A few weeks ago I wrote a pretty tough criticism about my professional organization and the local SHRM chapter here in South Florida. According to the analytics, well let’s just say that it resonated with the 9 people (and the spam bots) that read my blog.
In an effort to remain above the fray (at least in my own mind) I’d like to focus today’s post on my peers in the recruiting space.
I’d like to start with the simple notion of “I get it.” Seriously I do. You have 35 reqs on the board, your hiring managers are dragging their feet and you’ve got stalker candidates calling you to “check on the status” of their application.
That being said, I want to share with you, fellow recruiter, what you are not. You’re not the software developer/line manager/ financial analyst /marketing professional /I-banker or even the HR Generalist.
You are the recruiter.
Let that statement wash over you and repeat it to yourself if you’d like. You are the recruiter!
I also understand that when someone does manage to get through to you and they’re not the candidate that you wanted to speak to, you may be a bit short on the phone because of the situations mentioned earlier. But that does not mean you should be a jerk.
I had a colleague once who made it a point to call every agency recruiter and/or sales rep back because according to them “You never know when you’re going to need them help you in your own personal search”. No bull, I heard them do it every day after 5 o’clock.
So here’s my public mea culpa to everyone I’ve ever wronged while waiting for that candidate to call me back and they turned out to be an agency recruiter trying to pimp someone.
I apologize for my snotty phone manners, my terse conversations, and the lack of a courteous good bye as I was terminating the call.
Now if you’ll excuse me, my phone is ringing….
photo credit:http://www.tvfanatic.com/gallery/ari-gold-picture/
