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When you are searching for a job it is easy to feel like the faceless nameless recruiter is an adversary, when, in fact, he or she is just a normal person who, if given the chance, would love to give out jobs like candy on Halloween.
However, anyone involved in a hiring process is busy with a full schedule of competing priorities and there is only so much any of us can accomplish in a single day. If you approach your job search in such a way that makes the corporate recruiter’s day easier and more successful, it is a valuable way to separate yourself from other candidates.
On the other hand, it’s not that difficult to make the recruiter’s job more difficult. Here are ten ways to drive a recruiter crazy (Hint: Don’t do these):
1. Show up too early for your interview. It sounds reasonable, but if you show up too early you will throw off a carefully crafted interview schedule that most likely took a week of planning to finalize. The recruiter, and other staff, must now stop whatever they are doing to accommodate the fact you’ve arrived even if you are just sitting in a waiting area. Instead of seeming eager and responsible, showing up too early will complicate everyone’s day. It will make a bad first impression.
Recommended: Show up five minutes before your interview begins. If you arrive earlier than that, sit in your car until it’s time to go inside.
2. Don’t set up or empty your voice mailbox. Have you noticed you haven’t gotten any voicemails recently? Make sure your phone has an up-to-date personalized greeting and periodically purge your voice mail of old messages so new ones can be left. If a recruiter calls and can’t leave a message, or if they aren’t certain they have reached the right person, you may miss out on a promising opportunity.
Recommended. Tend your voice mailbox like it’s a garden – keep it clean and welcoming.
3. Change your salary expectations late in the game. Early in the process, the recruiter will (hopefully) ask for a desired salary range; the process then moves forward based upon this. Recruiters put time and effort into selecting and putting forward candidates based upon this number, so if a candidate in the final stage of an interview process ups their demands, it can derail the entire process. And you’ll appear to be an untrustworthy negotiating partner.
Recommended: Know your salary range in advance. Don’t explicitly agree in advance to a salary or salary range you are not prepared to accept.
4. Dress poorly for the interview. Consider the recruiter’s position. When he or she advance a candidate for consideration, he or she is putting his or her reputation on the line and the candidates presented reflect upon the recruiter’s expertise and judgment. Between two qualified candidates, the job seeker who appears professional will win out over the one that looks like they just rolled out of bed.
Recommended: Dress your best and polish your shoes.
5. Fail to disclose a potential issue that will show up in a background check. Many job offers will not be made until a candidate successfully passes a background check [“The Skinny on Pre-Employment Background Checks”]. If your job application requests the type of information that will eventually be discovered during a background check and it is left blank, it may be construed as a “lie of omission”.
Recommended: Be honest and forthright on an application. It’s important to own it. And if it’s something serious, you may wish to consult a legal professional for advice.
6. Play sides against each other. Even the simplest hiring process normally involves more than one person, and each has a specific role to play. Once the interviews begin, there will most likely be a single point of contact whose role it is to navigate the hiring process. If you circumvent the normal channels, which puts everyone involved in a tough spot. The perception may be that you are playing games and going behind people’s backs.
Recommended: While you should be aggressive in trying to reach a hiring manager to get your application noticed, once the interview process starts it’s important to respect the chain of command.
7. Show up to an interview without copies of your resume. There are multiple issues at play here. First, if you take the time to inquire how many people will be present during an interview and you arrive with résumés for each of them, you have already demonstrated attention to detail and that you know how to be prepared. Second, recruiters want you to succeed, but he or she is not your secretary. Recruiters should not be put in a position where they have to make extra copies on your behalf.
Recommended: Always bring more copies of your resume to the interview than you think you will need.
8. Be a stalker. After an interview, there is protocol. Send a thank you note and wait. Candidates who make incessant phone calls to recruiters, or flood their email box, will soon find themselves without support from arguably the most important person in the process.
Recommended: You can be assertive, but be measured. Usually a single follow-up via email or phone to the recruiter after a reasonable period of time will be sufficient. Gauge the response and decide your next action.
9. Be a jerk. Being mindful of your behavior once you’re walking the halls of a company for the first time is important. Do not spoil your confidence with arrogance. Do not be demanding of staff you have just met. During an interview, do not speak with disdain about current or former co-workers. Do not voice displeasure about anything (e.g. parking), even if your position is justified. You are a guest in someone else’s home.
Recommended: Behave as if your mother is watching. Mom taught you manners, she wants to see you use them.
10. Forget to be professional and courteous to everyone you meet. As a major addendum to #9, at any given company the employees are a professional family and you are a stranger. That goes for everyone from the CEO to the receptionist. It is in your best interest to get every family member you encounter on your side. Even the most persuasive recruiter dedicated to delivering you a job offer may not be able to get you across the finish line if you treat even a single employee with disrespect, condescension, or dismissiveness.
Recommended: Act as if every employee you meet has veto power over your candidacy. They probably do.
Philip Roufail contributed to this article.
Scott Singer is the President and Founder of Insider Career Strategies Resume Writing & Career Coaching, a firm dedicated to guiding job seekers and companies through the job search and hiring process. Insider Career Strategies provides resume writing, LinkedIn profile development, career coaching services, and outplacement services. You can email Scott Singer at scott.singer@insidercs.com, or via the website, www.insidercareerstrategies.com.
