An independent recruiter is someone who is hired by an employer to find a candidate for a specific job and who does not work in-house for an employer. After almost seven years working for a split placement network consisting of independent recruiting firms, I’ve learned a lot about independent recruiters.
One of the most frequent complaints I hear or read about recruiters is that they do not return candidates’ telephone calls. If you are a candidate, keep reading because my post today focuses on five reasons why independent recruiters don’t return candidates’ calls.
- The independent recruiter does not work for you.
When an employer has a difficult job to fill, the employer may choose to hire an independent recruiter to find the most qualified candidate. In return, the employer pays the recruiter a fee. In the United States, the fee typically ranges from 20% to 30% of the candidate’s first year of salary. Therefore, independent recruiters will focus on responding to employers who have hired them and only to candidates who are qualified for the jobs they are striving to fill.
- The independent recruiter does not specialize in your niche.
Most independent recruiters specialize in placing candidates in a specific industry or job function involving a specific set of skills. You may not hear back from a recruiter to whom you sent your resume because the recruiter doesn’t work with people with your skill set or in your industry. A better approach to working with a recruiter might be to research the recruiters who specialize in placing candidates in your niche and then approach them.
- The independent recruiter’s job is filling an open position for an employer.
It is not an independent recruiter’s job to find you a job or help you change careers. This goes back to the first point I made. Independent recruiters do not work for candidates. They work for employers. If you decide to change careers, for example, an independent recruiter will not be able to help you find a job. Employers are most interested in passive candidates (people currently working) and who are in the top 5% of people qualified for the open position. If you are changing careers, you need to find other ways to find a job.
- The independent recruiter doesn’t have the time to respond to “thanks, but no thanks” situations.
Yes, I know it is not polite to be non-responsive but the reality is independent recruiters have limited resources and time. It is important for you to not take it personally if a recruiter does not send you a response by email or telephone. Think of it like you did when you were dating. If someone is interested in dating you, you will be contacted. If not, it is best for you to move on.
- Your resume is posted on job boards.
Again, remember my first point. Independent recruiters work for employers. In fact, many employers will advise recruiters they hire that they will not pay the recruiter for a candidate the recruiter submits to the employer who the employer can find on a job board. Why would a recruiter want to spend time presenting your resume to employers when they won’t get paid? The answer is they won’t. Determine your strategy in seeking a job. If working with a recruiter is a fit for your job search, then removing your resume from job boards will increase the likelihood of a recruiter wanting to work with you.
I hope that my post has increased your understanding of why independent recruiters may not return candidates’ calls. My post was inspired by one written by Lisa Rangel entitled 11 Reasons Why Recruiters Don’t Call You Back & 5 Things You Can Do About It. If you are seeking a new job, I encourage you to read Lisa’s post, too.
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Thank you Terri! Very well said, wish people would understand this
Thanks, Susan. Yes, many candidates do not understand these points. I know I didn’t before I became involved in recruitment.
I wonder if the last point
“Your resume is posted on job boards.” is very important in my working region, Belgium, Europe.
I don’t know if I would advise candidates to remover their resume.
“If working with a recruiter is a fit for your job search, then removing your resume from job boards will increase the likelihood of a recruiter wanting to work with you.”
Do you have numerical evidence to support your statement?
Thank you
Hi Terri,
You have some excellent points, however it also depends on the recruiter. I have 18 years of corporate recruiting experience and just opened my own staffing business, prior I was a contractor. The reason I mention this is when I was looking for contract work, I would get calls from agencies and companies direct,they want to speak with me or want my resume-or I go through an interview and dont get a call back or feedback. I believe there are recruiters who feel its a waste of time to call someone back with bad news or even just respond. The other side of the coin is it leaves a bad taste in the candidates mouth and its not professional. Would you want to work for a firm that treats candidates this way? what does that say about the company?
Terri,
This is a very good article. I would like to know if I might be able to re-publish it on my company blog. I would also add an authors paragraph at the end of the article about yourself and a link back to you and your web site.
Well, in a very big market like the US, just ignoring candidates like this might work. I’d be concerned about trying it in Australia though. After all, this year’s candidate might be next year’s potential client, and if I don’t return his calls, I can hardly expect him to return mine next year.
@astrid My comment “If working with a recruiter is a fit for your job search, then removing your resume from job boards will increase the likelihood of a recruiter wanting to work with you.” refers to what I said earlier in the paragraph about employers telling recruiters that they will not pay the recruiter a fee if they find a submitted candidate posted on a job board. You bring up a good point about geography. While employers in the United States may work this way, this situation may be different in other countries.
@Doug Thanks for writing a response. In a perfect world, every candidate who interviewed would receive timely feedback even if it was negative.
@Tim Thanks for your interest. I’ll contact you offline.
@Laurence That’s great that you respond to all candidates. In the United States, the reality is that limited resources result in recruiters focusing on activities that are likely to lead to revenue generation. Unfortunately, that means that some job seekers may feel ignored.
It is still rude and unprofessional.
It is amazing! I am speechless. It’s everyone else’s fault isn’t it? Lets blame the candidates for being so ignorant while we’re at it. You have decided to take on a position that requires people to contact you and make their life/family/budgeting plans around whether they are getting a call back from you or not and you actually believe that you have valid reasons to NOT return calls eg citing limited resources? Really? Hilarity. You cannot justify this my little capitalists. Do you understand the position you have so greedily slotted yourself into? Face it. You are just in it for a quick buck by profiting on other peoples willingness to do honest, hard work and it did not work out that way because you are not smart enough. Do you think the candidate gets a free call to call you? RETURN THE DAMN CALLS. Get it? No ifs and buts. Deal with it! You are weak or have conflict resolution issues and that’s why you don’t. Work harder or get out of this position please as you are creating massive ill will for the rest of us and then bitch among yourself and blame everyone else. Ignoring people is not just rude and unprofessional but you are creating loathe against you. Good luck if you think a life of having hundreds cursing your name everyday will bring you good fortune.
While I am not as passionate about this as you are IT&T, I think that Terri is merely explaining the reality…not saying it is right or wrong. Since she is not one of the ones you curse, perhaps her point of view is worth further consideration.
If we lived in the perfect world everyone would get flowers and a box of candy in reply to every email and phone call. At the minimum a return call. This just says that if that does not happen, here is an explanation of why it might work that way.
Everyone is motivated differently. Not all recruiters are alike just as all candidates do not expect professions to change because they wish it so.
I wish people would not telemarket my home and business. I understand why it happens and I try not to curse the person doing their job but rather seek to understand so I can change the impact to my life. So I block them and don’t return their calls. Understanding goes a long way towards solving problems.
I am sorry that you have not been treated as you expect. I do hope that you have some more positive experiences in the years ahead.
I think there is a delicate balance. I have 7 yrs of recruiting experience in staffing and corporate. For the last 5 I have worked with candidates to help them prep for their job search. Only recently I have also jumped into full time staffing. We as Recruiters are in a position where we could change the model. Sadly most dont. They dont care about the candidate experience at all, they are only in it for $$. Yes, we work for the company looking for the talent. However those candidates are the $ we make, so we should be more proactive on helping them when we can. Good points made in the article. So my question, are we ok with the broken system or we open to changing it?
Thanks for stopping by, Michael! Agree there is room for improvement. Also believe that some job seekers do not understand the role of a recruiter, so perhaps have expectations that are misaligned with the current reality.
canddates deserve respect, so sorry to read such a hard opinión, with 29 years in this industry I have time to send small courtesy notes. LETS MAKE THE DIFERENCE.
Laura
I have been involved in corporate and domestic placement for over 15 years, its simple;call backs are necessary. Candidates deserve to hear back from recruiter one way or another.
Since today’s candidates have the same tools as “recruiters” or “talent acquisition” personnel, the need for a middleman such as a recruiter appears to be outdated. The employer can directly communicate their needs to a potential Professional candidate while the potential candidate can explain their professional background to the potential employer. Simply put, it does not make sense that a pimple faced kid (whose previous experience is at enterprise rent a car) should be the gate keeper to determine whether a professional candidate is right for the job without knowing the profession.
I am sure most candidates will understand if they submit a resume and never hear back.
The real problem candidates have is when a recruiter contacts them and advises them that he will be letting them know whether they are successful. At this point the recruiter just goes MIA.
Being an HR Manager has also allowed me to wear the recruiter hat, though in a different manner to an agency recruiter.
Trust me, having worked in HR generalist type roles through out my career I have always had multiple priorities taking up my day. However, I always get back to a candidate I interviewed (even phone interviews).
I have also been a job seeker and been on the receiving end of a recruiter’s silent treatment. Dont take it personal as I know they have to hustle for their paycheck. Just wonder why anyone would wanna burn bridges with a candidate who is also a potential client (either in my current role or a future HR Director role). I am not expecting special treatment from a recruiter but just asking them to honour their promise that they will update me. I will never let my company engage the services of a person who does not honor their word.
If a recruiter does not respond to you it sends a message. It says you are not important to them. Our society seems to always use the word ” I don’t have the time”. Recruiters need to understand that not responding to inquiries is a sign rudeness. There is time to respond to everyone! There are 24 hours a day, a recruiter works 8 hours average, they sleep 8 hours, do the math? It’s all about going above and beyond and not thinking about others. Not responding to emails creates a reputation which can certainly get out there through social media that can actually hurt a recruiter if they fail to respond to people, especially if they agreed to connect with you on LinkedIn. Recruiters need to take the time no matter if they have to work a little over time and respond to all emails even if it means answering them late at night. It depends on desire and commitment to people along with simply being considerate. Social media has websites and applications that can rate a recruiter. Word gets out fast if you fail to respond to one person!
What it means is the recruiter (and this is why they’re so despised) is an arrogant prick who places commission first. Once they’ve lost that possibility with you, they don’t bother getting back to you.
Many times I’ve been for an interview and the recruiter can’t be bothered getting in touch to let you know the outcome. They’re a bunch of tossers and I string them along as much as possible now, just to waste their time. Wankers.
I am sorry that you have not been treated as you expect.
I hope it does not impact your attitude toward people. There are bad recruiters and there are bad candidates. I hope you find the right place to work where your attitude and style are fully rewarded.
I am an executive level candidate open to new possibilities, submitted an application packet, got a call from the recruiter 18 days ago. I have called her and emailed her. Not every day, just 4 times – so not being a pest. Can’t get a response, can’t believe it. Current position or any other, I would not hire that firm for any future recruiting. I understand an unsolicited resume not getting a response – but when invited, a simple “we had so many qualified candidates . . .” is the least that a professional should do. I believe this reflects so poorly on the employer that I will likely email the 5 board members I do know when the process is concluded.
You deserve feedback! What was her promise as you ended your call 18 days ago? Did she say she would get back with you? If she did then that is what she should do.
Maybe you should make contact with the board members before it is too late for you as a candidate. Let the recruiter know you have direct relationships you will be pursuing with her client.
It is risky but it does not look like you are being properly and honestly offered feedback by the person that has been asked to do the search. Maybe your recruitment contact is in a competitive situation for the search and has not even been able to present you?
Best of luck…you deserve feedback.
I was contacted by a well known international executive search firm and recently went to interviews with two of their clients. Despite numerous phone calls and emails, I have yet to get a return phone call to provide me with feedback. Recruiting firms need to realize that today’s candidate is tomorrow’s client! I would not hire a firm that won’t return my phone call!
I can only find articles that blame the candidate for being ghosted by recruiters. Candidates “just don’t get” the recruiters role. Well I will tell you I do disgusted with my experience. I was contacted by a recruiter for a specific job, he found my posted resume on a job board. I went for the interview and a few days later was told by th recruiter that the company liked me “so much” they were going through to hire me directly and to expect an email in the next day. No email came. Days passed and I received little communication from the recruiter. He wound up pawning me off on his manager. She said that the deal changed, no longer direct hire, will now be temp to hire and they are working on setting start date. She made an appointment to call me in one week with an update. I confirmed the call time via email day before. I made time in my schedule, and she called several hours late. She had no updates only the same line “it’s in the works trying to set start date.” She set another phone call appt. one week out. Do you think she kept it? No. I emailed her(admittedly more than I should have) and she replied about being busy and would call later. She never did. But, the original recruiter called. Now, back with him. He fed me the same line again, that the deal is still in ththe works, they are trying to set a start date. Couple weeks pass no contact whatsoever. I reach out again via email fo status. I get a response that his manager spoke with the HR of the company that day and he would contact me once he knew more. Days pass no contact. I sent another follow-up email inquiring what came of the call. And now he will not respond. I’ve now been ghosted by a recruiter and a manager. They both continued to tell me there is a position, the company wants me and that it’s only a matter of setting a start date. This had been ongoing for 2 months now. I cannot even begin to express how unprofessional and frustrating this whole experience has been. I am currently employed and have been for several years. I did not call them, they called me. They fed me lies to string me along and then just go MIA in the end. If this is how recruiters work and think that it’s acceptable, it’s not! Just because the business is their “client” does not mean that they should treat responsible, hard working candidates with such lack of respect! I am appalled by the whole process! And what recourse do I have? None. Keep waiting or walk away.
I thought it was only me feeling this way but I have been contacted by recruiters as well and have the exact same unprofessional no response ghost me experience. I must say most of these unprofessional recruiters I have experienced so far from Linked in. I immediately disconnect then block them no need to do business with an untrustworthy company that strings people along.