Having been recruiting for over 10 years as of this year I can absolutely say that Recruiting does not have to leave a bad taste in anyone mouth, neither clients nor candidates.

If there is a good match between a company and an applicant then There is no reason to have to prod, cajole, beg or entice a candidate or client into a hiring mode. Is it not possible that if one has to do so then maybe one is Not listening to the requests of either the client or the candidate. Hearing what they really truly desire and working your hardest to meet their needs.

We have an awesome job, we can help someone from becoming postal today, help put braces on some kids teeth finally, or get someone the respect they deserve by helping them make more money, get better benefits, or get them away from the dictator manager. The same also holds true in reverse. We can make promises to someone that will not materialize, and they find that their benefits will be less, that they wont get the bonus that was promised, or the new boss was worse than the last.

Yes I think that Recruiters are truly lost their empathy. We forget that we are influencing peoples lives completely with every placement we make. Whether it be negative or positive. Making a career move is and should be a very difficult decision for a person, and it does allow them to be vunerable especially if they have been with a company for a while.

They trust us, and what we are saying, they forget that we are getting paid for our services, and they are counting on us to tell them the truth – Yet for many of us it comes down to numbers, quotas or dollars, rather than remembering it is people we represent and not just the candidate or client, but their families too will be affected by the outcome.

Better and stronger Placements, job orders and even more referrals will come your way if you remember to treat you Clients and candidates with the respect they deserve. When one remembers that we are dealing with feelings, emotions and peoples lives, that we are dealing with human beings and not selling Used Cars.

Others will disagree with me and will continue to make money by doing it the wrong way. However that way of doing things will only validate the perception that all we are are body brokers/ used car salesman.

Others of us will continue to fly under the agency model radar making money the new way we feel comfortable, while also slowly but surely showing hiring managers that there is another option.