by Moe Zilla

Created on: February 14, 2009

Everyone worries about finding a job. Quiet applicants worry that they're penalized in interviews for their thoughtful thoroughness - and chatty applicants worry that their personality is offending the stuffy managers! But the problem is even more pronounced with job recruiters. They need to "sell" an employer on the candidates that they've found for these interviews - so all recruiters will be watching for specific work experiences. Does this mean recruiters also ignore individual assets, and just reduce every applicant to a code for their abilities?

There's two kinds of recruiters: in-house recruiters and "external" recruiters. But in a way the problem is exactly the same. Ultimately the recruiters will be blamed if job applicants are under qualified - so when they refer a candidate for an interview, they do worry about their qualifications. That's their job, and recruiters want to keep it - and to do that, they need to find good people for the company's positions. Sometimes the screening process will include a short phone interview, but often recruiters simply verifying the details on a resume. The good ones will try to get a sense of the person, asking "Why are you interested in this position." And if they're really good, they'll try to sense your personality, imagining how it will gel with the rest of the company.

It can be an impersonal process, and the problem is even worse when submitting an application through a web site, which often takes the form of a series of check boxes. ("Your experience is: Greater than one year? One to three years...?") In theory, this speeds up the job-finding process, because applicants can be matched to the appropriate position. But in reality this means that every potential worker is literally reduced to a specific numeric code.

There's good news, too. Every employer will eventually sit down with potential candidates, giving them a chance to shine with their true humanity. (Some people try to adapt their personality to the interviewer's, but being honest is the best strategy - since it's impossible to maintain an "act" in the long run.) And because of this, good recruiters anticipating the sit-down interview as the final step in the application process. When they talk to an applicant on the phone, they'll be anticipating that culmination of the hiring process. If the candidate looks good, they look good!

So if they're smart, they'll be considering the special human factors in personalities that make them a good fit for the company.

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