Are you feeling frustrated because recruiters won’t call you back? Have you taken to Yelp and written nasty reviews? What about asking to speak to their managers! How about complaining on LinkedIn.
Well, hopefully not. Those are the behaviors of someone who isn’t a reasonable individual and hasn’t a clue how recruiters and recruiting agencies work. The only thing they will accomplish is making themselves known as a troublesome candidate who won’t be contacted for a serous job.
But if you’re just someone who is wondering why recruiters don’t call you back and you haven’t gone ballistic about it, then this article is going to help you out.
Here’s the thing, everyone feels that they are special and important. But a recruiter isn’t your caseworker or a job counselor. They do not owe you anything. They are a partner who is there to make money with you by placing you in a role.
If you are not someone that they can place in a job, they are very likely not going to contact you. And if you persist and demand that they contact you, then all you are accomplishing is to annoy them and make sure they will never use you for a serious role.
Why Don’t Recruiters Return Calls?
Alright, there are a few reasons that recruiter don’t return calls.
They Are Too Busy
First, it might be that they are busy. Don’t discount this reason. Many recruiters are working round the clock trying to fill positions. If you are awaiting a call back from them, and they have yet to call you back, it might be that they’re busy.
But then, it is important to differentiate between people who are working with a recruiter and have setup interviews, and someone who is simply trying to speak to a recruiter who has never emailed or messaged them about a job. If that’s the case, then you must understand that you are a low priority for them.
They Don’t Have Any News
Sometimes recruiters don’t call back because they have no new news to tell you. If you’re someone who connected with a recruiter for a role and they told you they would follow up, believe me they will follow up if the client wanted to interview you.
Even if you’re dealing with completely inept recruiters, there’s normally a safeguard in that someone else will pressure them from inside the agency to schedule an interview. So, rest assured, if the company liked your resume and wanted to interview you, someone will connect with you.
If the company either hasn’t given feedback, or has not responded positively, then the recruiter might not be interested in calling just to let you know they don’t know anything. It might be as simple as that the recruiter doesn't have any feedback to give you.
They Have Nothing For You
Recruiters are not in the business of wasting their time. They are not paid to be job counselors and talk to people about what type of job they wish they had, or how they can get a job that they are not skilled for nor experienced enough to work at. The single job of a recruiter is to place skilled and highly relevant people into jobs. That’s it. And if you don’t have the skill set that they are seeking, then you’re not going to be someone they call back.
It’s Me, Not You: Understanding Recruiting
Let’s take a break here and go over very briefly just what recruiting is. If you understand how recruiters work and what their job is, it would make sense that you understand why they sometimes don’t call back.
A recruiter is tasked with recruiting for a specific job opening. Whatever that job opening is, they are given precise instructions as to the kind of candidate the company wants to hire. For some reason, the company is unable to find the best people, so they contract with a recruiting firm.
The recruiter then goes out and screens, headhunts, interviews, and finally submits resumes to the client. At that point, they handle the interview process to some extent (this depends on the agency and the desires of the client company).
That’s it. A recruiter does not find work for people. That’s not what a recruiter does. And if you understand that you’re going to do a lot better for yourself and not waste your time.
So, if you don’t get a call back from a recruiter, it means that they can’t place you in a role.
Did You Call the Wrong Number?
If you called the wrong number, that’s not a great sign. You should always keep a good record of the contact info of any professionals that you’re working with.
However, sometimes recruiters switch phone numbers and also use ATS systems that provide computer generated numbers…so it is important to keep track of their correct contact number.
They Can’t Help You, Move On
If you’re not getting a call back, then you need to simply move on. There is no reason that you should stick around and wait for a recruiter to call you back. You are better suited to simply being more strategic about your messaging and calls to recruiters.
It won’t help you to sit around and worry about why a particular recruiter isn’t calling you back. There’s no point in doing that. The simple message I have for all people who work with recruiters is that they are tools to use. If they aren’t helping you out, there is no reason for you to purse them.
In fact, if you spend an inordinate amount of time calling recruiters back over and over after they’ve made it clear that they can’t help you (by their silence) then you are only making it more difficult for yourself to get work. And as studies have shown, being persistent isn't necessarily the best approach when involved in deals and negotiations.
The fact is, most people won’t heed this advice. They are still confused about how recruiting works and think that it’s the recruiters job to get them a job. Because of this they persist and call over and over.
Well, here’s the truth. If you do that, if you call over and over, it signals to the recruiter and everyone else at the agency that you’re someone unstable.
Now, there are agencies that tell people to call everyday (a complete waste of time) or call every week. Those agencies are basically lazy and don’t want to track applicants. So, yes, if you’re been explicitly told by a recruiter to call daily or weekly for work—then go ahead.
But otherwise, don’t do it. It’s a waste of everyone’s time.
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