Candidate, Love Thy Recruiter

For those candidates and recruiters lucky enough to be an industry as healthy as ours, there is plenty of opportunity.  The activity that has come through our office in the last six months alone is astonishing in comparison to what we experienced twelve, eighteen months ago.  We have fully transitioned into a strongly candidate-driven market, which should--in theory--mean great things for our business.  And in general, it does.

A by-product of this trend is that candidates who, six months ago, weren't looking, weren't getting daily (or hourly) calls from corporate and agency recruiters, are suddenly being overwhelmed by options and by offers.  And in many cases, so are the candidates who sent out resumes to every Tom, Dick and Harry even remotely associated with his/her industry last year.  

Now, I've never met a recruiter who didn't thrive on a little healthy competition; we do what we do because we enjoy the challenge (and let's face it, the associated rewards) of matching the right candidate to the right opportunity.  That is how most of us build our businesses, our reputations, our networks--contrary to popular belief, many recruiting professionals value integrity above all other virtues.  And perhaps that is because we rely on it.  If we don't do as we say, we risk damaging far more than one relationship: we risk our careers, our companies.

As a function of what we do, we have to trust that candidates tell us the truth unless we have reason to believe otherwise and every day we stake our reputations on it.  We trust that candidates will come to us if they have doubts, questions or concerns; we trust that candidates will let us know both if and WHEN they have other offers on the table and/or they are no longer interested in pursuing opportunities with our client.  We trust that candidates will be honest (and professional) enough to tell us what we need to know even if that means one of us has to pick up the phone and initiate an uncomfortable conversation; we're betting on it.

We're as excited as you are--good things for you mean good things for everyone.  Just don't get so caught up in the excitement that you forget who your friends are.


written by Kate Harlow, Strategic Sourcing Manager @ TMG