The frustrated applicant !!
Neil Graham
CEO @ Spayse | Extraordinary Vision, First-Class Service and 25 Years in Hospitality Recruitment
The past couple of months has seen a rise in applicants contacting me to raise the point that they feel they are more than suitable for a role that we are advertising for and don’t agree with the fact that I have rejected their application. The conversations range from polite questions as “why I don’t feel they are suitable” to one very direct instruction to send their cv and let the client decide as it’s not my job to advise on career progression, it’s my job to just send his Fing cv!!
The chap in question went on to call me a money grabbing bastard and a leach on the industry and my only goal in life was to rip of candidates and that all the jobs we have are fake and even questioned if my company was real. He screamed at me he would never forget this and would never consider using my company again and was going to report me to the authorities and bad mouth me to all his thousands of friends and millions of contacts. (he was so upset with me that he applied for another role less than 48 later)
Now most of the time I am more than happy to talk through my decision and often I explain it’s not a judgement on the candidate themselves its simply that on this occasion they don’t fit the criteria requested by the client.
Most of the time, whilst disappointed candidates will thank us for the response and continue with their everyday lives, some however feel it is a slight on their whole being. I appreciate that none of us like rejection but at the end of the day hope people realise it’s not personal.
By the nature of what we do, the client offers us a brief and we work towards finding people who fit the brief as requested.
On the odd occasion we have the fun of working with a client who likes to think outside the box and we get to recruit candidates on areas such as core competencies and emotional intelligence, however most of the time it’s about ensuring applicants are in like for like type roles.
Having spent many years doing what I do, I have a very strong belief that we find great people, great jobs with great employers of choice. By us doing what we are paid to do and selecting these suitable candidates it means we get to enhance our reputation for delivering great people but also have the options of working with the very best clients.
My ten-year-old daughters most recent saying is, "don’t judge me" when she makes strange choices and decisions which we as parents would maybe question?
It does however seem most apt now as do say do "Judge me" that we know what we do and how we do it and at the end of the day we have the best interest of heart for both our clients and our candidates.
Corporate F&B Manager | Managing Director | Strategic Business Partner. Delivering value and growth to organizations by consulting with and developing new and existing F&B operations.
6 年Hi Neil, I have been one of those frustrated applicants lately , however I don’t agree with the negative and aggressive approach your “chap” demonstrated. However, my frustration comes from the following: applied to roles where the recruiter or the client was looking for the same skills, background and experience what I have , almost down to the last word of the advert . It almost looked like a copy of my resume so I was confident with my application and hoped to have a call back shortly, instead I received an automated reply saying that my profile does not match the criteria . This mostly happened with UK recruitment agencies . After a few of these occasions I am questioning the thoroughness and the efficiency of those recruiters. Please advise why this is happening to many of us lately . Regards PB
Employee Relations Manager & Co-chair Race Network
6 年Hi Neil Its been a long while since we last worked together when I was sitting on the side of the recruiter on behalf of my then company; it is pleasing to see you doing so well.? Today I sit on the side of the candidate and I see things from a different prospective.?Whilst I do not now or ever condone rude behaviour, I do totally understand the frustrations that a candidate goes through when looking for work.? I have applied for many roles over the last few months and there is always the standard email response to acknowledge my application, this is fine and I do not have any objections to this.? However, ?my concerns begins when I receive the first phone call. The agent spends time going through my experiences, the job role and my suitability. I am then told that I have been put forward for the role....then nothing. No call, no email, nothing! So after nearly a week of waiting, I call, leave messages and email. This time of year, I am sometimes told 'sorry but XXX is on holiday and will be back in 2 weeks". Eventually they come back and either say they have had no response from the client or that the position has been filled.? For the occasions when I have been fortunate enough to have an interview, the agency is almost to the point of hounding me during the recruitment process; calling me at home, mobile, email and texting. I am coached, encouraged and I have someone on call anytime of the day to go through the steps of the recruitment process with me.? However if you are not successful (as was the case for myself) for either scenarios above, you are dropped like a very hot scalding brick. The agent completely disappears. They do not return your calls, emails, texts or messages. Where as before they would call you straight back, its now as if you have never existed. You are not even considered for another role. To use the phase communally known now, they "ghost you". Another instance is seeing an advert for a role with the bottom saying "call XXX for further information". So I call, my contact details are verified and I am promised that I will receive a call. I have now stopped waiting for that call as it hardly ever happens.? I am not taking anything away from the recruiter as I am too well aware of the volume of candidates for one role let alone the numerous positions that they may have; however, if the recruiter has spent time building a relationship with the candidate that is mainly built on trust, the agent should at the least have the decency to let the candidate know the next step even if it is to say that they will not be going any further with their application. It's tough love, but at least the candidate is not waiting in vain for that next call. ? This last month has opened my eyes and I am fairly confident that as a HR Manager, I will do my upmost to ensure that each candidate is treated better than I have been.? That being said, now that I have responded to you, any agencies that read this will probably not even consider me for a role now. Recruiters are of course only human, as am I.?