Very strong comment on an article in Sydney, Australia about Recruiters and the experience many candidates have had with them. I hate to start on themes like this but I really do feel that the perception of the recruitment industry is in crisis. I had a breakfast meeting only two weeks back where the GM of a New Zealand firm stated that they felt the perception of many recruiters was as (Here I ask you to fill in your favorite battering target for job position without any integrity. I refuse to do it or disparage the profession he mentioned because I believe all jobs when done with passion and integrity are of value). When people in our own industry make comparisons like that I can't understand why they stay on the job.
However, when so many candidates have so much vitriol towards the industry and people involved it is painful to me. I give another example here. While I think it would be simple to say that these may just be isolated cases, it is still both a shame and a problem to see them. Any ideas on how the perception of the recruitment industry can be improved?
Steven, I found your blog this past week and it's interesting to hear about the darker side of the recruiting profession. I'm job hunting and I visited a meeting of recruiters here in the Washington DC area on the advice of a friend. Each person I met certainly was passionate about their work, but the poor image of the profession was a common theme of the meeting. They asked the same question you did: what can be done to improve the perception of recruiters? The #1 response from us job seekers in the crowd was better communication with prospects.
You clearly have a passion for your work and love for recruiting. And your clients undoubtedly see this.
Posted by: Christopher Bailey | Sunday, March 20, 2005 at 05:27 PM
I just started a new blog called I Hate Recruiters
Submissions welcome from people who have a beef or interested third parties.
Posted by: Canadian Headhunter (Michael) | Thursday, March 24, 2005 at 12:22 AM