The Case of the Grumpy Candidate

Things has been kinda sluggish, particularly as we enter the final quarter and what is often known as the "bonus" period.

There were fewer and fewer anecdotes encountered lately. Or perhaps my sense of humor disappeared along with my sales. But no anecdotes doesn't mean I don't encounter notable incidents in the workplace.

As a recruiter, I am responsible to both my candidates and my clients.

I am responsible in placing my candidates to the right clients; at the same time, I am also responsible for identifying candidates with the right experience/attitude for my clients.

So yes, I do reject candidates base on their attitude.


Case 1 - The Case of the Grumpy Candidate

Me: Hello, may I speak with XXX? 

Candidate: WHAT?! 

Me: *stun* I am calling in regards to the application that you submitted for one of our positions.

Candidate: What position is that?! 

Me: The Software Analyst role. 

Candidate: Call me later! *hangs up*



Needless to say, I never called the person back. I was appalled at his phone etiquette (or lack there-of), that I left a note in the central database - that this person has a very rude attitude.

There are some candidates shows recruiters the negative aspects of their attitude, with arrogance topping the list. These candidates seemed to think only HRs are worth their time and courtesy.

It probably never occurred to them that recruiters (sometimes) are their access routes to several HRs.

One might argue that the candidate might be busy. Or the candidate might be in a bad mood. Those who knows me personally would know I am more than capable of yelling at CSRs when they step on my tail.

But my response is and will always be:

What if the person is your user?

What if the person on the other line is your boss?

Or, in case of job seeking, what if the other person is a potential hiring manager, doing a phone interview?

There is nothing wrong in yelling at people over the phone. But I suppose it's not much to ask to at least answer the phone with a neutral tone. Should the caller deserve a couple of minutes of yelling, we can always start in the next sentence.



Signing off
Adeline
From the Desk of a Recruiter