How RUDE.  You sent in a resume, wrote a great cover letter and you know you are spot on for the posted job.

So what’s up with the dead air?

It just doesn’t feel right.  Job search is hard enough with out being ignored for jobs you know are a good fit.

So many reasons recruiters don’t respond, so little time. There are as many styles of recruiting as there are recruiters. The best require courting and do not use job boards, form letters or, for the most part, do not respond to random resume submission. They represent candidates who are referred, vetted and known. These candidates get timely feedback, both the good and the bad.

If you submitted an unsolicited resume with no referral or introduction, it is unreasonable to expect a response. You have asked a busy professional whom you don’t know to stop what they are doing and do something for which there is typically no motivation. Unless your credentials are spot on to a current search, the recruiter must do her job; which is to find candidates for her clients. When you submit an unsolicited, un-referred resume, you simply can’t expect a response.

If you want your recruiter to behave, be selective in how you approach her and by whom you are referred. If you persist in using the random and anonymous methods of job boards, blanket and unsolicited resume submissions, you deal with only the least professional recruiters. Your choice. Learn how to get connected to the best recruiters, read “Job Search Debugged.”

Still not sure why your recruiter didn’t get back to you even after you sent him a killer resume? So many reasons, but here are the most common.

1. Not working on a search that requires your excellent credentials
2. Way too busy for any diversions
3. Knows something about you that turns her off
4. Doesn’t think your resume is strong enough
5. Has more than enough qualified candidates she already knows with similar credentials
6. Just not his style
7. Doesn’t respond to unsolicited resumes

Let’s say you are actually working with a recruiter and he doesn’t get back to you. You know not to badger him, but you are really annoyed at his lack of consideration. After all, it’s just an email or phone call. Consider this before you get more upset:

1. Her client did not get back to her within the time frame she mentioned–she doesn’t want to show she has little to no control over her client or fate
2. She has other more pressing, time critical things on her desk
3. He knows you didn’t get the job and he is working hard to find another candidate
4. He is just a jerk and lets things fall into cracks

As you can see, there is nothing continued contact on your part can change. Rather than become demoralized by the recruiter’s behavior, move on. Hopefully you already connected with more than one recruiter and have more irons in the fire. If not, this is motivation to do so. Just be careful not to complain to any recruiter about the lack of responsiveness.

Sometimes, when the desk is just too full and there are too many phone calls and emails to respond to, the candidates who will be the most forgiving are the ones who get pushed to the back burner. Which doesn’t mean you should become a squeaky wheel. You will still get the representation you want, just not the instant feedback. Remember, recruiters get paid for placing people and you want to be placed; you have mutual vested interest.

For more about how to work with recruiters try these posts:

Get the most from a bad recruiter.

Tricks recruiters use to trap candidates.

How to recognize a bad recruiter.

7 Questions to ask when a recruiter calls.

If you’d like to read about other issues with recruiters, contact me with your ideas through the comments section.

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Rita Ashley is a career and job search coach. In the last two years 98% of her clients reached their goals within six months. Is it your turn? contact me directly for a customized program to address your career and job search needs.

Read Job Search Debugged to revitalize your job search.

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