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Halloween omnes

All Those Times Candidate Recruitment Experiences Gave Us Chills

With October 31st lurking around the corner, everyone’s getting super excited about putting on their Halloween masks and playing the bad guy that one day in the year. But, what happens when you meet one too many bad guys in a single year, especially during your recruitment process?

Well, it sucks! With all the familiar hiring troubles, there’s no amount of pumpkin spice latte that can neutralize the trauma of a bad interview, a horrible feedback, or a recruiter who made you feel more uncomfortable than your drunken uncle  Sam, that time he vomited all over you. Still, live and learn, and nail every next interview you are at, right? Right.

With Halloween spirit kicking in early, we’re putting together a few cringe-worthy stories we’ve gathered from our candidates, colleagues, and friends around. 

Story 1: Creeps, Creeps Everywhere

Some time ago we heard a story about a Software Developer from Serbia approached by a recruiter via LinkedIn, offering him a position. The candidate thought the offer was sweet, although a bit vague, but proceeded to accept the message anyway. A few minutes later, that same recruiter sent the candidate an email on his *private email address. Naturally, the candidate thought that was a bit weird and somewhat inappropriate. So, he decided to drop the whole thing and just didn’t reply.

Maybe things wouldn’t be as bad if the recruiter didn’t continue his creep fest!  What did he do? He contacted the candidate’s mother via email, too! Now, as recruiters ourselves, we do understand the urgency of grabbing a good candidate, but man – we’d never go Creepy Creeperson on anyone! Bet the importance of screening for IT companies doesn’t sound unreasonable now, does it?

*Spoiler alert: the private email address was never given out by the candidate, nor was it visible anywhere on his LinkedIn profile. 

Story 2: Nerds and All That

Mistakes happen to everyone, even the best of recruiters. This story is not creepy per se, it’s more one of those how-not-to-lose-an-employee-but-you-probably-do-cos-you-don’t-pay-attention situations. So, this is what happened… 

A candidate that sat an interview nailed the test, left a great impression, and was told that he’d get a call back soon. Which, he did. However, what surprised him was that he received two emails: one super polite and professional, and the other one obviously not intended for him.

The first one read: “Andrew great news, the hiring manager is very impressed by your resume and would love to speak to you. “

Wanna read something really scary? Here, learn about 13 signs your top talent may leave soon.

The other email wasn’t even close to being this professional! Here’s the transcript: “I’m talking to this nerd on Thursday. Graduates this month and has some good experience.” Not the email you expect to get from your hiring manager, is it?

To those faint-hearted, an email like this is unforgivable. To others – more inclined to laugh it off, this same email is a perfect opportunity for a chill comeback like “the nerd’s excited” or, better yet – “the nerd’s all about signing bonuses”. Plus, the reply from the candidate would be a perfect teaching lesson for the company!

As recruiters working in the gig economy, we are mortified and hope never to have something like this happen to us! As potential candidates… where do YOU stand on this one? 

Story 3: The Classic Tale

It’s a tale as old as time – recruiters tend to forget about using an ATS. This is, obviously, a colossal mistake. No matter how dedicated one is to each candidate and how much they aim to keep up with everyone – forgetting a thing or two is in order. Who keeps all times, dates and emails stored in their mind?! Exactly.

Using a system that enables recruiters to keep track of scheduling and processes is the only method that’s unmistakable. Dear recruiters, feel free to rely on a technique that won’t fail you.

Luckily, everyone at Omnes is weirdo-proofed, so our candidates don’t ever have to go through unpleasant things we know are happening in the world of recruitment and job-seeking.

Secrets to proper recruitment aren’t really secrets: they are professionalism mixed with common sense, friendship, looking out for your candidate’s back no matter what, and always being respectful. We are also cautious about the companies we send the candidates to, so chances that horrors like these above could happen to our candidates are close to null. 

Did you have any weird, horror-like recruitment experiences? If yes, please share! 

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