Does everyone really hate recruiters or are we just an easy target?

Recruiters in the main are fantastic professionals but, as in every industry, some aren’t – and it’s the lazy ones who give us all a bad name.

Lazy recruiters cut corners in the search for instant success. They’re often caught stealing leads from candidates actively looking for new positions; advertising fake jobs to source leads from references and creating fake profiles to steal leads from other recruiters. Giving little or no feedback, they are also usually guilty of poor communication throughout the recruitment process.

The reason this is becoming such a common scenario is that today’s world is driven by the need for instant results. Most recruitment companies don’t invest for tomorrow by training consultants further that the initial 12 weeks. At the same time, candidates sensing the promise of big rewards from the day they walk through the door, simply aren’t prepared to wait to learn and grow in their profession. They want it now.

Offer a graduate an opportunity to earn £100k and then fail them by not training them properly, not on-boarding them properly and judging them by results rather than KPIs and what would you expect? The trainee, who is no doubt working his or her socks off, is pressured into getting results by using the tactics of the lazy recruiter.

I’ve been lucky enough to work with some inspirational consultants during my career. I was taught early on when I had identified a lead “that’s not how we win business”. Since then, it was all about “doing things the right way,” but I have seen first-hand how time pressure and unrealistic expectations fail consultants before they even get going.

These lazy recruiters shouldn’t be in recruitment, but I can understand why they still are. They stumbled into the wrong career after being mis-sold a dream and they’ve never been able to leave because of their financial commitments. They’re not doing a good job because their hearts aren’t in it.

That’s just the way it is, but that doesn’t have to be the way it is for you. You have a choice.

If you’ve had a bad experience, next time just ask a friend for a recommendation – it’s hard to beat word of mouth. Or look for a recruiter with longevity and an impressive history of internal promotions, a consultant who specialises in your area of expertise. Failing that pick up the phone and speak to a few recruiters that are genuinely interested in taking the time to get to know you and the kind of positions that would really suit you.

If you’ve had a great experience with a recruiter, continue to work with them and refer other people to them, clients or candidates. The more the good recruiters flourish, the faster the lazy ones will disappear.

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