You want a job.  I want an employee.  Why is it so hard for us to get together?

As an agency recruiter, life was pretty simple.  Develop some strong relationships, get some job orders, go hunting for qualified candidates.  If they were “passive”, make them “active” (heh).  Move them through the process and close the deal.  Wake up the next day and do it again. 

Enter the damn Applicant Tracking System.              

Keep in mind I started recruiting back when there was…

I use this analogy quite often with candidates and the reaction is pretty intense.  All of a sudden, they get it.  That company won’t return your calls?  Listen, they’re just not that into you.  Blabbing all over Facebook that you nailed your phone interview and expect an offer any day now?  Discretion people… discretion.  (Honestly it was a phone interview… you’ve got a ways to go, friend.)

For me, this analogy was born during my agency days after a…

Next week I throw myself back into recruiting (this time, corporate – something new!).  I’ve been thinking a lot about how I’m going to handle the candidate experience.  Surely some things are out of my control – I will be working with a recruiting coordinator, flexing to the needs and schedules of my hiring managers, and of course the whims of the candidates themselves.  (Of course I want to work for your company.  Unless this other offer comes through.  I can interview anytime.  Except…