Rules of conduct/courtesy for recruiters and candidates

I belong to the network Linked in and must admit that I don't participate in the site very often. However, the following two posts caught my eye, and I thought it worthy of posting with permission from both authors. It deals with follow up and follow through, something all recruiters struggle with on a daily basis. I've mentioned in a previous post how many people we deal with each week (we are required to make between 40-75 outbound calls daily) and how a great candidate can easily get lost in the mix.

On the flip side, all of you job seekers also talk to countless recruiters every day/week and I'm sure it's easy to lose track of who is with which recruiting service and who is seriously working behind the scenes on your behalf. You find numerous job postings on line and surely can't keep track of which company posted that job or even if the job is still around. (I'll make that a subject in a future post.)

So, here are notes from both sides of the fence:

Declining a position when you have multiple opportunities - Don't just disappear!  Jennifer Knepper

Nothing aggravates a recruiter more than working with a candidate for several weeks - screening, submittal, and multiple interviews - and then getting to the offer stage, and the candidate just disappears.

If you are working with a recruiter, we understand that you have multiple opportunities that you are pursuing. We understand that sometimes, an offer you receive might be better that what we or our client can provide. We get that you need to do what is best for you. What we don't get is why, when we are so late in the game, you would suddenly disappear. You avoid phone calls, don't respond to e-mails; when you have been responsive at every other stage of the process.

If you're going to decline an opportunity, that happens. However, at least have the courtesy to let your recruiter know that you are no longer interested. We have put a lot of time and effort in to get you this opportunity, many times, behind the scenes work that you may not be aware of. It only takes a few seconds to let us know that something else has come up. And, you never know when you might find yourself out of work again - it is never a good idea to burn bridges.

Then, this response appeared, and I thought it fitting and a worthy reminder to remind all of us that it does work both ways.



Christopher Knepper • It bears mentioning that the same applies to the recruiter. Once a candidate has applied for a position, they deserve to be kept up to date. So, to paraphrase your own post...

Nothing aggravates a candidate more than working with a recruiter for several weeks - screening, submittal, and multiple interviews - and then getting close to the offer stage, and the recruiter just disappears.

If you are working with a candidate, we understand that you have multiple candidates with whom you are working. We understand that sometimes, another candidate might be better for a given position. We get that you need to do what is best for you and your client. What we don't get is why, when we are so late in the game, you would suddenly disappear. You avoid phone calls, don't respond to e-mails; when you have been responsive at every other stage of the process.

If we are declined for an opportunity, that happens. However, at least have the courtesy to let your candidate know that they no longer in contention. We have put a lot of time and effort in to get to this opportunity, many times, behind the scenes work that you may not be aware of. It only takes a few seconds to let us know that someone else has taken the position.

Courtesy is a two way street