I am new to blogging on RBC....so be nice :)

Some recent encounters have prompted me to write about  this recent revelation… In Staffing, going through hundreds of resumes per week, if not more, and submitting qualified candidates to open requisitions, I often find that we look for reasons to turn down or discount a candidate. I am not the only guilty party here…I find that I run into this with Clients, Managers, Vendor Management companies and sometimes even candidates.

I have been in the industry for over seven years, I do wholeheartedly agree that sometimes candidates do need to be rejected. It’s the nature of the beast, we can’t all hold hands and sing kum-ba-yah. But as the talent community grows more and more competitive, I am finding myself looking for reasons to say “Yes”. It seems easy, one would think; but what to do when a client, no matter how good your relationship, discounts your candidate as they were not doing “exactly what this job entails” in their last position. Regardless if they have transferrable skills, or if they are in a position where they are looking to move on with their career,  and have the brains to do so. It just seems easier to say no. It’s almost like they would prefer a robot who can “fill in the blank” rather than an employee who can bring new, fresh ideas to the table and be a long-term asset as their career goals are also being fulfilled.

With Vendor Manager’s its quite the same – we send monthly reports of our current headcount; of which way pay a percentage of to have working within the organization. Carefully making sure that everyone is listed with all the required information. Yet, it seems, that all that’s received back is negative responses. Questions as to why  your manager’s have kept someone past their “projected end date” or why your manager hasn’t rolled someone on to the VMS program, why a candidate that was submitted mention’s the Staffing Company name in their resume – which could be perceived as biased, and therefore rejected….all which is very ironic as when there is an issue all the sudden it is “your manager”; but when we follow upon a requisition with a Manager of which we already have a relationship with, we get called not to contact “their” manager. There seems to be a lot of finger pointing here, but no real progress.

Candidates often do say “YES” but sometimes it isn’t without long drawn out negotiations, endless back and forth that may result in a “YES” but can scream “NO” the whole way through.

But I digress…. While driving home, where I seem to do my best thinking (you know, without the ability to actually write down my thoughts) I was struck by the revelation that maybe we need to find more reasons for YES…Yes, this candidate does have transferrable skills, YES we are all responsible for making sure our clients receive the absolute best care,  YES we need to be respectful of all candidates even when we have been exhausted by hundreds of calls per day, YES we all need to make sure we are following the VMS rules. I guess my point is that this year I will strive to find more reasons for “YES” and maybe in the process, create some positive interactions with our clients, coworkers VMS Managers and Candidates.