Forewarning: This post is a rant! And before I get into my ranting, I must give credit to Tim Tolan who posted a rant entitled, “Please Don’t Put Me on HOLD.” I really enjoyed his post and this that follows will be somewhat near in topic to Tim’s, but ultimately I think it is bold to post a rant. Here’s to you, Tim and here goes.
I am sick and tired of bad recruiters! Argh! I am terribly irritated by those with little ethics, no restraint, and all around bad manners. The Healthcare IT industry is booming so let’s take a moment for a quick microeconomics lesson. What we are seeing in the Healthcare IT consulting and recruiting industry is a bandwagon effect, literally termed from a wagon carrying a band, but in this case we see consumers’ (hospitals) preference for a good (EMRs) rising and an increased purchasing of the good. In our corresponding case, the number of Healthcare IT recruiters has also risen in reaction to this demand curve moving upwards. This could also be called collective behavior.
My problem is that with the increase in recruiters, there has been an increase in bad recruiters. The evidence exists! I recently called a potential candidate and received this on this voicemail, “Hi. This is Tom. If you are a friend or family member, I will call you back shortly. If you are a recruiter, I have already found a contract and will not be returning your call.” I just heard from another of my candidates today that several of his colleagues have blocked numbers on their cell phones because particular recruiters call so often. I have also heard this in one of my interviews, “wow, you actually know what you are talking about.”
Have you seen LinkedIn recently? Healthcare IT contractors have messages in their profiles asking recruiters not to contact them; and I know several folks that have full inboxes in email accounts they have created because bad recruiters just won’t leave them alone.
Stop being a bad recruiter! Recruiters exist to help candidates along in their careers, not stalk or hinder them. Here are three things that drive me crazy!
1) Do NOT send a resume to a client without your candidate’s permission! – This is such poor form and you will eventually be caught in the trap this causes. Such little ethics!
2) Do NOT continue to call/email a candidate when s/he has no interest! – No restraint. A recruiter should respect a candidate’s boundaries.
3) Be polite and know what you are talking about! – Take the time to learn something about their background and their industry. Say “please” and “thank you” to your candidates and clients. Where have manners gone these days?!
Phew! Ok, I think I feel better now. Thank you, dear readership, for allowing my rant. If you care to rant yourself, there is a nice little comment field below.
