8 Annoying Things We Never Thought We'd Miss About Recruitment

No matter how much we all love recruitment, there are some parts of the job that still drive us up the wall. But since lockdown came into place, we’re finding ourselves reminiscing about some of the things we used to moan about!

Some of the things that annoyed us almost daily about the office and spending time with clients, candidates and our colleagues now make us miss our jobs even more.

Here are some things we thought we’d never miss about recruitment until lockdown happened.

1. Your colleague’s loud phone calls

A noisy sales floor is great for sales atmosphere, but it becomes a problem when you can’t even hear what your prospect is saying on the other end of the phone. And when it gets loud, everyone on the sales floor gets louder to compensate.

But now that we’re all working from home, alone in silence, the buzz of the office – no matter how deafening it was – sounds pretty great to us.

2. Awkward in-person candidate meetings  

When a candidate comes into the office for the first time, you can never be sure which way it’s going to go.

Being stuck in a room with a candidate who doesn’t stop talking or who barely says a word can be equally draining, and these meetings can feel like they go on forever.

But after nearly two months locked up with our parents, partners and children, I think we’d all be pretty elated to spend time with anyone who doesn’t live in our house!

3. The tiny interview rooms

We’ll all be familiar with those tiny interview rooms agencies have so they can fit more interview space into the office. It’s an efficient policy, but not necessarily a pleasant one.

Being crammed into a square metre room for an hour with a candidate who’s so close you can feel their breath on your face was never anyone’s favourite part of the day.

But now that we’re all so focused on staying two metres away from everyone else, we’re almost longing for those uncomfortably close encounters.

4. Fighting for your client’s attention at networking events

We all know the scenario: You go to a networking event hoping to impress a top prospect, only to find a number of your competitors are also there trying to do the same thing. You spend the entire event competing for your prospect’s attention and leave feeling totally drained. 

But now, the challenge of an in-person recruit-off with our biggest competitors sounds far more exciting than watching all ten seasons of Friends on Netflix – again!  

5. Meetings with angry clients

Whether you’re getting pushed down on price, grilled about a candidate or you’re just speaking with a client who seems to enjoy giving you a hard time – there were always some meetings we’re happy see end.

However, after months locked away in our pyjamas, the idea of getting suited and booted for any occasion (even one where you’re showing up to get shouted at) has started to sound appealing.

And let’s be honest, a good back and forth with a tough client sounds more fun than doing another online quiz with the family.

6. The crap office coffee

No matter where you work, office coffee is always worse than the stuff you have at home – but this is especially true in recruitment, where the choice is instant coffee, or more instant coffee.

When we first started working from home, drinking freshly brewed coffee made with real coffee beans was heaven. But let’s face it, we’ve started to miss the bitter taste of the cheap stuff we got at the office – and we wouldn’t mind a cup for old-time’s sake.

7. Filling out expenses forms

We recruiters rack up a lot of expenses travelling to and from meetings, taking clients out to dinner and attending networking events. And while this is all fun and games (and hard work, of course!), filling out the expenses forms afterwards is not.

But now the paperwork sounds like a nice trip down memory lane to remind us all of the great times we were having back when we were able to socialise. And claiming your expenses cash back was always a good feeling - even if it was our own money to begin with.  

8. Working late at the office