Job Seekers are from Venus; Recruiters are from Mars

As a Headhunter or Corporate Recruiter I always felt my job was to create matches.  Long before eHarmony, Match.com or any other “matchmaking” service, Recruiters have been bringing together candidates and hiring managers in what one of my early mentors described as “having two hands full of jello and trying to get them together before one flops off”.

So today I take up the Matchmaker role again and try to patch a misuderstanding between Job Seekers and Corporate Recruiters.

It seems these two groups don’t understand each other: Venus and Mars.  I’ll explain.

Job Seekers want a job, first and foremost.  Many are quite persistent and most are quite professional.

Recruiters want to fill jobs, first and foremost.  Many are thorough in their search and most are quite professional.

On the surface, this is a match made in heaven – both have virtually the same goal.

Where the relationship breaks down is when the decision not to hire (or interview) someone is made.  This creates several misunderstandings on both the Job Seeker and the Recruiter sides of the equation:

Job Seeker:

You were not selected for hire or interview because there are better qualified people out there who want the job too.  Millions of job seekers, one job – the chances that you are the most qualified are not in your favor.

The decision not to hire/interview is not made in a vacuum; Recruiters and Hiring Managers collaborate to choose the best pool of available candidates.

This decision is subjective and not worth arguing or complaining about.  As a BMW owner, you don’t try to convince the Mercedes owner of the mistake they made in car selection, don’t try to convince Recruiters that they’ve made a mistake in NOT hiring/interviewing you. 

The more you argue and fight with a Recruiter, the less and less chance you have of EVER working for that company.  Recruiters talk to each other and if you find doors closing faster than opening at certain companies, you probably chose to argue a decision at one time a little to persistently.

Remember that timing plays a KEY ROLE in this decision.  If you applied for the role anytime after it has been open 30+ days, chances are you won’t get to interview.  The reason is simple but never explained to you – Cost of Vacancy.  This is a calculation of the cost to the company for each day that position is open and once a viable pool of candidates is moved into the inteview process the clock is ticking on getting it filled.  Understand that, as in life, in recruiting timing can be everything.

Recruiter: 

Job Seekers are frustrated.  Why?  Go to any job board, search for jobs, post for jobs, hear nothing and get spammed to death. 

Job Seekers are frustrated.  Why? Go apply for one of YOUR OWN jobs.  Fill out a complex profile and hit apply.  Then be told you’ve created your “account” (did I really want an account? No, I want a job.  See #1under Job Seeker above) and NOW you need to actually apply for the job.  Be told “Thank you” but never hear from anyone about anything again. 

Job Seekers DO want to be told what happened to their application.  If Job Seekers can live with 3 and 4 in the Job Seeker list above, you OWE it to them to tell them what’s going on.  Let them move on, let them get closure.  Do the right thing.

More is more.  I know Legal and HR tell you to be very tight lipped about the reasons people didn’t get interviewed or hired but c’mon – common sense says that there is information you can provide a job seeker that may actually HELP them get the next job they apply for.  Don’t be callous, it could be YOU.  Treat job seekers the way you want to be treated.  Don’t be too busy, don’t be too cold, don’t be put out by their need for information.

I’m not writing a book or going on Oprah but I am simply saying that the Recruiter can do his/her job without aggravating the frustration of the job seeker and that the job seeker can seek jobs without causing Recuiters to withhold information and be non communicative.

Job Seeker, meet Recruiter; Recruiter, meet Job Seeker.