Christina Dickman, Recruitment Lead writes:  When I hear those words I automatically think of the Simple Minds song by the same name that closes out the 80’s movie The Breakfast Club. At the end of detention a letter was written to Mr. Vernon:

“Dear Mr. Vernon,
We accept the fact that we had to sacrifice a whole Saturday in detention for whatever it is we did wrong, but we think you’re crazy for making us write an essay telling you who we think we are. You see us as you want to see us, in the simplest terms, in the most convenient definitions. But what we found out is that each one of us is a brain, and an athlete, and a basket case, a princess, and a criminal.

Does that answer your question?

 Sincerely yours, 

The Breakfast Club”

So let’s think about that letter for just a moment – how do candidates see recruiters? For those candidates that have had a bad experience they consider recruiters “used car salesmen” or “headhunters”. Those are some of the derogatory connotations that professional recruiters have to deal with, all because someone was treated rudely or ignored. As a recruiter I too have been on the receiving end of poor customer service.

Because I have experienced being treated poorly during the hiring process I pride myself on making the candidate feel like they are my ONLY candidate. I know that candidates that I have dealt with enjoyed the fact that I always went over and beyond their expectations. A candidate may not always get the job but I feel meeting new people will always open the door for a pay-it-forward situation later. I have had candidates that were not hired refer additional friends or family based solely on the fact that they were treated so well during the process. One of the best compliments you can get from a candidate is a referral, which to me implies a level of trust and respect. In recruiting your reputation is all that you have, being honest; direct and customer service oriented are some of the things that I pride myself on.

So let’s go back to the movie ending and what it means to me. Applying the Golden Rule of “Treat others as you want to be treated” is the best way to recruit and live.

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Wendy Fashing, Accolo, Client Program Manager writes:  I anticipate that in reading this article, you are expecting me to reveal something really profound, some career altering information as to how I you can get your candidates to remember you. Well, I’ll apologize in advance because I have to tell you, it’s really quite simple. Four little letters come to mind. P-U-T-P, Pick Up The Phone!

I was taught early in my career that we, as Recruiters, have become too reliant on communication with our candidates through email, social media, applications & ATS systems. Unlike a lot of recruiters I know, I’m picking up the phone right off the bat to introduce myself to the candidate, let them know we received their application and indicate that I’d like to schedule some time with them later in the week to chat a bit further about their background and experience. It’s automatically setting the foundation to build a successful relationship. I can’t tell you the number of times I hear, “Thanks for calling and following up with me, it really means a lot.” Candidates need that personal connection and while email is great, you can’t gage a person’s tone over email and you can’t hear the excitement or sincerity in their voice. That person that you made the personal connection with will be the one to forward your email regarding a new job to a friend. They won’t do the same for someone that they only spoke to once, maybe twice throughout the recruiting process.

Aside from the above, align your business or yourself with a company that has an efficient recruiting process, coupled with user-friendly, not over complicated technology. This will ensure your success as you work to provide quick follow up to those candidates who may not be the right fit for the job thus focusing on those candidates who are. I work for an RPO company called Accolo. Accolo was built upon the belief that there just has to be an easier way for recruiting.  The Accolo system has a built in email template that allows us to follow up with the candidate within 48 hours to provide an update on the status of their application.

If none of the above works, you can just go with the good old word association route, although I wouldn’t encourage it. “Just remember me as Wendy, like Wendy from Peter Pan.”