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Finding a job is tough. It’s stressful; it’s another job on top of the job you already have. I get it. And with all the emails you send out and resumes you submit only to hear crickets (if even!) on the other end, it can be incredibly frustrating and demoralizing.  That said, I wanted to give you perspective on what happens when what you think your new more “proactive” tactic backfires and your newly found “take charge attitude” leaves others now viewing you as desperate, unprofessional and untrustworthy.

Companies partner with headhunters to provide a service and to add value – to introduce them to top tier candidates they have not met on their own or through their own networks. They are looking to build new relationships and ensure they have scoured the marketplace for the best person for their job. Therefore, if you have already met with or sent your information to the company we are speaking with you about within a reasonable timeframe (i.e. the past year), and the client did not move forward with you, there is a reason for that. Not divulging this information or telling us that you do not know the company already only to have us resend your information only destroys all the bridges you were trying to build. Here is a recent email exchange that does a better job of showing the point at hand:

Client to Recruiter:

Hello. This is crazy. I’ve now recd her book from 3 people. One a few months back and someone Sunday! She needs to divulge this info.

Recruiter to Candidate:

I sent your work over to Company X.  The HR Director was unimpressed by the fact that you have been submitted by three different recruiters over the course of a few months.  She did not like that you did not divulge to each recruiter that you had been represented to them in the past and now it looks like you are spamming your materials their way, which leaves an impression of desperation. 

Since I asked you if you knew them, were in communication with them, or had been represented there prior and you said no, I was happy to represent you.  It’s upsetting to receive this feedback, as it makes everyone look unprofessional – you, the other recruiters and me.

Moving forward, please know that you need to be as upfront and transparent with anyone you work with and if you have ever been in communication or know of an agency or firm or they have received your information, you need to let the partner you are working with know this.  This is extremely important because as you can see, it damages reputations and only taints your standing with companies and partnerships you are trying to build, which I know is not your ultimate goal.

In summary, when your recruiter asks you if you have sent your resume to Company X, we need to know if you have applied online through their company website, applied via LinkedIn, have had another recruiter send your resume to the company on your behalf, or had a friend of yours send your resume internally to someone they know. Sometimes we may still be able to represent you for the position, but we always need to know the background information before doing so.

I actually just realized recently the importance myself of keeping track of all of the social media sites I have joined over the past few years. The Melanie Andersen Agency just purchased a new database called Maxhire which keeps track of all of the clients and candidates we work with. It has a great social media function, where as soon as we have any email address for a candidate, work or personal, it searches the internet across numerous social media sites for any accounts that this individual has created with these email addresses. As an initial test, I entered in my name and two of my most used email addresses, and I was amazed at some of the informaton that was dumped into my file. There were sites that I had forgotten ever joning (Friendster for example back in the day), outdated photos but more importantly, outdated employment information and contact details. I spent some time updating the accounts and deleting a lot of them. It was a good lesson for me and moving forward, I will be much more pcarefulabout making sure that any information that is out on the internet, and under my control, is correct.

A funny side note, a good friend of mine used to hate the fact that whenever anyone googled her name,  the first photo that would appear of her was always a not so great photo of her taken at an event several years ago.  Recently, she was so tired of seeing this bad photo each time, that she emailed the company that had held the event and asked them to remove it from their website. They happily did, and now there are only good photos of her available online. It’s all about controlling your image! When someone googles your name, what will they see?