recruiter woes
September 15, 2013 2:57 PM Subscribe
I received an email from a recruiter at a prestigious place of employ in a (STEM) field that I would like to be in. I had been considering applying at said place for a few weeks. The recruiter mentioned a project that I had completed some time ago in a complimentary way and asked whether a particular date and time would be appropriate for an informal interview. I responded, gave my CV, and suggested a date and time that would be more convenient than the one suggested. It has been more than a week since I responded (long past both suggested dates) with no response from the recruiter. I have three questions.
A week or two later, the events before the cut happened: I received this email from this recruiter, remarked on my luck to my friends, responded cursorily, and crossed my fingers. Recruiter responded very quickly, suggesting a date and a time; I responded after a few days (I had been sick, and also had wanted to have a few friends read over my words and CV; friends made vaguely positive remarks on both) with my CV and a better time for me. Since then, no response.
This is all complicated by the fact that I am generally unfamiliar with corporate bureaucracy and especially hiring practices in this field.
- Did I misstep somewhere?
- The recruiter is being especially unprofessional, right?
- How long should I wait before applying to this place independently in order to avoid appearing unprofessional?
A week or two later, the events before the cut happened: I received this email from this recruiter, remarked on my luck to my friends, responded cursorily, and crossed my fingers. Recruiter responded very quickly, suggesting a date and a time; I responded after a few days (I had been sick, and also had wanted to have a few friends read over my words and CV; friends made vaguely positive remarks on both) with my CV and a better time for me. Since then, no response.
This is all complicated by the fact that I am generally unfamiliar with corporate bureaucracy and especially hiring practices in this field.
I wouldn't worry about this much. Send them another email. You don't need to tread so lightly with recruiters: it's literally their job to interface with you -- so don't get it in your head that you're only allowed one email before you turn into a stalker.
posted by wrok at 3:02 PM on September 15, 2013
posted by wrok at 3:02 PM on September 15, 2013
Call the recruiter and be ready to discuss a better interview time.
Yes, do this.
And apply to the company directly while you're at it.
No, don't do this. You've been contacted by a recruiter on behalf of a company. The company might no longer be able to deal with you directly as a result (as part of their agreement with the recruiter). Work through the recruiter, don't go around them.
posted by NotMyselfRightNow at 3:05 PM on September 15, 2013
Yes, do this.
And apply to the company directly while you're at it.
No, don't do this. You've been contacted by a recruiter on behalf of a company. The company might no longer be able to deal with you directly as a result (as part of their agreement with the recruiter). Work through the recruiter, don't go around them.
posted by NotMyselfRightNow at 3:05 PM on September 15, 2013
I don't know what company you are talking about, but I work for a fairly competitive STEM company and am familiar with our recruiting process. The long and short of it is, the recruiter gets paid when/if you get hired, so the recruiter will be trying their best to get you hired.
However, it is entirely possible that the recruiter dropped the ball somewhere, and you definitely should call the recruiter to remind them that you are still interested. There might also be some strange internal bureaucratic thing that is causing the delay. Either way, it's perfectly acceptable to make a call or send an email to ask what's up. And I wouldn't worry about it being unprofessional unless this happens repeatedly or the recruiter is actually rude to you.
(I once turned down an offer from a company, and gave my reasons, which included difference in pay and other reasons such as company culture. The recruiter who worked for that company was very upset, and told me in email, "Don't lie; it was just about the money, wasn't it." That is what I would call unprofessional.)
posted by ethidda at 3:26 PM on September 15, 2013
However, it is entirely possible that the recruiter dropped the ball somewhere, and you definitely should call the recruiter to remind them that you are still interested. There might also be some strange internal bureaucratic thing that is causing the delay. Either way, it's perfectly acceptable to make a call or send an email to ask what's up. And I wouldn't worry about it being unprofessional unless this happens repeatedly or the recruiter is actually rude to you.
(I once turned down an offer from a company, and gave my reasons, which included difference in pay and other reasons such as company culture. The recruiter who worked for that company was very upset, and told me in email, "Don't lie; it was just about the money, wasn't it." That is what I would call unprofessional.)
posted by ethidda at 3:26 PM on September 15, 2013
Don't make too big a thing of it. Yes, it's possible they found someone else. It's also possible the recruiter meant to respond and plain forgot- it happens to the best of us. It's also possible he is on vacation.
Just follow up and see what happens.
posted by drjimmy11 at 3:45 PM on September 15, 2013 [1 favorite]
Just follow up and see what happens.
posted by drjimmy11 at 3:45 PM on September 15, 2013 [1 favorite]
I thought you mentioned this was an in-house recruiter, so NotMyselfRightNow's advice isn't quite applicable. That being said, I still wouldn't reapply to the company just to avoid confusion and multiple yous in their database etc.
How large is this company? Once you cross 500+ employees, it's chaos at the recruiter level at times. If it's a Google-scale company, I'd expect lots of chaos. Some companies have it together and some don't.
Nthing others above that say a simple little email to the guy can't hurt. Just a "hey, checking in, how are we doing on setting up a meeting?" Which will probably prompt an oh-shit from him when he realizes he blew the dates.
posted by JoeZydeco at 4:01 PM on September 15, 2013 [1 favorite]
How large is this company? Once you cross 500+ employees, it's chaos at the recruiter level at times. If it's a Google-scale company, I'd expect lots of chaos. Some companies have it together and some don't.
Nthing others above that say a simple little email to the guy can't hurt. Just a "hey, checking in, how are we doing on setting up a meeting?" Which will probably prompt an oh-shit from him when he realizes he blew the dates.
posted by JoeZydeco at 4:01 PM on September 15, 2013 [1 favorite]
They probably just forgot about you. Drop them a short email.
Recruiters contact an insanely high number of people.
posted by oceanjesse at 4:38 PM on September 15, 2013 [1 favorite]
Recruiters contact an insanely high number of people.
posted by oceanjesse at 4:38 PM on September 15, 2013 [1 favorite]
Here's the thing, if it's an HR recruiter that works for the company, then go ahead and go on the job site and apply for jobs. No matter what, you'll have to do that anyway.
Then email the recuriter and say, I applied for the following jobs posted on your website, I thought that would be a springboard for our informal interview.
If it's some random recruiter who is a head-hunter, don't apply directly (just yet) but send him a list of the positions you think you're qualified for. Ask him to call you back, and indicate that you'll be applying for them directly if you don't hear anything back from him. Not in a threatening way,
"Dear Mr. Jones,
After talking with you about XYZ Labs, I went on line and saw these jobs posted. I believe that these would be a good fit for my skills and experience. I'd like to apply for these positions, after our discussion, or by the 20th at the very latest. I look forward to hearing from you soon.
Regards,
Anon"
I got contacted by a recruiter, was courted for a job, had two interviews and never heard from anyone ever again. It happens. This one guy is NOT the only entry into the company.
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 6:41 AM on September 16, 2013
Then email the recuriter and say, I applied for the following jobs posted on your website, I thought that would be a springboard for our informal interview.
If it's some random recruiter who is a head-hunter, don't apply directly (just yet) but send him a list of the positions you think you're qualified for. Ask him to call you back, and indicate that you'll be applying for them directly if you don't hear anything back from him. Not in a threatening way,
"Dear Mr. Jones,
After talking with you about XYZ Labs, I went on line and saw these jobs posted. I believe that these would be a good fit for my skills and experience. I'd like to apply for these positions, after our discussion, or by the 20th at the very latest. I look forward to hearing from you soon.
Regards,
Anon"
I got contacted by a recruiter, was courted for a job, had two interviews and never heard from anyone ever again. It happens. This one guy is NOT the only entry into the company.
posted by Ruthless Bunny at 6:41 AM on September 16, 2013
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by Etrigan at 3:01 PM on September 15, 2013 [1 favorite]