Recruiting is purely a numbers game. Recruiters and headhunters are hard-pressed to find ‘perfectly' qualified candidates and fill the open positions like yesterday. There is incredible pressure to ‘ meet the goals', else the recruiter will very well find himself looking for a job!
Buckling under the demands, recruiters resort to various tactics that includes lying to the applicants. This ranges from beating around the bush or withholding information to misleading statements and even outright false assertions.
This is not to say that all recruitment agencies are out to dupe you. While there still are honest and trustworthy recruiters, it cannot be denied that the dubious, dishonest ones do abound.
Traps
Recruiting falsehoods are mind-boggling in both their range and reasons. It can begin right from the point of first contact like – ‘Just submit your resume and sit back while I find the perfect job for you' or ‘I will keep in regular contact with you throughout your job search.' Well, recruiters are employed by the client companies; they work for the employers that sign their paycheques and not for you – the candidate. So you cannot really afford to ‘sit back' or expect the recruiter to keep you updated of every job opportunity (unless it serves his purpose!) What's more, the employment agency may actually be canvassing so as to fill its database for future client requirements.
Again, some recruiters are not even beyond misrepresenting what they are ‘selling', over-highlighting the attractive job features or even failing to disclose some negative ones if they want you for that job.
And, once you have interviewed with the company, the recruiters can come up with different convenient follow-up stories to lead you on. For instance, ‘the company has not finished the interview process yet', ‘I just checked the system and your status is still pending approval. Sometimes they take about a week to approve a candidate', ‘The hiring manager needs to conference with the HR Director first' or even an outright, ‘Don't worry. You are absolutely guaranteed to get the job!'
The real reasons can be that the hiring company is dragging its feet on making a decision/offer and meanwhile the recruiter is playing for time. Or the candidate was rejected and the recruiter is just trying to appease him till other openings pop up. It is even possible that the employer has already filled the position internally or has withdrawn the job opening and the recruiter is just trying to save face.
Other stalling tactics include, ‘I am anticipating better openings in the next week' or ‘The manager is on vacation' while the recruiter tries to keep suitable candidates on a leash for the next job assignment.
Yet again, some recruiters fare not even beyond manipulating a candidate to accept a ‘lucrative' job with a good dose of deliberate arm-twisting only to disappear into thin air once you sign on the offer letter.
Alas, fact is that some recruiters lie. But what makes them do so? Recruiters defend that it is part of the game and they have to tell some white lies to the candidates to get their job done. At times, lying even becomes a ‘necessity' as they are compelled to fill ‘urgent needs' with nothing-less-than-perfect candidates.
Moreover, recruiters often have no choice but to pass on the half-truths or prevarications that the hiring managers feed them. The recruiters are well and truly caught in the middle even when they are aware of what is really going on!
Smarten up
No offence intended, but it is extremely naïve to believe everything that the recruiter tells you. While its true that recruiter lies are not justified, there really is no use in crying foul or pressing charges!
Instead, what you can and should do is smarten up and not let the headhunters take you for a ride anymore. Try to read between the lines and pay attention to the recruiter's tone of voice to ascertain his authenticity. Also, do not gullibly expect the recruiter to tell you about all the nitty-gritty details of a job. It's for you to do your homework and find out what's on offer – both the good and not so good parts. Then again, if a recruiter is keeping you hanging during the follow-up process, accept that either you do not fit with the job qualifications or the hiring company has filled the position already.
Do not make the mistake of depending completely on your recruiter to find you that dream job. Conduct a simultaneous job search of your own by searching the classifieds, looking up the Internet and networking with your contacts.
So, when you are the victim of a recruiter lie the next time round, do not waste your precious time with a job recruiter who's only in it for personal gain. Just dump him and find another one. After all, it is your job, your career, your life on the line and the only person who can protect your interests is YOU!
Payal Chanania
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