The Recruitment Industry is Broken

3 phone interviews, 2 Skype meetings, 7 face-to-face interviews. Sorry we’re changing the role slightly.

Ed Hunter

The recruitment industry is broken and no one wants to fix it. With each passing year it gets worse, although I didn’t believe that was humanly possible. The operative word here is humanly. The humanity has disappeared from the recruitment industry and it’s been overrun by computer algorithms and automated email messages. Sadly, recruiters who understand the jobs they’re looking to fill and the candidates who are good fits for those jobs are a dying breed. Recruiters are now nothing more than order takers who depend on a computer algorithm to select their candidates.

As someone who works on contract, going through the recruitment process on a regular basis is a necessary evil. The number of imbecilic people I have to deal with in order to secure employment makes the mind reel! It’s a wonder that anyone finds works these days. And professional courtesy is dead! After I have one or more face-to-face interviews I expect a phone call to tell me that I did or did not get the job. But sadly that’s not the way it works anymore. If you get the job you’ll get a phone call. If you don’t get the job you’ll get a tacky form email like this:

Dear (insert candidate’s name),

Thank you for taking the time to apply to the role of (insert role). Your submission was reviewed and evaluated against this position's overall candidate pool. Unfortunately, we will not be moving forward with your application at this time. Please know we will keep your profile in our system and that a Recruiter may reach out to you in the future if they have a role that matches your skills and experience.

Thank you for your interest…

Doesn’t it make you wonder how many excellent candidates have never been considered for jobs they were a perfect fit for because of a computer algorithm and an ineffective recruiter? And conversely, how many bad hires have been made for the same reason? Perhaps it's time to turn recruiting over to Artificial Intelligence. At least there would be some form of intelligence and we would no longer have an expectation of humanity.

We’re looking for someone with the wisdom of a 50-year old, the experience of a 40-year old, the drive of a 30-year old and the pay scale of a 20-year old.

RecruitingBlogs

Make someone smile today.

Geri

Posting a Job Doesn’t Make You a Recruiter

A recruiter added me on LinkedIn so I guess it must be getting serious.

memegenerator.net

I just finished a contract with a Fortune 100 company. As with most enormous companies, contracts go through a recruiting firm, so unfortunately recruiters are part of my life.

Recruiters continue to amaze me. A month before my contract was due to end I contacted the recruiter who had been making at least 5% of my earnings for administering my contract (in addition to the recruitment fee). I let them know that I’d be in the market for another position and their answer to me was “Check our website for opportunities”. What’s wrong with this picture? I just finished my 5^th contract with the same company and had stellar references, so wouldn’t you think I’d be top of mind if an opportunity came up that would be a good fit for me? Or at least I'd come up in a search of their database? After all, I’m a cash cow for them. Apparently this isn’t the way it works at all.

Recruiters post jobs on a variety of external sites and on their websites. As a job seeker I have to let the recruiter know if they have a job on their website that’s a good fit for me. Clearly they don’t use relational databases or are just too lazy. They just sit back and wait for resumes to be emailed in. The relationship that they pretended they had with you ends the minute your contract ends and your cash value ends.

Last week there was a job posted on an external site for which I was a perfect fit. Of course this is no guarantee that you’ll ever get a call… The poster was a recruiter that I’ve had no previous contact with. I sent my resume; the recruiter called within five minutes and then forwarded my resume to the employer. A day later I noticed that the recruiter who had administered my last contract posted the same position. I found it interesting that they’re working the same position, have a copy of my current resume which is a perfect fit for the job, and never called me. I’m still trying to figure out if it’s laziness or stupidity. If I did my job as badly as the recruiters I’ve had contact with I’d never work.

We’re pretty sure we won’t hire you but not so sure we won’t stop wasting your time.

someecards.com

Make someone smile today.

Geri

Are Recruiters a Necessary Evil or Necessary at All?

We’re looking for someone with the wisdom of a 50-year old, the experience of a 40-year old, the drive of a 30-year old and the pay scale of a 20-year old.

Randy Glasbergen

The quote above is funny but true. We live in a society where we want everything for nothing and this applies to talent as well. I can’t tell you how many job descriptions I’ve seen with a laundry list of required skills that would make the mind reel. But, the catch is that they only ask for 2 – 3 years experience. Of course this just isn’t possible but it’s fair warning that they’re only going to pay the wage of an entry level position and they’re hoping that you’re desperate enough to accept it.

Recruiters used to be professionals in every sense of the word. Now most of them are no more than order takers (my apologies to the few really good recruiters out there). If they think they can make a quick buck from placing you they’ll hunt you down like a dog but otherwise good luck trying to get a call back or God forbid some professional courtesy. Many have little to no understanding about the jobs they’re recruiting for and when they review resumes they have a list of requirements and they just tick off the boxes. If you’ve used exactly the words they’re looking for on your resume and there are enough ticks, they’ll call you for a phone interview which more often than not is a complete and utter waste of time. Based on the number of ticks on your resume and if they liked you (or not) during the phone interview they will or won’t pass your resume onto the hiring manager. Given the quality of recruiters I’ve seen over the years I’d say that the industry is in desperate need of a major overhaul. The amount of good people that are passed over due to ignorance is staggering. How often have you heard someone comment on the fact that they applied for a job that was a perfect fit and never got a call? And when they reached out to the recruiter they never had a response.

Considering the piss-poor job most recruiters are doing, what do we need them for? A computer can check the resumes against the keywords. And believe me, those phone interviews accomplish nothing. So let’s get rid of recruiters, save a lot of money and let’s start paying the talent what they’re really worth.  

We’re looking for managers that demonstrate high levels of emotional intelligence. Please try on this mood ring.

a.bacall

Make someone smile today.

Geri