Open Letter to Job Seekers from a Recruiter (my response)

Open Letter to Job Seekers from a Recruiter (my response) Last week I read Mary Faulkners post, An Open Letter to Job Seekers. I thought it was going to be a scathing response telling job seekers to not whine so much, and not make their jobs harder. Instead it was more of an apology, and a here is what I have to deal with message.  It was pretty nice.  Thanks, Mary, for sharing that. The problem I have is that in my experience, no recruiters were like what you describe.  Most of the time what I got from recruiters was crickets. Ignored. Nothing. Not even an email confirmation It was like dealing with an entity that didnt exist. Or, someone who didnt give a rip about me. I get that perhaps you (I say this generically to recruiters, not specifically to Mary) might want to help people, and that you care about people. But when you give me NO response, no feedback, no leads, no nothing, and this happens dozens and dozens of time, Im left confused. You see, Im already in a tailspin this job search is something new for me I dont quite understand it. I think Ive had a pretty cool career, and my resume explains most (but not all) of my awesomeness.  Well, I *thought* that day after day of the job search wears on you. No responses from recruiters, wasting time on job boards, trying to network, etc.  And getting nowhere. Day after day, feeling like Im going backwards, as the threat of money runs out, or my ability to pay for my mortgage slipping away. Scary. Lonely. Confusing. I want to meet recruiters like you, but my experience with recruiters was on the other side of the spectrum. I respect that you are human, and have feelings. I understand that you have process and system problems, and work challenges. But somehow I think that you are the experienced one in our relationship, and you know whats going on, and you can help me make less mistakes. I assumed that we had a relationship.  I assume that you have a grip on your job, and are professional, and will act as a professional. I just dont feel it, or see it, on my side. I want to, but that hasnt been my experience (yet). Open Letter to Job Seekers from a Recruiter (my response) Last week I read Mary Faulkners post, An Open Letter to Job Seekers. I thought it was going to be a scathing response telling job seekers to not whine so much, and not make their jobs harder. Instead it was more of an apology, and a here is what I have to deal with message.  It was pretty nice.  Thanks, Mary, for sharing that. The problem I have is that in my experience, no recruiters were like what you describe.  Most of the time what I got from recruiters was crickets. Ignored. Nothing. Not even an email confirmation It was like dealing with an entity that didnt exist. Or, someone who didnt give a rip about me. I get that perhaps you (I say this generically to recruiters, not specifically to Mary) might want to help people, and that you care about people. But when you give me NO response, no feedback, no leads, no nothing, and this happens dozens and dozens of time, Im left confused. You see, Im already in a tailspin this job search is something new for me I dont quite understand it. I think Ive had a pretty cool career, and my resume explains most (but not all) of my awesomeness.  Well, I *thought* that day after day of the job search wears on you. No responses from recruiters, wasting time on job boards, trying to network, etc.  And getting nowhere. Day after day, feeling like Im going backwards, as the threat of money runs out, or my ability to pay for my mortgage slipping away. Scary. Lonely. Confusing. I want to meet recruiters like you, but my experience with recruiters was on the other side of the spectrum. I respect that you are human, and have feelings. I understand that you have process and system problems, and work challenges. But somehow I think that you are the experienced one in our relationship, and you know whats going on, and you can help me make less mistakes. I assumed that we had a relationship.  I assume that you have a grip on your job, and are professional, and will act as a professional. I just dont feel it, or see it, on my side. I want to, but that hasnt been my experience (yet).