J.T. O’Donnell* says that what a recruiting officer might tell us over the phone and what happens afterwards, can be two entirely different things.
My company launched a free, private career support group on Facebook a few months ago.
We thought we’d get a few hundred members. We now have more than 32,000 members (and counting).
It’s where people share experiences and offer support to one another as they navigate various career challenges.
This is one of the most popular:
“I had an incredible conversation with a recruiter from a company I want to work for.
“The job is perfect for me.
“She said she was going to pass my info along to the hiring manager and she’d be in touch with the next steps.”
“A week went by and I heard nothing. I emailed her, but no response.
“I called and left a voice mail. Still no response. I feel like a fool.
“Why would she lead me on like that? Why wouldn’t she just tell me if I wasn’t a fit?
“It’s rude and disrespectful. What can I do?”
Anyone who has ever been in active job search mode has likely experienced the situation above.
It’s tough to deal with, especially, when it happens repeatedly.
It sucks the career confidence right out of you, making you feel jaded and angry towards recruiters, because rejection always feels personal.
As someone who works with lots of recruiters, while I can’t defend their actions, I can tell you four common reasons why you didn’t move forward in the process.
You were a fit, but so were five other people:
After talking to you, the recruiter had more phone screens and one or more of the people she spoke to were an even better fit than you.
Since she’s only supposed to submit the top three candidates for consideration, you didn’t make the cut.
The hiring manager said “no”, and the recruiter can’t explain why:
She’s frustrated but can’t let it show because the hiring manager is her customer.
So, she goes back to the drawing board and looks for someone else.
The job description changed, and you’re no longer a fit:
The recruiter submitted your credentials only to be told by the hiring manager that he realises he needs a different set of skills and strengths than he first asked for.
The job’s on hold, indefinitely:
When the recruiter submitted your credentials the hiring manager announced she’s not ready to make the hire quite yet.
She just wants the recruiter to keep screening so there are enough candidates for when she is ready to hire.
I realise regardless of the situations above, the respectful thing to do would be to contact you with an update.
However, I ask you to think about the time restraints before you get too angry.
Recruiters get hundreds of online applicants and speak to many people each week.
They often get so busy they don’t have time to call or email to personally explain why you’ve been rejected.
Not to mention, nobody likes to have let someone down.
This is especially so if the candidate starts asking all sorts of questions recruiter can’t answer, such as: “What could I have done differently?”
Or: “What did the other candidates have that I didn’t?”
This can make a recruiter want to put a note on your file that says: “Do not call.”
If you’re lucky enough to get a response from a recruiter saying you aren’t moving forward in the process, I encourage you to simply thank them for the response.
Tell them you’d love to be considered for future opportunities.
Finally, remember this: You’re a business-of-one selling your services to employers. Salespeople are used to rejection.
In a job search, you’re a salesperson. The more you prepare for and get used to rejection, the easier it will be for you to move on.
The right employer is out there, but you’ll have to keep knocking on doors to find them.
If it was easy to get a better job, everyone would have one by now.
*J.T. O’Donnell has experience in developing and implementing recruiting, job search, and career development tools and resources. She has delivered presentations to professionals on a wide variety of career topics and can be contacted at workitdaily.com.
This article first appeared on J.T.’s blogsite.
