Recruiters warn against crazy candidate syndrome
With more and more people pursuing fewer and fewer jobs, recruiters say some candidates are exhibiting strange and unusual behaviours in an attempt to catch their attention. These apparently include:
- Sending in their CV for every single job going: "These are the serial appliers," says Recruiter A. "They apply for everything we advertise across every function."
- Repeatedly sending in their CV for the same job: "If someone sees an advert they like, they will apply 15 times in a row," says Recruiter B.
- Telephoning immediately after sending a CV: "We have people who send in their CV at 9am and are on the phone at 9.05am asking if we've received it," says Recruiter C.
- Pretending to casually drop by: "There are some people who buzz downstairs and say they happened to be in the neighbourhood, saw the nameplate, and wondered whether they could come up for a quick chat," says Recruiter B.
Needless to say, none of these techniques work. Recruiters point out that most of the better firms in the industry have comprehensive databases, and that once you've sent in your CV once there is absolutely no need to send it again and again as different jobs come up.
It is, however, necessary to take no for an answer. "You get people applying for the same job again and again and who keep asking why they are not right for it," says one recruiter.
He adds: "In most cases, a job that is advertised for a long time is there because the client is particularly choosy. Eventually you have to point out that at the top of the bull market they had a job at a Landesbank and in a bear market Goldman Sachs won't want to hire them."
