Wondering what behaviors might put your file into a recruiter’s recycle bin? Here are the top seven ways you could sabotage your relationship with a recruiter.

1. Be unprofessional

Though a recruiter is not the hiring manager, you should still prepare to have an interview with the recruiter like you are presenting yourself to a hiring manager, be punctual for the call or interview, and be ready to talk about your skills and experience. Listen, I get that most of the candidates I contact are in outside sales roles, so things come up, and sometimes you have to reschedule. However, text me to let me know so that it does not appear you ignored or ghosted me because I wouldn’t do that to you.

Bottom line: Recruiters don’t work for you; their actual clients are the companies with job openings. My job is to get my clients the right candidate – not to get a candidate a job. That is what a staffing agency is for. I have clients who pay me as a recruiter to find them the exact talent they need. It’s wise to be on your most professional behavior. Mind your manners, answer their questions intelligently, and respect their time and efforts to find you a job. After all, if you can’t be bothered to make a good impression at this early stage of the process, why would I feel confident enough to pass you along to my clients?

2. Try to pull a fast one

When it comes to working with a recruiter, it’s extremely important to be open and honest with them. DO NOT WAIT until the day of the interview or the night before and decide that it isn’t a fit because you’ve thought about the travel and that it is not something you can manage. Then why did you not tell the recruiter this in the beginning?! Why did you let the recruiter set up the interview,

A recruiter has the selling power to get you a shot at an interview—so the last thing you want is for your recruiter to think you have the skills the role is requiring when in fact you do not. And then leave you with an uncomfortable interview.

Not only is this a bad look for you, but it can also ding the recruiter’s reputation. Because a recruiter’s job is to find the best possible candidates to pass along, their choices are a reflection of their judgment. Don’t make them look like they’re bad at their job.

Likewise, if your recruiter mentions a position that isn’t to your liking, give them some honest—and polite—feedback to let them know why. They can use this information to better tailor their search for you.

3. Bring up money in your first conversation- although this doesn’t bother me much.

Just as you wouldn’t walk into a job interview and ask about salary in the first five minutes, you should also show some restraint with your recruiters.

However, I always want to ask my candidates right out of the gate what they are making for their base pay and then after commissions to make sure that the role I am presenting to them is going to be a good fit.

4. Be inaccessible

It’s simple: If your recruiter can’t reach you to schedule an interview or to deliver an offer, this can have a negative effect on your chances of landing the role. After all, recruiters are often evaluated by how quickly they can fill positions. Be sure to tell your recruiter your preferred method of communication—phone, email, text—and stick with it. And be sure to check it periodically so you don’t miss any updates. By being slow to respond, you aren’t doing the recruiter—or yourself, for that matter—any favors.

This is one of my biggest pet peeves. When I have a candidate that is about to interview and they will not respond to me, they won’t text me back, they won’t call to prep with me because they “think they have it all figured out and don’t need me” or their family member is in sales and is helping them prep for the interview and how to close. Well guess what? Your family member, who is probably 20 years older than you and in a different industry, may not have any idea what it takes to close a hiring manager in an aesthetic capital equipment sales role interview. So, trust me, it’s not your instinct.

Keeping the lines of communication open even after you’re hired is important, too. When your recruiter helps you land a role and checks in to see how things are going, be responsive and keep them in the loop. If things are going well, they want to hear it.

5. Go over the recruiter’s head

Another common mistake job seekers make is contacting the employer directly when working with a recruiter. Part of a recruiter’s job is establishing a relationship with the employer and then presenting you in the best way possible.

·       You never reach out to the company directly.

·       discuss this role with another recruiter.

·       work with any another recruiter on this project

·       email your resume to another recruiter, thinking you can use both of us to help you get the job

·       Never apply directly to my client on LinkedIn or their website

·       If you do any of those things, I will not be able to represent you for this role and will probably not want to represent you in the future.

6. Nag them

Recruiters are busy people, working with many potential candidates and trying to fill multiple positions for several clients simultaneously. As such, they might take some time to get back to you. While it’s certainly OK to politely follow up with them if you haven’t heard back in a few days, multiple calls and emails per day are obnoxious.

****Trust me, if I had one of my hiring managers email or text me telling me that they want to schedule an interview with you, YOU WILL KNOW!!!!! Why on earth would I not tell you you have an interview? Why would I not reach out to you? If you are texting me daily to ask if I have heard back from my client regarding if they want to talk to you after I sent them your resume and pitch, then you obviously do not trust me and think I need to be babysat. Let’s roleplay this for a minute…. “Hey Heidi, have you heard back from “Company X” about interviewing me?” if I said, “Oh, thanks for the text; yes, they told me three days ago they wanted to interview you right away. But instead of me texting or calling you to get that scheduled, I just decided that I would ignore them, make myself look bad, have them become not interested in you, not reach out to you and since I do not care about making money, I didn’t think it was necessary to tell you they wanted to interview you and possibly hire you”

In what world do you actually think this would happen? If you are working with a recruiter who is not contacting you after the client calls them back about interviewing you, you need a different recruiter. If you have to reach out to your recruiter daily to ask if you are getting an interview, then first off, you appear desperate; second… it would be best if you had a different recruiter.

7. Ignore their feedback

Your recruiter has a lot of insight and knowledge when it comes to resumes and interview techniques, so don’t take it personally if they give you constructive feedback.

Having a thin skin or taking offense to a recruiter’s advice will not help you in the long run. In many cases, your recruiter has had someone interview at this company before and may be able to steer you in the right direction.

It is my job to help coach you and tell you what you did wrong. You do not need to be interviewed if you can not take constructive criticism.

Sometimes, you have to hear things you do not want to hear. I encourage my candidates to understand that you may not have all the answers. If everything is easy, you will never grow. Be malleable, never come off as entitled or deserving of something, and be willing to take advice and coaching, especially when it comes to another industry. If you get defensive when a recruiter coaches you after an interview, then it shows you will be combative if you get hired too.

If you have too much pride and are not coachable, then this shows that is the behavior and thinking of a candidate who would constantly be fighting the system and fighting your manager. This personality and thinking would not work for my clients’ teams.

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www.theaestheticrecruiter.net