Help a Recruiter: My candidate disappeared

I know we have talked about this before but this is a common item...Leena Chabra today posted this in our chat...can you give some advice also?

Hello, candidates call give all the info say they want to get submitted for the role..ans your calls for the information needed and then all of a sudden disappears..does that happen? if yes then what are the reasons?

Leena Chhabra
Hello, candidates call give all the info say they want to get submitted for the role..ans your calls for the information needed and then all of a sudden disappears..does that happen? if yes then what are the reasons?
7:56 AM
Me
Fear of actually applying, lack of trust, trying to get the job without you, or general good natured too busy at the moment or life gets in the way....
9:11 AM
Leena Chhabra
Thanks..but what do you suggest I should do? keep calling..forget abt the candidate and move on?
9:20 AM
Rebecca B. Sargeant
This is a stupid question...Are you giving them enough info to apply on their own?
9:40 AM
Leena Chhabra
Why would they want to apply on their own? wouldnt going trough the recruiters be better since thier resume would be submitted to directly to the HR?
9:52 AM
Rebecca B. Sargeant
People are funny - maybe there is something in the message that is throwing them off ...you can call me if you need help 905-627-5060
9:56 AM
Me
Yes and no. Recruiters are often viewed like the necessary evil and the impression is that there will be money taken away because we are getting paid
10:51 AM
Me
They also think that a fee attached to them will hurt their salary and candidacy.
10:52 AM
Stephen Hart
I don't know which of you has a LinkedIn Premium account but you might like this walkthrough on how to use the new image features ... http://wp.me/pjWCR-1jD
11:00 AM
Leena Chhabra
Its so strange candidates behave the way they do and then we are the evils..uggghhh!!
11:10 AM
Me
yes
I have had this happen to my teams a lot. Candidate education at the time of start up is key
tell them how you do business, what you will do with their info, tell them you will be submitting their name and then their info once you receive it
then send the name in with your client asap to "cover" your self

Please add your help below...and thank you in advance

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Ashley Zito Rowe on June 5, 2014 at 11:58am

Leena - When you say, "ans your calls for the information needed," does that refer to the information you needed or they needed. If it refers to the information you needed, then perhaps the candidate's needs (concerns, interests, desires, and fears) weren't fully addressed? Maybe the job seemed interesting, but they could have thought the long term benefits were better where they were? Or maybe they were also considering other opportunities?

Good luck.

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Permalink Reply by Leena Chhabra on June 5, 2014 at 12:41pm

Hey Ashley, Information needed at both ends. We spoke in lenght about the project the company, the rate etc. Even emailed me the resume stating very much interested in the role and to go ahead and submit for the role.. then emailed called again as wanted some more information (trivial) just poof!! never responded to my email or calls. FYI this is not the first time that has happened to me. So just curious if I was doing something wrong or should do things differently? or its common for the candidates to disappear like that?

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Permalink Reply by Ashley Zito Rowe on June 5, 2014 at 12:55pm

Unfortunately, I don't have much more add. That does sound odd. Although, it sounds similar to dating experiences, like when things go well, but then unexpectedly a person does the fade away.

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Permalink Reply by Leena Chhabra on June 5, 2014 at 12:59pm

Lol nicely put :) I guess it was not meant to be....the search continues :(

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Permalink Reply by Linda Ferrante on June 9, 2014 at 10:06am

If it's happened to you more than once, recently especially, I would take a serious look at how you are presenting yourself to the candidates. The one common denominator in these scenarious is you, the recruiter. I have people say to me all the time, 'go ahead and submit me and let's see what happens' and that's completely not our process. Those people aren't really interested. At all.

It's up to you to figure out first, what you can do different and second, have follow up they need to do before you submit them. Do you interview the candidates face to face? So many questions are unanswered here, probably too many to make a sound call to help you.

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Permalink Reply by Noel Cocca on June 9, 2014 at 11:52am

Thank you Ashley and Linda...good advice.

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Permalink Reply by Leena Chhabra on June 10, 2014 at 10:32am

Thank You Ashley, Linda and Noel !! Appreciate your input.

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Permalink Reply by Sarah Bojarski on June 12, 2014 at 3:29pm

I have had this happen before also. As mentioned above, there are many reasons. If it's happening often, take a look at your process, always ask if they have any questions or if anything is not clear. I also ask if there would be any reason they would not accept the position if offered to get an insight.

Also, don't let too much time pass without communicating. If you start to not hear back, put it out there and ask if they're still interested. Make a case for why you're continuing to make contact -- ex: they're considered top talent, client really wants to meet, etc.