Confessions of an Executive Restaurant Recruiter

Today marks the final installment of my series on "10 ways to make recruiters love you." I know that it has been a bit delayed, but circumstances being what they are, I’m lucky to have a functioning computer [see my post on moving your office.] We started our journey some months ago with an original post on ItzBigBlog that covered the Candidate’s Bill of Rights. That series was well received and I did a parallel on here - Exploring the Candidate’s Bill of Rights which went for 10 parts. But, during the first read of John Younger’s original article on Candidate’s Rights, I thought to myself why don’t recruiter’s deserve a bill of rights as well… so I started a series with that title. After a couple of posts, I decided that I might get my message across better if I changed the title. I wasn’t so much trying to enforce some rights that I thought all recruiters were due, but more so giving advice to candidates on how to build great relations with their recruiters…. hence the new title for the series.

This last post will cover the tenth amendment in the recruiter’s bill of rights, or the tenth way to make recruiters love you - "information."

The recruiter will be provided with the necessary and truthful information about the candidate, his or her work history, compensation, performance, felony record, drug use, and other legal hiring criteria etc. in order for the recruiter make an informed decision about the candidate’s suitability for the position.

This one principle should be the guiding rule when dealing with recruiters. You need to tell them about your career and share information which is factual. Leaving out information, or not being truthful can cause you to loose all hope of gaining the position that you are discussing with the recruiter. I’ve had, on more than several occasions, candidates leave out/falsify information that, if disclosed truthfully in the beginning, could have been worked around.  Not being truthful about potentially damaging circumstances in your past can and will break the bonds of trust with your recruiter. It will more than likely keep the recruiter from working with you in the future. It reveals flaws in your character that are still present, rather than mistakes in the past that you have learned from. It has been my experience that many companies will look at past problems as just that, past. However, if a candidate isn’t forthright, they won’t consider that person for employment. If you are candid with your recruiter, he can help guide how you reveal the information to the hiring company. His guidance can help minimize the detrimental effects. The recruiter can keep your candidacy moving forward with the decision makers while HR works on what issues may arise from past problems. Timing of when to tell, and whom to tell can be critical, and your recruiter because of his working relationship with the company, is in the best position to determine those steps.

When you reveal derogatory information about your past, you may not always get the best reaction, or the reaction that you wanted from you recruiter or from the hiring company, but you will gain the respect of the recruiter. You won’t lose him as an ally in your job search. If he comes across opportunities where your past isn’t disqualifying, then he’ll work with you and present you to the hiring company.

There is other information that must be provided that isn’t as troubling as possible criminal charges, but it is just as important that it be provided in a truthful manner.  Information about job titles, salary levels, etc. has to be conveyed truthfully.  Don’t think that you can squeeze a higher offer out of a new company by overstating your earnings.  It won’t happen.  Your prospective new employer can and will find out your true earnings history and if you have been dishonest about your salary history, you might just loose your offer.

If you choose to try deceive him and the hiring company, the chances are almost 100% that you will be found out and the reaction from the recruiter and hiring company will be to stop working with you and avoid interaction at any level. Being truthful is always the best policy… especially with your recruiter.

At the suggestion of Pat Lefler [classmate of mine from USNA] I will be creating a PDF of the series and including a link on my blog for downloading. Take a few minutes and visit Pat’s blog. His suggested reading list is quite good.

Series - 10 Ways to Make Recruiters Love You

1) Confidentiality - Recruiters are entitled to have confidentiality and security of the information shared with prospective jobseekers regarding the companies with whom the recruiter is working and the positions which he is trying to fill. Any sharing of information with colleagues or co-workers should only be done with express prior permission of the recruiter. (read the entire post here)

2) Credibility - Jobseekers that apply for positions or express interest in a position during recruitment will do so and substantiate that he or she is willing to accept a new position based upon the criteria that is outlined to the recruiter. This means that a jobseeker is ready, willing, and able to commit to a job change for an acceptable offer. (read the entire post here)

3) Accuracy - The resume and all other documents presented to the recruiter accurately depicts the experience, work history, and accomplishments of the jobseeker. All items will be a true representations of fact. (read the entire post here)

4) Consideration - Decisions to accept or reject offers will be made on the basis of facts and parameters discussed with the recruiter prior to the jobseeker receiving an offer. There will be no eleventh hour “gotta haves” that are sprung on the recruiter. (read the entire post here)

5) Consistency - Decisions to accept or reject offers will be made on the basis of facts and parameters discussed with the recruiter prior to the jobseeker receiving an offer. There will be no eleventh hour “gotta haves” that are sprung on the recruiter. (read the entire post here)

6) Follow-Up - Recruiters are entitled to consistent communications regarding the status of their candidate, regardless of the how busy the candidate might be or any change in the status of the candidate as regards his or her job search. Recruiters make their living by being available for phone calls, they are always available or have a system of notification such as pagers, forwarded telephones, or voice mail. There is no acceptable excuse for not calling your recruiter back, other than death - either yours or his. (read the entire post here)

7) Preparation - Each candidate pledges that they will review all relevant information about the organization provided by the recruiter and do research that is appropriate for the level of the position on which they are working. (read the entire post here)

8) Respect - Scheduling of interviews will occur in a manner that connotes mutual respect for the hiring manager, their time and their efforts, as well as the needs of the company and formalized hiring process. (read the entire post here)

9) Communication - Every inquiry from your recruiter regarding the status of candidacy or application with him or any other company is worthy of a response. (read the entire post here)

10) Information - (today’s post)

Trackback URI | Comments RSS