How to Drive a Recruiter Absolutely Bonkers
When you want a job, you should express that desire to a recruiter or hiring manager. But you shouldn’t feel so desperate for a job that you call a recruiter immediately after sending your resume to see if he or she has reviewed it yet, expect a recruiter to write your resume for you or lie about your work history, skills or qualifications.
In other words, it’s possible to be overly excited about a job and take out that excess emotion on recruiters or hiring managers, which, in effect, drives them absolutely bonkers.
Wondering if you’re guilty of the ultimate hiring-process sins? Read on for our recruiters’ list of their biggest pet peeves and how to start walking the straight and narrow – right into your next job.
Apply for a job that you are clearly not qualified for – in any way.
Recruiters cannot submit you for a job if you do not meet all of the requirements for the position. If a position calls for weekly travel, you must be able to travel to the job site, and you must have the required, specific experience or certifications before you apply to be considered a viable candidate, said Christine Woods, Senior Consultant Advisor.
Expect the recruiter to correct grammatical or chronological errors.
Sure, recruiters expect to edit resumes, and they're experts at helping a consultant look their very best. But excessive misspellings, run-on sentences and garbled text may signal a red flag to the recruiter. In other words, spell check, fact check and clarify everything on your resume – before you apply for a job, said Woods.
Use a bunch of text boxes, columns and crazy formatting in your resume.
After you submit your resume to a staffing firm, recruiters need to reformat it on the staffing firm's letterhead, which can be challenging if resumes are filled with text boxes and columns, which usually indicates the candidate is trying to keep his or her resume to one page, said Matt Kasperzak, Consultant Advisor. "If you're a contractor or consultant, don't worry about your resume's length," Kasperzak said. "Detail all of your projects, using plain text.” Kasperzak and Consultant Advisor Justin Couch like to see resumes that utilize simple layouts, with a small summary of qualifications or skills at the top, followed by education, certifications and professional experience in chronological order.
After you submit your resume, call the recruiter five times, and email a few times, too.
Recruiters need time to review your resume and figure out if you’re a good fit for one of their open positions, said Neika Powell, Consultant Advisor. A good rule of thumb is when you send your resume by email, follow up with a phone call within an hour. If no feedback has been provided within 24 hours of submitting your resume or interviewing, follow up with another call and reminder e-mail, advised Powell.
Disappear off the face of the planet during the interview process.
Typically, this scenario happens when a candidate is no longer interested in the job or has taken another job, and it's completely understandable if another job interests you more – just let your recruiter know that as soon as possible, said Caitlin Gentry, Consultant Advisor. If you're torn about two jobs, tell your recruiter, so he or she can have one more chance to get you an offer.
All the recruiters agree: Keep it honest, throughout the entire hiring process, from resume writing to job offer, and you'll make it easier - and drive fewer people bonkers - along the way.