Written by Sarah Welstead, co-founder and Managing Partner of Retired Worker, this blog is a forum for up-to-the-minute news and ideas about older workers and the employers who hire them.

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Entries

Dear Sarah: Can I work with more than one recruiter at a time?
Posted : Mon November 30th
Comments : 2

Retired Worker on the radio: Tips for job-seekers on getting the most out of recruiters
Posted : Wed November 18th

"Dear Sarah: Who pays recruiters and how do I get one?"
Posted : Sun November 15th

"Dear Sarah: Recruiters are driving me nuts. What should I do?"
Posted : Sun November 8th

Great networking lasts a lifetime. That's why Facebook is more important to your career than you think.
Posted : Fri September 25th

Dear Candidates: This is why you didn't get the job
Posted : Mon September 21st

Generational resentment in the workplace
Posted : Fri September 18th

7 Traits of Great Online Applicants
Posted : Fri September 4th

If you're a job-seeker, recruiters are looking for you on LinkedIn. Here's how.
Posted : Fri August 14th

Considering a 'gimmick' to attract potential employers? You might want to think again.
Posted : Fri July 31st

Retired Worker Blog

"Dear Sarah: Recruiters are driving me nuts. What should I do?"

Because I've worked in the recruiting industry for a while now, but am not actually a recruiter myself, scarcely a week goes by that I don't get an email from someone - a friend-of-a-friend, a spouse-of-a-friend, a child-of-a-friend - telling me that they're having unsatisfactory interactions with recruiters, and asking what they should do about it.

The fundamental problem, of course - outside of the current economy, which is making job hunting tougher for everyone - is simply that most job-seekers don't really understand the recruiting process.

What's more, the job-hunting process is so personal, stressful and 'self-focused', it can be hard to stay objective. Even the most confident people can find themselves coming across as 'desperate' when talking to recruiters.

However, the more you know about how recruiting - especially recruiting agencies - works, the better you'll look to recruiters, and the better your chances that recruiters will respond to your applications, send you to interviews, and actively promote you to their clients.

Welcome to the 'Dear Sarah' series!

...in which we offer advice, tips and general how-to-ish-ness to job-seekers who want to have more satisfactory interactions with recruiters.

These are real questions that I've received from job-seekers in the past 6 months.

(Have a question about your recent experiences with recruiters? Send me an email at sarah@retiredworker.ca!)

FIRST QUESTION:
"Dear Sarah:

I have been dealing with a couple of recruiters recently and I wanted your opinion.

In one case, the interview went really well and I was told that I would hear back within 1 to 3 days. It was 4 weeks before I heard anything back and the recruiter said that they planned to make an offer, but were working out details. The last contact I had with him was in August and I interviewed in July. I've been calling once a month since then, but he's not taking my calls so I leave voicemails asking him to give me a call. Is it worth keeping up with that? Or is he not calling me back for a reason?"

When interviews go well (and it must have, if the recruiter started to talk about offers) but then you don't hear anything, one of two things has happened:

1. The employer changed their mind/plan/requirements and didn't hire anyone in the end
2. The job was filled by a candidate from another recruiting agency, and the recruiter doesn't want to tell you that

This one sounds like a classic case of #1. In this economy, employers are wary of making new hires so they take ages to make decisions - and sometimes that decision is that they don't need to fill a role after all.

It's entirely possible that the employer has kept the recruiter dangling since July, too.

Yes, the recruiter should have followed up with you, even to tell you he hadn't heard anything. (But you can take some comfort in the fact that in another couple of years, when the talent crisis really heats up, recruiters who don't build long-term relationships with candidates are going to find they don't have any candidates!)

In the meantime, don't waste any more time calling this recruiter. You can bet he'll find you pretty darn quick if/when the employer is ready to make an offer - and you can spend your time seeking out other opportunities.

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