Your Experiences with Recruiters?

companyAdvocate asks "I work in a small, high end IT consultancy. We are currently on a large recruitment drive and our targets are very ambitious. We are looking into alternative, original and cost-effective ways of hiring talented people. Google's billboard ad comes to mind. As we are a consultancy, we need good communicators as well as techies and raising the company profile may be an added bonus. What is the Slashdot community's experience with alternative recruitment methods? Were you hired in an exciting or interesting way? How do you make even rejected candidates leave with a positive impression?"

"Alternative"? To what?

[dlefavor]

Everybody with a brain knows (or should know) that the best jobs and the best employees are brought together by word of mouth.

If that's alternative, so be it. Get in front of actual people. Go to social events. Attend symposia. Lift a glass or two. Get to know individuals as human beings. Watch them when they are interacting with others - not just you. Don't talk to people you might want to hire with a desk in between you.

Let people get to know you. Be accessible.

Get out there, for catssakes! What's keeping you? What the hell are you asking us for? Go! If you don't have a network already, you're behind. If you have one but it's not actively working for you, you're behind.

Just a guess here, but I think you're behind.

Word of mouth

[JanneM]

Problem is, the "word of mouth" pool is finite. You only really get a superior candidate pool with at most two degrees of separation - you either hire someone you know, or someone recommended by someone you know. Go further apart and the social mechanisms that makes the method work (personal trust and obligations) fall apart, and you're no better off than advertising in a trade publication.

And you only know so many people in the business - and they only know so many - that the pool of competent and available candidates isn't large. You can fill one or two positions at a time by word of mouth, but if you're looking for a dozen people it's no longer any better than other ways.

Do not use Word

[KPU]

If you're looking to hire good Computer Science people, make all your emails plaintext. For more fancy formatting, use HTML forms and PDF. Many companies do not realize that UNIX sysadmin applications should not be Word attachments.

Re:Beware of this

[Optic]

Our job postings include the text "Submit resume in plain text or PDF format."

Resumes submitted in Word format are immediately deleted unread -- the applicant is unable to follow a simple instruction. Test #1: FAILED.

Re:Recruiters

[ePhil_One]

I doubt they can afford to be. They can be annoying as a manager, calling to push people you don't need, especially when you HR department won't let you use them anyway. When you deal with them as a potential employee, keep in mind they are working for the employers, who will pay them, and not for you. They need to find the right person to fill that job, and to do that they have to talk to a lot of people. If they are jerks to employers, the employer won't want to deal with them. If they are jerks to you, its likely you're expecting something from them they can't give. Deal with them professionally, and they'll deal with you professionally.

If you want more hands on treatment, there seems to be an explosion of "employee agents"; resume writing agencies on steriods, "job search coaches". These are people you pay, though when I speak to them every fraud alert bone in my body goes off. I submitted my own "Ask Slashdot" to see what others experiences with these services were like. I suspect they could be valuable, but I also imagine it would be an easy scam to run on vulnerable people.

As for this gentleman writing this article, I suspect the Google puzzle billboard idea won't go far since it apeals to a different sort of person. Google was looking for really smart people irrespective of personalities. Of course, I'm also curious because I happen to be looking for such an opportunity, so I want to know what to be looking for :)

Re:IQ test + programming abilities test

[NorbrookC]

In a company where I was recruited, they had an IQ test and a programming test (SQL + general algorithms).

I had one of those companies try to recruit me about a decade ago. I wasn't looking for a job, but decided to check it out just out of curiousity. My interview was with the senior manager and one of the division directors. At the end of the interview, I was informed that I needed to take an "aptitude test." I couldn't believe it. They'd called me, not the other way around. They were recruiting me because of my skills, training, and experience - and they want me to take an aptitude test?! I turned down the job.

I could see doing this with a new person, right out of college or without experience. If you're recruiting experienced people, all you're going to do is antagonize them - particularly if you spring that requirement on them at the interview.

To the original question, about what you can do to leave a good impression with the unsuccessful candidates, I'll give the following tips:

1. Let them know they didn't get the job.

2. Tell them in a timely fashion. At the very least give them a time frame in which to expect your decision.

3. Let them know why (in a nice fashion) you decided not to hire them, and (if possible) what they could do to make themselves more attractive to your company in the future.

I've been on both sides of the desk - as an applicant, and as the one doing the hiring. One thing I made a decision was to try to never do the things that drove me nuts as an applicant, when I was the one doing the hiring. For the most part, I succeeded.

Complete and total Liars

[argoff]

I half to admit that they always got me an interview, and always got me a job, but the few times I've had a chance to see the info they presented to my prospective employer - I wouldn't have even recoginized that it was talking about me. What was even funnier is that I would get the job thinking that I am doomed when they find out about all the bullshit that was spoonfed to them, but instead they're impressed - cause I guess they were expecting bullshit, but then actually got some substance instead. Go figure?

Re:Beware of this

[StillAnonymous]

What exactly is it with the inflexible attitude of some employers and prospective employees?

You people really need to loosen up a bit. It's a diverse world out there and you're seriously going to miss out on some great opportunites if you keep playing the "my rules or else" game.

If anything, it just shows that you're a stubborn prick or a control freak.

How to leave positive impression...

[LABarr]

Start by treating candidates with the same respect you'd like to be treated with. Sounds so simple but surpisingly very few recruiters actually do this...

I interviewed with a company called HopOne located in Seattle the day after Thanksgiving last year. I thought the interview went really well and I was both excited about the position and confident I had nailed the interview. I was told they would let me know their decision by the following Friday. To this day I have yet to hear a single word from them reagrding the position despite several follow up e-mails and phone calls. They have totally ignored me and couldn't even muster the common decency to let me know anything one way or the other regarding the position. That should be an excellent example of what not do do if you wish to leave a psoitive impression. My impression of HopOne has been severaly tainted and I can't say I recommend them in any sort of a positive way. I also hope that in some way instant karma pays back all of the principles involved.

I also interviewed with a recruiter once who told me, "I love your credentials, and if none the 3 candidates I've currently got interviewing for this position today pan out, I'll be happy to submit your resume." (This was after insisting that I drive 50 miles each way that very day to rush to interview with him as soon as posible. It turned out it was just so he'd be ready to send someone else right away if needed.)

My point with both of the above examples is that I am fine with not being the one selected for a job I have interviewed for. Simply let me know that you've gone with someone else and show me a little respect during the process.

Showing just a little common decency and respect doesn't seem to be asking for very much...

Incentives

[RomulusNR]

The thing that always worked for my fellow IT friends is the tangible offer of mad loot and crazy benefits.

Re:IT Recruiters Are Worthless

[TopShelf]

I've had pretty good experience, landing 4 jobs over the last 13 years by posting at Careerbuilder (formerly Headhunter.net), and having a recruiter pick it up from there and match me up with a position. They key is getting someone who can effectively advocate where there isn't a 100% match with requirements.

Interestingly, my new job (6 months) was obtained through a recruiter who, frankly, worried me when we met for the first time, for breakfast right before I went for an onsite interview. He commisserated with me on what it's like to be an IT guru (he supposedly does website design), saying that "most people look at the code and just drop their jaw, but for me, it's like the Matrix, you know? It's like I just look at it understand what's going on in there while everybody else is just confused..."

I could hardly keep from busting a gut, but in the end I went on to have a good interview at the employer and landed a great new job. Amusing anecdote aside, the key is a recruiter who sees and can pitch the benefits of a match where the requirements don't exactly line up.

Re:How do you make even rejected candidates...

[BVis]

A more useful answer (heh) might be "don't screw around with them, tell them the second they're out of contention so they can move on with their lives". Treat their time as if it's as valuable as yours is, because it is. Waiting three weeks and then getting the "thanks for applying" letter in the mail negatively impacts your company's reputation (should the applicant or anyone he knows be considering a position with your company in the future) and also makes it harder for the candidate to consider other offers.

Re:Do not use Word

[TeamSPAM]

While I can agree that a UNIX sys admins skills should not be focused on Word, that is one of the format that companies use. While I bet many of the companies that hire the sys admin might not really care, most recruiters/head hunters want the word doc. They are going to put their header on top of your resume before passing it on to a company. So in the end I don't think it's a waste or unessecary to have a resume in Word that looks presentable.

Joel on Software

[Dominic_Mazzoni]

Joel on Software has two great entries that relate to this topic: The Guerrilla Guide to Interviewing [joelonsoftware.com], and Hiring the top 1% [joelonsoftware.com] (hint: just because you're rejecting 99% of applicants, doesn't mean you're hiring the top 1%, because the top 1% already have great jobs!)

I think that many companies have learned the secret of that last point. The best people have jobs already, for the most part. If you really want exceptional people, don't wait for them to show up at your door with a resume, find out who they are and who they work for, and then hire them away. Offering them more money will not convince them (though obviously you should offer a bit more than they're making now), but the opportunity to have more creative control over their job might.