What’s on the top of every recruiter’s wish list this holiday season? The perfect candidate, of course!
The relationship between candidate and recruiter is mutually beneficial; everyone wants you to be hired. While a job seeker may send out dozens of cover letters and resumes a day, most recruiters scan hundreds on any given day.
And, truth be told, there are a few things recruiters say could cost you the job. Being aware of these can go a long way in building a productive working relationship - not that you would ever make spelling or grammatical errors, or forget to show up for a scheduled interview.
While we all know no one’s perfect, here are six things to avoid in order to ensure success in 2017.
1. Lying
“We ask very detailed and clear questions to get a strong understanding of each candidate’s reason for looking, compensation requirements, optimal workplace culture, and availability to interview and transition to a new position. Unfortunately, there are times that we are thrown for a loop at the 11th hour, and end up wasting everyone’s time in the process because a candidate is not fully forthcoming about their job searches, expectations, opportunities, salary, etc. Be open and honest, and it’ll be easier for us to land you the dream job!” -
Irina Erskine, Executive Recruiter, CyberCoders
2. Not knowing the product or company
"This is understandable for passive candidates at initial contact. But if they are already in the interviewing phase and still do not know what game/s we have in the market, or did not do any research on popular games or apps or key trends, this is a big turn-off. It shows lack of interest, not only in the job, but the company overall." -Nikki Tomacruz, Recruiting Manager,
Storm8
3. Not knowing names
“A successful candidate is one who represents their qualifications to the recruiter without negatively distracting them. My colleagues know that my biggest pet peeve is when a candidate spells my name wrong after they correctly type my email address. It is hard to believe that they are as “detail-oriented” as they boast in their cover letter. Also, resumes should always be submitted as a PDF since Word documents have squiggly lines highlighting grammatical and spelling mistakes. Also, pronouncing the name of my company wrong. When in doubt, call the main number and hang up on the receptionist.” -Dara Osur, Senior Associate, Recruiting Manager, Gensler
4. Unprepared for the interview
"As a recruiter, it is in my best interest to prepare candidates for interviews with our hiring managers to make it as successful as possible for both our team and the potential recruit. One of my biggest pet peeves is when we share a ton of information and prep materials and candidates never use them to prepare for the interview." -Nikki Tomacruz, Recruiting Manager,
Storm8
5. Cancelling at the very last minute
"Canceling onsite interviews on very short notice shows lack of interest and just downright seems unprofessional. Emergencies do arise, but canceling with less than an hour's notice without giving a valid reason or an alternate plan is a big turn-off." -Nikki Tomacruz, Recruiting Manager,
Storm8
6. Not asking questions
"A pet peeve is when candidates don't have questions at the end of their interview." -Nicole Stelluti, Engineering Senior Recruiting Team Lead at Bloomberg L.P.
"How do you not have any questions? You're looking for a new job to join; you spend more time at work than with family sometimes, you better love what you're doing and who you're doing it with. When I ask if you have any questions about the company, the position, anything at all, there are different ways people can answer. They can say, 'great, I have a few,' and they just start asking thoughtful questions. But when they go, '(deep sigh), well, so, umm, how is it working at Trello,' and that's all, that’s a sign. It's the amount of questions and the quality of questions and the tone." -Liz Hall, VP of People at Trello
