Another blog from my guest contributor Amy Goldstein. Recruiters PLEASE take note!!

The only thing the young, unemployed, and penniless love more than money is to complain. During the past year in New Zealand, I’ve commiserated with many fellow job seekers over how tedious and stressful it is to find work. We particularly enjoy gossiping about recruitment agencies.

For the most part, the recruitment process is rather mundane and innocuous; but sometimes, you hear a good horror story. My favourite comes from my friend Jennifer. Apparently, one of her consultants keeps referring to her as Jessica, even over email, even though her name is included in her email address.

Lately, I’ve been thinking: during your professional career, you undergo annual reviews and complete exit interviews, giving you and your manager the chance to evaluate and constructively criticise each other. However, job candidates rarely get to give feedback to their HR consultants (which is why we talk about them behind their backs instead). That hardly seems fair or productive. Since I’ve yet to fill out a recruitment agency performance review, I’d like to take this opportunity to share my advice on how to be a better HR consultant.

Tip # 1: Be Honest About Available Opportunities

When I first arrived in Auckland, one agent seduced me with the promise of a well-paid, three-month contract as an Administrative Assistant with a telecommunications company. As soon as she received confirmation of the role, it would be mine. Excited about this particular position, I rejected less appealing roles offered by other agents.

It took over a week of unreturned calls and emails for me to realize that this job didn’t actually exist. The agent was just leading me on until a suitable opportunity became available. When the consultant finally contacted me, she sounded hurt and betrayed to discover I had already found work through a competing agency. Manage candidate expectations by being up front about their prospects, and giving them concrete and realistic deadlines for when they are likely to hear back from you and get a job.

Tip #2: Communicate Frequently With Your Candidates

Even though recruitment agencies don’t charge candidates directly for their services, in my experience there are many hidden fees. For example, money spent on phone credit and Internet so that you can harass your HR consultant. Job candidates tend to resemble patients awaiting the results of a medical exam. Ideally, agents would ring candidates periodically with a progress report, or tell them exactly how long they should wait before checking in. Otherwise, prepare yourself for stalkers.

Tip #3: Optimise Compatibility

Unhappy with his former employer, one of my flatmate’s recently quit his job. He has extensive experience in (and for some reason greatly enjoys) the insurance industry. However, because he is moving overseas in a few months and knows his next role will be temporary, he is willing to be flexible.

Imagine his delight when a recruitment agent announced that she had found him a potential opportunity in his field, as a Sales Manager. Unfortunately, his expertise is in Customer Service, and he’s never had a leadership position. “I can’t wait to see how they present my CV for that role,” he said. “They are going to have to do a serious sales pitch of their own.” He and I are still debating which is worse – being hired to do a job for which you have no training or experience or being hired to do a job for which you’re overqualified.

Tip #4: Consider Your Candidates’ Long-Term Career Goals

I’m not proud to admit some of the things I’ve done for money. Like don a one-dollar coin costume and walk down the streets of Wellington handing out chocolates and fliers to strangers (even if the pictures are amazing). Given the current economic climate, many job seekers feel guilty if they turn down an unattractive role; and those already employed feel greedy if they go for something better suited to their personal skills and passions. Desperate job seekers can feel as though recruitment agencies are doing them a favour by finding them work, and thus have no right to make demands.

A candidate’s short-term goal may be a steady income. But, whether we are in New Zealand on a temporary working-holiday visa or a native citizen, we all ultimately want a job that is interesting, challenging, and meaningful. Once a candidate has been placed, stay in touch with them, inquire after their job satisfaction, and keep them in mind when new positions arise.

Perhaps that’s the key to a positive job candidate-HR consultant relationship: the future. Treat all candidates as if you want them to be lifelong clients, and try to find them a role they would be happy to fill for the rest of their lives. If that’s not possible immediately or ever, at the very least, make an effort to remember their names.

Thanks for a great post Amy

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