When having a very specialised field of expertise, you are an often-approached candidate. As an organisation which is specialised in matching people and organisations in the chemical, food and pharmaceutical industry, we understand how annoying it can be for you to be approached by too many – especially ‘unskilled’- recruiters.
Fair is fair; how skilled and passionate we can be, there is always room for growth and improvement. And you know, there is nothing wrong with a little self-reflection now and then. 😉
Having worked and talked with many candidates, and asking them about their most annoying experiences, we believe to know what the most painful and frustrating experiences they’ve had. So, we’ve listed the most annoying things our candidates experience with different recruiters.
1. Calling you the perfect candidate
Imagine the following: a recruiter calls and tells you that he (or she) is convinced you are the perfect candidate for a particular position. You are probably thinking ‘you don’t know me nor what I want, so you can’t know that…’, but, whatever, you decide to hear him out. The position sounds kind of interesting, so you accept his invitation to the job interview. The next day, after the interview, it is clear it’s not going to happen. You are actually not that disappointed about the position, but you are very annoyed about the overly enthusiastic recruiter who tried to tell you something even they themselves didn’t know in advance.
And even more annoying… the moment when a recruiter suddenly lost his interest in you because he doesn’t have a position for you at that moment.
2. Not answering your messages
Many recruiters tend to have the habit of contacting many candidates at the same time. After a few good leads, they suddenly vanish into a different dimension. They don’t want to pull all their eggs in one basket so most of the time, they are doing research and contacting everyone that meets any kind of the criteria they are looking for. You know, like one of those annoying salespeople who focus on ‘selling’ instead of perfect matching.
There are also many good recruiters out there, we promise. Some recruiters are firm believers of quality over quantity and even refuse the assignment if needed.
3. Not doing the research
By doing good research and knowing their stuff, recruiters have a higher success rate for contacting the right candidate from the beginning. A recruiter doesn’t need to know a lot about Chemical Engineering (it definitely helps though ;)), but not knowing the difference between Polymer Programming and Polymer Processing may seem a little unprofessional in the eyes of the candidates. When a candidate needs to convince the recruiter why he is the right person for the position, the recruiters have to convince he knows what he is talking about. He has to know enough to make sure the job matches the candidate’s background. It goes both ways.
4. Not being able to ‘read‘ people
We don’t like to generalise, but in certain fields, you need to have very specific qualities to be suitable for the job. Many people with those qualities are introverted, kind and reserved people. Apart from a few exceptions, of course. By being an extravert and treat them like extraverts, recruiters will get the opposite results. It will help a lot by learning a little about different kind of people and try to talk their language. It takes a little effort to make a big difference.
5. Not asking the right questions
A few years ago, there was a trend when a recruiter asked irrelevant questions, such as ‘how many oranges will fit in this room?’ By asking this, the recruiter thought he’d get a better chance of getting a full picture of the candidate. The way the candidate responded to the question revealed something about him.
However, questions like this will annoy or even confuse the candidates, because it has nothing to do with the vacancy. In some fields, this kind of questions do more harm than good, and that’s a shame because the recruiter will lose a good candidate. If a recruiter wants to find the right candidate for the position, he has to be on the same level. If he expects his candidate to do the homework, he has to do his too! He has to be honest and sincere, communicate properly, do his research and ask the right questions.
Are you looking for a career in chemicals, food, or life sciences? Check Our Work. Can’t find the right vacancy? Let us know! We have more to offer. 🙂 Follow our LinkedIn company page!