Simply curating useful content and industry news is a great way to build up credibility.
Generic emails are a trick that many recruiters still use, but this approach frequently scares off potential candidates. It’s a strategy that can save time, but it’s unlikely to get the results that you’re aiming for. Tailor emails and make them specific to each candidate and you’re bound to get better results. Understand what the job entails, scour your database for the right candidate, and then craft a bespoke email to them. This may take more time, but it will increase your response rate.
In the world of digital it’s easy to type up a quick email to a candidate about a position they have interviewed for. It’s even easier to just ignore candidates completely, too. Although it can be difficult to follow up with every candidate, it’s good practice to contact candidates after an interview and provide them with feedback. Think of the candidate in these positions: they’ve taken the time to attend the interview, and the least they can expect is a follow-up call after.
You post a job advert late Monday evening and by the time you come into work on Tuesday you have 100 CVs all vying for your attention. You simply cannot read through every single one, but you can email those who you haven’t put forward to let them know. If you don't have time to reply to every applicant, at least set up an automated email that lets candidates know they’ve been unsuccessful.
Another trick recruiters use is connecting with people on LinkedIn saying that a candidate was recommended by one of their connections – works most of the time, right? Well, maybe, but although this can help build up contacts, it can also be detrimental as candidates will lose trust in you if they're receiving information about jobs that aren’t relevant to them. Only connect with people that you know have the right skills and experience for the job, and be honest in why you connected with them.
It's important for any recruiter to have an up to date database of all their candidates, and one trick to get candidate details is to post fake job adverts. Rethink this approach. Instead, make connections on social, pick up the phone, or send an email and reach out to potential candidates directly, with transparancy and honesty.
Not all recruiters want to admit that a position will be difficult to fill, and they’ll likely tell the client otherwise so they don't fall behind on targets. Be honest if you're going to struggle with filling a role. Use this opportunity to show off your expertise and recruitment industry knowledge and offer the client relevant feedback and insights that will help them to grow their team.