Many professionals, whether or not they are currently job-seeking, have a lot of complaints about recruiters. Unfortunately, many recruitment agencies make the mistake of trying to close deals quickly, which can reflect badly on the whole profession.

Why do some people dislike Recruitment Agencies?

Social media and job-hunting websites are full of negative feedback about recruiters and the recruitment process. Naturally, many companies and recruitment firms are paying attention to the feedback, and here are some of the most common complaints that candidates and potential candidates have about recruiters: 

  • Recruiters don’t understand the industry. When a recruiter doesn’t understand the skills, terminology, companies, and career progression in an industry, they can’t effectively answer a candidate’s questions about the job and their responsibilities. All they can do is read from the job description, without adding more context or detail. Why speak with a recruiter when you’re capable of reading the job listing on your own? 
  • Recruiters don’t understand the candidate. Many people complain that recruiters contact them because their LinkedIn profile contains certain keywords, without taking the time to read their full profile and get a better picture of them as a person. In many cases, a few more minutes of time can indicate a potential candidate’s background, career trajectory, and interests, which can help a recruiter understand whether a candidate is a good match before calling them. 
  • Recruiters don’t communicate. Thousands of candidates have the experience of recruiters contacting them and urging them to apply for a position, which can be tedious and time-consuming, only to never hear from the recruiter again. Naturally, this is frustrating and makes people sceptical of working with recruiters in the future. 
  • Recruiters aren’t honest. The biggest complaint people have about recruiters is that they aren’t honest. They may encourage candidates to apply for positions that don’t really exist, promise feedback and communication that doesn’t happen, or exaggerate the potential of an opening to get someone to apply for it. Nobody likes feeling deceived, and it’s especially frustrating for candidates to get their hopes up about a job only to find out that their recruiter wasn’t honest. 

Why are some Recruitment Agencies so bad?

The truth is, these experiences are often so negative due to how recruitment agencies understand their jobs and pay their employees. Here are a few of the reasons:

  • Outdated performance metrics. Many recruiters have their job performance measured not by how many successful matches they make or whether candidates progress in the company, but by outdated systems. Some recruiters are measured by how many clients they get aboard, the daily calls they make, or how many applications they produce, regardless of quality or appropriateness. 
  • Inexperienced & untrained staff. Many recruitment firms hire young staff directly out of school, and offer little training or mentorship. It’s no surprise that these inexperienced recruiters don’t really understand the relevant company, industry or required integrity, but the company needs to then invest in coaching and training new hires so they make better matches.
  • Chasing a fast sale. It’s almost always true that recruiters and recruitment firms who engage in these behaviors aren’t interested in making the right match; only in getting applicants quickly. They also aren’t interested in spending time learning about the industry and service sector, or investing time in building long-term relationships with their clients or with candidates. This short-term thinking drives bad behavior. 

Grapefrute is different. Our expertise in targeted industries and sectors helps us truly understand our clients and candidates, so we make smarter decisions and better recommendations. We also believe in honesty and integrity, so we build long-term relationships that yield lasting returns over time.