Monday, March 12, 2012

Mysteries of online job postings

I'm sure all of you have spotted a job from a contract service that would be just perfect for you.  However, when you call the recruiter, the job is no longer available.  There are several reasons why this happens over and over again to all of you. 

First of all, the world of contract jobs moves at the speed of light.  Most facilities (both schools and medical settings) send their open jobs to (literally) hundreds of staffing services.  It is a game of first come (with the most qualified candidate) first serve.  Sometimes, by the time we receive your resume and contact your references, the job has been filled.  The more prepared you are to move quickly, the better your chances of snatching that job you've seen.

Another reason is that contract services are often considered as a last ditch solution.  We may have a call from a facility, go to work posting the job on line, make 80-100 calls a day for a week to find someone for the position only to find out that the facility had someone walk through their door and take the position.  AND......they never told us that the job was no longer available!  So, we often share your frustration.

The third reason (and it's not one that I am proud to put in print), but there are recruiters (through the magic of computer data bases) who NEVER take off a job posting once they've gone through the effort to post it; they just keep re-posting it with no regard to whether that job is open or not.  There is a recruiter in my
office who has over 1,000 jobs posted, and I bet only 5 of them are current.

Advice......call and find a recruiter who will be honest with you and tell you the truth about current jobs.  Now, having said that, it doesn't mean that we can't get on the phone and be proactive in finding you a position in the location/setting that you are most wanting.  I think that is the plan for those who keep the same postings on line FOREVER! 

Feel free to contact me and I will tell you what is current or if an area is a poor market for us or if your qualifications don't quite meet what our clients look for in a candidate.  And, I hope that my honestly moves you forward to your dream job, or a spot that will eventually lead you to that ideal situation.