I’ve just lined up another client (who may become a full-time employer) after a four-month “unscheduled vacation.” I’m very happy to be working (and earning!) again. During my time off, I dealt with a lot of recruiters. Most were reasonable. Some were great. A few were jerks.
Feedback: this is the most important thing I need from recruiters. Look at my resume. Make some constructive comments, so that it improves, and so that I know you’ve read it. (I swear, I’m going to put together a resume with a line buried in there saying “Hiring manager, this recruiter did not read this resume. You’re not getting value for your dollar.”)
Don’t make me call you. This really angers me. When I take time off, get dressed up, travel to an interview and spend time with a hiring manager, then I have to call you to find out how it went. I know I’m not going to get every job — but don’t leave me hanging, wondering what’s going on .
Do your own work. There seems to be a pattern developing where a hiring manager gives a req to Recruiter A, who then farms it out to Recruiters B and C, who in turn send it to Recruiters D, E, F and G. Then I see the same job posted on every hiring board (nobody checks the individual job boards — we all use aggregators, like Indeed). And then when I pick a lucky winner to talk to, there are three recruiters that all want to get paid, which makes me too expensive for the customer, and everyone loses.
An occasional call works wonders. Of all the recruiters I worked with, I had exactly one that ever called me just to “touch base.” I like this guy. I will be calling him the next time I need work. Or just to “touch base.”