3 Important Habits That Strengthen the Candidate-Recruiter Relationship

The demand for top talent means job seekers can leverage a tight talent market to their advantage. A common issue happening in the recruitment industry is ghosting. A candidate is taken to an offer stage in a search, only to drop off the face of the earth. Sadly, this phenomenon is on the rise, with recruiters reporting an increase of job seekers ghosting by 10-20% just in the last year.

According to a report by Indeed, job seekers who have ghosted recruiters revealed the top 3 reasons for suddenly abandoning the process without warning:

Now, ghosting does go both ways! These indicators tell us just how vital two-way communication is during the recruitment process from start to finish.

Here are three critical habits that all job seekers and recruiters alike must exercise to help build a mutually beneficial, strong working relationship.

For recruiters to best represent you, open communication throughout the process is critical. Maintaining regular correspondence is a great way to stay top of mind and demonstrate your level of interest in a position.

It’s important to remember that recruiters receive hundreds of applications from job seekers every day. This means their inbox is often overloaded, so it may take some time for recruiters to respond via email.

Be straightforward and to the point. Ask questions. If you need more clarity or you’re unsure about something, just ask. And, after an interview with a prospective company, always follow up with your recruiter to let them know how things went. This will help prepare the recruiter for their conversations with the employer, and best represent you.

Let’s be honest; being honest is a given. For starters, candidates should never fib or lie about anything on their resumes. Part of making the best first impression is by being truthful and forthcoming. Recruiters with a trained eye will immediately know when something doesn’t add up. Education credentials can very easily be verified, and you may have to complete a series of skills tests to determine if you have experience in specific programs.

Candidates need to be honest with recruiters about their job search, career requirements, salary expectations, and whether they are working with other recruitment agencies. Recruiters want you to make a move that is best suited to advance your career.

Not only is honesty the best policy but being transparent is how you can genuinely build trust with your recruiter. Being transparent requires vulnerability and going above and beyond, only offering what you’ve been asked. But, instead, disclosing additional information can help you along the process.

No one wants to move the job process along more quickly than a recruiter, but exercising patience and understanding is essential; after all, the recruitment process takes time. Candidates must remember that it is likely that the position they are recruiting you for is not the only job or client they are working with, which can cause delays in correspondence.

It’s in everyone’s best interest to close the deal fast. But many attributes are not in the recruiter’s control. Not only is the recruiter maintaining communication with you, but they’re also communicating with their clients (your prospective employers). Frequently, recruiters are also waiting for a response and won’t always update in the timeliest manner.

Recruiters are an important part of your network, especially for future job opportunities, so stay connected through social media. Most recruiters have a LinkedIn profile and are happy to connect with their candidates.