Cranky Recruiter: Who Are You??

Hello Friends!  What a crazy ride the last few months have been!  I've missed meeting up with my wine friends and colleagues, and can't wait until we are back to normal--not just a new normal.  Perhaps months of SIP has made me a bit more cranky.  As I sprint to the end of this week, I have been going through lots of emails.  And something continues to make me cranky; opening up an email from someone, and they are asking for my help with their job search.  That's the entire message.  If I'm lucky, they sign the email with a name and a phone number.  Sometimes it's just an email with no greeting, no salutation and no name.  Seems they could have given their job search a little more thought, but that could just be me, Cranky Recruiter.

So, as a good recruiter, I never just trash these messages.  It could be that candidate I've been meaning to call.  When I have the time, I go back and figure out who it is.  I don't always have time, and those emails sit in my inbox for days, weeks, but hopefully never for months.

"Just one more question"

When I get time, and those messages in my inbox finally drive me crazy, I go and figure out who sent me the message.  Colombo has always been my favorite detective, and I would be a private eye if I wasn't a recruiter.  Not coincidentally, a recruiter should be a good detective: finding holes in candidate stories, looking for inconsistencies in resumes, discovering incriminating evidence when doing references.  And I am happy to dig into someone's past if I smell something fishy.  But that's once we've gotten to know each other, and most likely during the vetting process of a job search.  When we are just starting out in our relationship, I am more than happy to be led to the information--information such as your name, your phone number, what types of jobs you might be looking for, etc.

I've got an idea, send me your resume every time you email me if you are wanting to get a job.  You could frame it as, "I just made a few edits to this and wanted to make sure you have the best version" or "for a quick reminder, here's my resume again".  I'm not proud of the fact that I can't remember everyone who has been in touch with me.  I do have a great memory, but sometimes fatigue sets in and I just get cranky when I get this type of blind email.

Here's how you can turn my frown upside down: I am always happy for people to check in with me, and I encourage it.  At the end of many first phone introductions with job seekers I tell them to check in with me in a few weeks.  I even say it keeps them at the top of my mind--which it does.  Sincerely, I mean it, check in with me.  But when you do, make sure it's super easy for me to know who you are.  If you don't want to attach the resume, put something in the message about what types of jobs you are looking for, when we last talked, a funny anecdote, or a link to your LinkedIn profile.

Why?  I'll get back to you quicker, I'll be in a good mood, and I'll have positive thoughts around the message you just sent me.  I'm never cranky when someone gives me all the information I need, before I need it. 

Have a wonderful Independence Day!  Getting that off my chest has made me happier already!  Ready to binge watch some Peter Falk and see what mysteries he can solve for me over the weekend.  And an enophile's favorite episode:  https://columbophile.com/2017/09/24/episode-review-columbo-any-old-port-in-a-storm/