Since as long as I can remember, the main complaint leveled at recruiters is that they do not respond to applications and fail to provide feedback. Knowing this, I have always tried to ensure that every application receives a response and well-matched candidates receive personal feedback. I follow and teach this practice at Select Headhunter, as it’s a very simple way to create a good professional impression.
I have applied the same practice when it comes to people reaching out to me with a job opportunity or to pitch a relevant product. I have always felt that not responding to my professional peers is a great way of leaving a bad impression. More importantly, I have a policy of never saying no to something until I have taken the time to explore what I am turning down.
As I have recently had the pleasure of opening my own recruitment agency and getting back to more hands-on work, I noticed a very worrying trend from my recruitment peers. When messaging people about opportunities for non-recruitment positions, the response rate was very high. Unfortunately, the response rate from recruiters was poor and made me consider why this would be?
Is the inability to reply to people so deeply ingrained in the recruitment industry DNA, that recruiters have forgotten about common curtesy? Or does the act of communicating with thousands of candidates or clients make recruiters lose the ability to reply? Whatever the answer is, it was a good reminder of the importance of communication, as every encounter is an opportunity for you to demonstrate who you are as person and a professional.
If ever you find yourself in the position where the recruiter you are working with is not responding, please feel free to contact me. If you find someone at Select Headhunter or myself isn’t taking the time to acknowledge you, please email me at andrew.hairs@selectheadhunter.com and remind me to be a better person.