It’s Eat or Be Eaten: The Changing Landscape of Job Recruiting

Once upon a time, a company would post a job opening. A set of desired skills and experience were listed, and hopeful candidates would respond. Over the last couple decades, many employers have turned to recruiters for help, to wade through large piles of resumes and separate the wheat from the chaff. In either scenario, the process worked. Here’s a job opening. Here’s the right person for the job.

But the landscape is changing. For many possible reasons – fear of a recession, rising interest rates, or a growing generalized risk aversion – companies are posting job openings and searching for good people… but then not pulling the trigger. And with that behavior, the gentility of the process has taken a hit.

Some of the hiring reluctance may come down to personality. But as a recruiter for 15 years, I’m seeing a behavior I can only describe as unbecoming. I’ll watch an employer retain a recruiter to fill a job opening, then pull the finish line further and further back as the right candidates – people who’ve checked every required box - come along. Out-of-the-blue weeks long delays. Exorbitant rounds of hoops to jump through for non-executive or management positions.

That leads to job seeker frustration. There are still roughly two job openings per applicant here in the US, and that “right person” can too easily jump to a competitor’s offer. I’m seeing it happen too often these days – in fact, two in just the past week.

Now I’m not saying employers shoulder all the blame for a harsher hiring environment. The behavior of some applicants has me doing a double take, too.

Yes, the term “ghosting” isn’t new. But really, this often? In the professional work environment? Job seekers will simply not turn up for a scheduled interview; not notify the recruiter, and vanish into thin air. The “circling back” with feedback on interviews is sporadic. No closure for any parties in the mix. It seems common courtesies have left the building.

To some extent, I get it. The US is a very low context culture. We tend to get to the point; courtesy and etiquette are luxuries only if time allows. But there’s room to stay professional and still reach your goals.

I’ve seen too many job openings go unfilled when the right person is standing right at the door, ready to come in. So here’s my advice to job posters - find the right recruiter, trust them, and take the plunge. Candidates: Bring your A game.

Frances J. Trelease is both a recruiter and a journalist, with more than 20 years' experience using her M.B.A. and reporting skills to launch Boomer Den for recruiting (https://bit.ly/3aYO8tO) and Trelease Communications for copywriting. (http://bit.ly/3ooKbCe)

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