Recruiting Process Quality

My professional and sometimes personal worlds are full of resumes. I have had thousands of conversations about resumes over the years and one topic comes up again and again. Who are these people who supposedly read our resumes and contact us for positions completely outside of our areas of specialty?

Just yesterday I received yet another form email from a large, well known recruiting firm. I'll spare you the details by not copying it here, but suffice it to say that even though you have likely not seen my resume, you can probably guess that I am not a Java developer. I know that candidates all over the world get these emails claiming that the recruiter has reviewed their resume and have determined that the position described in the email is a great potential fit and that the candidate should contact the recruiter immediately to be considered. Obviously, the recruiter has not even glanced at an actual resume, but has run a search in their database that provided them with a list of candidates who have keywords in their resumes that also appear in a job description.

From the recruiter side of the desk, I am intimate with how cumbersome it can be to go through resumes searching for candidates who fit our requirements. But - call me crazy - isn't that what we get paid to do? We are the professionals who dedicate our time and resources to identifying qualified candidates to submit for consideration. We are supposed to be better qualified for this role than a database.

The calls are even more absurd, are they not? A recruiter calls me to discuss an opportunity for a SQL Server DBA role because I mention SQL Server in my resume as an area of technology that I have experience with. The recruiter who is calling never pronounces my name correctly, never asks me for the correct pronunciation and never pauses long enough for me to point out that I am in fact, a recruiter until they have recited their entire script. It's very embarrassing for them at the end. I ask them on occasion if they have my resume in front of them. Can you believe that 100% of the time they do have it right there in front of them?

I am conflicted about how to feel about this reality of my field. On the one hand, I am very frustrated because I believe that unqualified recruiters contacting thousands of candidates each day in this manner is an abuse of information and an insult to the professional designation of our candidates. On the other hand, these same recruiters make it awfully easy for recruiters like me to stand out like a neon sign on I-40 outside of nowhere at 2am on a Tuesday.

My advice to hiring managers and candidates on this issue has always been to demand quality from the people who you choose to represent your interests in your search. If you do not believe that the person on the phone or the other end of the email is qualified to provide quality service and representation, then move on with the confidence of knowing that you have not missed out on anything. There are many great recruiters out there who work hard for their clients and candidates and I believe these recruiters are worth seeking out and/or waiting for.