It’s Pretty Frustrating…

Even in our role, as a third party agent, we hear these complaints from  job seekers  all the time.  For as much as we would love to find a job for every candidate we meet, in truth, only 30% of the candidates we interview end up being placed by us with one of our employer clients.  And truth be known, we give our best efforts to expanding our candidate base and providing opportunity to as many applicants as possible, but it can be challenging with the volume of applicants and keeping up with the busy job market. With the countless resumes we review and limited amounts of time to speak with applicants, some excellent candidates don’t always get a call back. We wish it were different but it is the reality of a very busy job market where there are both a lot of jobs, and a lot of candidates – but only a few who actually meet the job’s requirements.

Why does so much of a candidate’s  “job finding” activity end up looking like wasted energy?

It goes without saying that the recruiting teams in both agencies and hiring companies are VERY busy, handling multiple resumes for each opening.  In reality, a lot of what they do is screening out   – eliminating resumes that don’t showcase the kind of talent the recruiter is looing for, or in some cases eliminating candidates who make missteps along the way in the hiring process.   In other words, the “no call back” issue stems directly from a recruiters need to manage their time effectively – to talk to people who are the right candidates for the JOBS THEY HAVE AVAILABLE, and not talk to candidates whose profiles aren’t quite the right fit.

Hopefully this doesn’t sound too harsh…but it is the reality of today’s job market – a candidate’s obstacles in getting the attention from recruiters they believe they deserve, is the very issue that makes it impossible for recruiters to give personalized attention to every incoming candidate.   Long and short – job seekers, DON’T TAKE THIS REALITY PERSONALLY!  Maintaining inner confidence throughout your job search is massively important and is the key to furthering your career potential. It allows you to display your best self and skills as well as portraying outer confidence towards employers.

The purpose of this blog is to remind candidates that as painful as it is “not to hear” on a job that you really interests you, don’t make this a personal indictment about you or the employer you are trying to contact.

The good news is that there are some things you can do to improve your chances of getting a call back.  Here’s a handful of “job seeking best practices ”  you might want to consider think you what you need to consider.

1. Don’t apply for every job that “might” fit your skills. In today’s world, its very  easy for a candidate to apply for a job, but absent the basic match between skills,experiences, and job requirements, , you likely won’t be contacted  for a follow up conversation.

2. Expand your boundaries of what jobs you will consider.  At PACE,  your work preferences  will  be identified  during our first contact  and we make every effort to  communicate how those preferences will impact our ability to find you the job you prefer.   If you live in Kirkland, for example, and will not work in Bellevue, there is a limit to the number of jobs we can offer .  If your pay requirements are considerably higher than others in the market with your same skills and experience levels,  you will not be considered for a large number of jobs we represent.  These are discussions you will have with PACE and many hiring managers during an initial screening call.

3. Make sure you are an actively engaged job seeker. .  If you showed up late for an interview, didn’t respond to e mails or texts, your recruiters interest in you as a candidate will diminish no matter how qualified or well matched you are to the job they are trying to fill.   Your first impression makes a big difference in the type of effort that any recruiter will expend on your behalf.

Treat all recruiters, particularly an agency recruiter, with all the attention you would apply to a hiring manager.  They need to have confidence that if they represent you, you will not let them down.

4. Make sure your resume does its job! .   In another  blog we talked about resumes that were work horses not show horses, which is very important in a world dominated by search engines.  But after you’ve landed a “first call” , how you and your resume “present” makes a big difference in taking the hiring process to the next level.   How you organize your resume, making it short and to the point, easy to read, and edited for  spelling or grammar errors  is often the difference between a candidate is gets moved forward on a hiring process, and a candidate put on ice.

PACE Staffing Network is one of the Puget Sound’s premier staffing /recruiting agencies and has been helping  Northwest job seekers find their “just right” jobs for over 40 years.

A  3 time winner of the coveted “Best in Staffing” designation , PACE is ranked in the top 2% of staffing agencies nationwide based on annual surveys of customer satisfaction.

PACE provides multiple placement options….

• Direct Placement – Full or Part Time
• Temp to Hire Auditions
• Short or Long Term Temporary or Contract Assignments – Full or Part Time

Our Professional Placement Services include…

• Resume reviews and consultations
• Access to the “Hidden Job Market”
• Insider intros to TOP Employers HIRING NOW
• Confidential Job Searches
• Professional Career Guidance

Never a fee to a candidate  using our services.  Paid absence and healthcare benefits are provided to employees assigned to work at client sites thru our services. .

To learn more about how one 2 minute application can open doors to a full range of PACE placement services plus introductions to local employers hiring now,  contact PACE’s candidate services team at 425-637-3301 or e mail candidates services at candidateservices@pacestaffing.com.