Recruiting is all about timing

Recruiter Comic

I had a recruiter tell me this and I believe it.

For example, I had a recruiter reach out to me and after doing lots of work to qualify me I hadn’t heard from them for a few weeks. I figured the job was filled or they went with an internal person who was cheaper. What a surprise when the recruiter calls and tells me they are evaluating an internal person and that is completely fine with me. If they think that person will work better for them, it is their choice.

Recruiter Comic
recruiter comic

I thought about the time/effort that the recruiter did and didn’t get paid because the client changed their mind. Part of the downside of recruiting. I always tell recruiters when I have other companies who are considering me and what stage in the process they are at. It is only fair to let them know that they have a competition and that they can choose to communicate that to their decision-maker if they feel it might help them. If I were a decision maker and a recruiter said that someone they choose was being sought by other companies, it would validate that they have the skills and desirability and should probably be higher regarded.

What else is funny is that sometimes I get calls at the same time from multiple recruiters. This is not to brag but rather that their timing is funny sometimes. I talked with the person I was talking with and called the other person back. In the movie Annie there is a scene that shows Daddy Warbucks have a bunch of phones on his desk and he is frustrated trying to keep up with the calls. This shows us how important he is. I don’t feel I am important in getting calls. Most important people have other people take their calls like the president.

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So in the process of getting a job have a sense of not worrying about perfect timing. If you allow life to happen, it works out better than we can conceive.