3 More Reasons Why Candidates Hate Recruiters (Part 2)

In the first part of this series, we delved into some of the key frustrations candidates often experience when interacting with recruiters. We have covered encountering firms that make false claims about their specialization, absence of valuable feedback and consultants who seem unfamiliar with the roles they're recruiting for. (If you missed this – please see previous article)???

In the second part of this series, we will continue addressing three more factors that contribute to the negative opinion's candidates may develop towards recruiters. Unveiling these factors, we aim to provide both candidates and recruiters with insights to foster better interactions and outcomes.?

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①Candidates ARE Commissions?

When a recruiter's primary motivation appears to be driven solely by financial gain, it can lead to a range of negative experiences for the candidate. They may perceive such recruiters as insincere and lacking genuine concern for their career aspirations and well-being.?

One major factors that can cause this is the pressure to meet targets set by their agencies. These targets often focus on placing a certain number of candidates within a given timeframe, which can inadvertently lead to recruiters prioritizing quantity over quality. Candidates might feel like they are seen more as a means to an end – a way for recruiters to achieve their targets and earn their commissions. The recruitment process can be time-consuming and competitive. Recruiters invest significant effort in sourcing, interviewing, and presenting candidates to clients, all while competing with other agencies for the same positions. This environment can create a sense of urgency where recruiters might inadvertently focus on closing deals quickly to secure their commissions.?

Have you ever questioned why a recruiter is so keen on having you start sooner rather than later? The underlying motive is often tied to their commission, which is commonly earned once the candidate begins their new position.?

It's important to note that not all recruiters treat candidates solely as commissions. Many recruiters genuinely care about matching candidates with roles that align with their skills and career aspirations. However, the pressures of the industry, coupled with the need to generate revenue for their agencies, can sometimes lead to an unfortunate perception that candidates are just transactional.?

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②Sending Resumes/CVs Without Permission?

Why they do it? Quite simply, this goes back to the hardcore KPIs and sales targets that most agencies drive. A typical agency targets each recruiter on sending out 10 speculative candidates a DAY to prospective hiring managers. That equates to 50 speculative candidates sent out a week. With that number of speculative profiles to send out, recruiters are likely to make mistakes, and attaching a candidates’ full CV is one of them. The other very common reason this happens is they are chancing it on a role they do not have permission to work and by submitting your profile first, with or without your permission, they are hoping to win that vacancy or piece of work.

Bear in mind that it’s not a bad thing altogether that recruiters market their active candidates out – this can result in exciting opportunities for you as a candidate that are not yet on the market, or that are actually created with you in mind, however, this should not be driven by the need to hit a KPI, but rather, a desire to find the ideal next step for that individual.?

③Missed Calls?

Scheduled calls with a recruiter can be hopeful and a chance for the candidates to ask any burning questions they may have. Unfortunately, there are instances where recruiters fall short of their commitments, failing to uphold the agreed-upon call times.?

Recruitment may seem like a straight forward concept, but it’s a very busy, high pressured role involving a lot of project and multiple stakeholder management. As such, recruiters should be highly organised individuals, or at least learn to be highly organised in the way they manage their work. You will of course get bad recruiters who don’t value your time, are unprofessional and don’t prioritise the call they’ve asked you to be present for. However, we like to think that most of the experiences like this are down to a genuine human mistake that is not likely to reoccur with the same individual. Remember, recruiters are also people!?

We want to hear from you! Drop us a comment about any negative experiences you have had with recruiters or common problems you experience when interacting with them. We will select a few to include in our final part of this series.