How Recruiters Get It Wrong

In a currently difficult market for both recruiters and candidates, there is a great deal of criticism of the former by the latter right now.  My take is that this is where some recruiters get it wrong:

·       Focus on volume over service quality – the “mud at the wall” approach

·       Talkers not listeners – a lot of recruiters pride themselves on their ability to talk, when listening skills are far more important in the role

·       Honesty – unfortunately not a given for all in the industry

·       Knowledge gap – where generalists attempt to operate in specialist sectors

·       Lack of empathy – failure to treat candidates in the way that they themselves would like to be treated

Maybe I’m naïve in expecting a commission driven business to be any different, but shouldn’t we all be getting the basics right?