Touch Points
Disclaimer: I need to apologize to you, for I am as guilty as any other recruiter for neglecting candidates, from time to time. The reasons are vast and unfortunately not always simple. Here are a few of my thoughts on when we tend to err on the opposite side of that equation.
As a Talent Acquisition professional I multi-task by default, and as a result the brightest light on my ‘dashboard’ gets the most amount of attention. It’s not that I don’t care about the other lights on my dashboard, I am simply working with a finite number of mental & physical resources, and need to address the most pressing task. Once in a while that pressing task triggers some OCD button in my brain, and some of the time it does not have the best result. Let me explain…
At the end of any recruitment project I am trying to finalize the match between candidate and company. This is tricky, (no matter who you are!) and certainly filled with ‘potholes’ that can be a pain in your ‘undercarriage’. So, sometimes, I tend to follow-up incessantly with both parties to the point of seeming desperate. This desperation has the result of disengaging one or both of the parties. This usually means that I need to dial back a bit and recognize that more is not always better.
The same can be said from the candidate perspective. I have had candidates so engaged in a role that they come across as needy or desperate themselves. It’s hard to know where to draw the line between contact management and stalking, but I think I might have found a simple solution.
Setting expectations.
Here is what you can expect from me; I will endeavor to get back to you based on the relevance, and urgency of your request or application. Your patience is appreciated, as from time to time, the fallible side of me takes over…
What I expect from you, is to be direct; let me know exactly what you need, (and as some people have tried, don’t waste my time by asking me if I want to sell vitamins or some such nonsense!) and I will try to be as respectful of your time too!
For those people who want a Recruitment professional to pay attention to your application, there are two things you must do: Stand out, and be relevant to the role(s) you are applying for! That will give you a greater chance of hitting the bull’s-eye more often.
