We have written recently that the market is showing signs of recovery and that job flow is increasing. Indeed, I have personally seen a marked increase over the summer when I had been warning candidates earlier in the year that things would slow down…you live and learn! It is all hands to the pumps and well, I am having to work that little bit harder!

So, on Sunday night I decided to clear the weekend’s email and CV applications with the view to walking in to a clean slate first thing Monday morning. I spent around 90 minutes reading CVs and responding where required. I cleared about 60 CVs. 90 seconds isn’t a lot of time to spend reading a CV but the volumes are so high that you just do not have the time to do much more. I receive anywhere from 40-60 applications per day. On average around 80% of the applications will be from candidates whom have absolutely no relevant industry or job experience. A large proportion will be from School leavers looking for their first £90k job!

 If the candidate is not right for the role I do respond (it is a company policy and one that I support wholeheartedly) via email. Yesterday I received this response from one candidate who I had informed was not right for the position he had applied for:

“Wow! Job Rejection on a Sunday Evening!!　 That’s a new one!

“a number of applicants who more closely　fit our clients stringent criteria”…blah! – a new collection of words different from what I usually get from you people.

“Should we be handling any other assignments”….never heard that one!

Yet another　lip-service bullsh*t response where you are clearly lying.

“We will be in touch”….When what you really mean to say is…”we don’t think your CV OR yourself will make us any money so we will sign off with a patronising kiss off line and promptly shred your CV and never contact you again”!

Why don’t you a**holes be honest for once.

C**K!”

The individual in question lived two hours from the job location, had no management experience (having applied for a middle management role) nor any directly relevant functional job experience. His application was speculative at best and interestingly there was no personalised message.

I would like to respond to each of the points he makes:

• Yes, I was working on a Sunday evening. I value my job and what I do, I have a young family to support and I am committed to doing the best I can. I was working out of hours. I know it isn’t ideal to receive a negative email on a Sunday evening, is Monday morning better or Friday afternoon?
• Yes, I had received applications from more relevant people. My job is to shortlist the best candidates on the market for my client. Why? Because they do not have the time, resources or experience to do it for themselves. I am paid to find the people that my client wants.
• “You people.”   Not much I can say to that really other than that stereotyping in any form is offensive.
• We do handle other assignments and regularly get back in touch with candidates we have rejected previously. Equally sometimes a role does not come up. We do not have crystal balls (although a colleague of mine thinks his are golden?!) The irony is that I might have been able to help this individual with the client in question as they are expanding and may have suitable roles in the future. However, would I ever represent a candidate who sends abusive emails like this? No.
• “We will be in touch, we don’t think your CV will make us any money etc.”   We are paid by our clients to complete assignments according to their wishes. Fortunately, I do enjoy my job; I wouldn’t work with anyone else and genuinely appreciate the candidates and clients I work with. The candidates never pay me any money but I provide career and job searching advice on a daily basis, often to people that I will never make any money out of. Why, because I do think we should give a little back, but also because many individuals are polite enough to email or call with a genuine request for help.
• “Why don’t we be honest?”  To be fair this is probably the best question. Are recruiters honest all of the time? Probably not, the industry does have its fair share of amoral individuals. There are however plenty of us, who have to tread a fine line between being ‘honest’ and destroying the confidence of people at what is often a vulnerable time in their life. On a daily basis I speak to candidates that have made mistakes in their careers that will often have far reaching consequences. It would be honest to tell them this…but will it help? I find giving people encouragement, support and waiting for the right time to give occasionally unpalatable advice is a far better policy.

So, back to the point of the blog, do candidates want acknowledgement of an application?

I suspect the overwhelming answer is yes. I receive emails like the one above several times a month but I receive ten times as many with simple thanks for letting them know (and this always makes me take the time to consider if I have any other vacancy for them which may be suitable).

Recruiters are not a bunch of arrogant, self absorbed, unfeeling idiots. We know looking for a job is tough, lonely and at times degrading (the poor chap last week at an interview for Currys springs to mind). Taking your frustration out on the very people that you may later rely on for future help is at its best ill considered and its worst infantile.

What do you think?

By Jez Styles, AdMore Recruitment

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