When Will Recruiters Stop Treating Candidates Like They’re Oliver Twist?

No, we’re not desperate for a piece of bread.

Photo by Ayo Ogunseinde on Unsplash

There was a moment in my dentist’s office where I considered seppuku. Cotton-mouthed and chipmunk-faced from part one of Felicia Gets Yet Another Root Canal and Crown, I handed the receptionist my card. I asked if I could pay half now and half when the permanent was installed, and she said, sure, and then she rattled off $2,000 and swiped my card and I nearly fainted because this month alone I spent $3,500 on one tooth.

That’s basically rent and all my monthly bills combined. For a tooth.

And yes, I realize if you live in any country but the United States you would pay the equivalent of a McDonald’s Happy Meal for major dental work. Twenty-three percent of Americans don’t have dental benefits and a cleaning in most states is a family’s weekly grocery bill. When I asked my health insurance provider about dental coverage, they basically responded with LOL.

After the temporary desire for disembowelment dissipated, I tried to map out a plan for how I’d pay for the dental surgery I neither wanted or asked for. I put up a post on LinkedIn soliciting for new projects, which usually is met with tumbleweeds and crickets, but today a recruiter reached out with an exciting opportunity!

Excerpt from said email

I read through it, scanned for the attachment that didn’t exist and remembered why I loathe working with recruiters. And before you stomp your little feet and say, #notallrecruiters, I will stomp back and say, #mostrecruiters. Let’s break down this email, shall we? I’m still numb and snorting ibuprofen.

1. I’m not hopping on a call if the only information provided is Senior Vice President. That tells me nothing. SVP of Cats? Then, yes, I’m absolutely interested in returning to a full-time role if it involves cats or furry friends of any persuasion. I get that recruiters often can’t reveal company names, but not sending a job spec is unacceptable. Not actually revealing the full title is unacceptable. Over the years I’ve received dozens of solicitations, few of which actually relate to my background and experience.
2. When a recruiter shares vague information about my background (i.e., my extensive leadership experience), that tells me this is a mass blast. My LinkedIn header reads: I build brands and tell stories. I share a summary paragraph outlining 25+ years of experience. My full titles are bolded. I even provide a credentials deck reading pleasure. Again, why should I hop on a call if I know nothing about the role and it’s pretty clear you know nothing about me?
3. Who sends an email from an address that doesn’t accept responses? When I replied to the recruiter asking for more information, it was promptly met with an “undeliverable” message. So, my only call-to-action is to schedule a call about a role I know nothing about with a recruiter who knows nothing about me?

Make it make sense.

Regardless of the job market (the U.S. market is cooling with sluggish growth), when will most recruiters respect a candidate’s time and experience? When will they actually read over someone’s background before approaching them with an opportunity? When will they stop using AI because clearly it’s not working? And when will they cease treating job-seekers like Oliver Twist, desperate for a bowl of soup, a piece of bread?

Even if one is desperate, treat people the way you wish to be treated. I know exceptional people who have been out of work for months and they’re treated like the Bubonic plague. It’s painful to see their stories on LinkedIn and how they’re spammed by coaches and recruiters who care little about who they are as people and more about how the coaches and recruiters can profit off this desperation.

If I make an effort to prepare for calls and perform background research, why am I consistently met with laziness? With the reminder that this is a numbers game, that humans are reduced to AI-generated summaries and are treated like they are the ones who actually make the recruiter money? There is no fee if there are no qualified candidates.

And what bothered me the most was the attempt at luring me with a SVP title when I’m capable of CMO-level work. I left full-time employment in 2013 because of a series of toxic work environments. I worked 80 hour weeks, made my company millions of dollars, and my former boss harassed me for my laptop when I resigned. I realized people are disposable, your co-workers are not your family, and you can easily be fired if the quarterly numbers nose-dive. In corporate, your worth is what you can produce in a given period of time. And no amount of free gym memberships and pizza happy hours will assuage that fact.

Using a title as bait for returning to that world is absurd. I care less about a title and money and more about the company, the work they do, how they treat their people, and is this a place I exist in for 8 straight hours a day? What are their ethics? Is it a diverse work environment? Does leadership care about balance?

I may be desperate to fund my dental work but I’m not desperate enough to crawl back into a world that had been slowly killing me. A world that took me away from writing. A world that reminded me that we’re all working for someone else’s dream and we can be fired at a moment’s notice. We are disposable. Contrary to Sister Sledge’s claim, we are not family.

The recruiter’s email reminded me that volume trumps connection. Humans are widgets. And why care about understanding a candidate’s wants when there’s a nebulous SVP title to fawn over?