7 Ways NOT to Impress a Recruiter

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Earlier this year I wrote a post called How to Impress a Recruiter which was wildly popular.

It was a story about how someone used Twitter, blogs, and research to help a person stand out from other candidates.

As a recruiter, it is not easy to knock my socks off.

I really appreciate someone who goes the extra mile when looking for a job. All recruiters do.

It is a highly competitive market and recruiters are looking for “something special” that will give an edge over other candidates.

I have been asked routinely to do a follow up to that blog.

What should candidates not do? What are some routine mistakes that I see candidates make which is effecting their chances of getting that job?

There are so many things that candidates can do to improve their chances of getting a job.

I thought it would be best if I listed them out. The truth is these things should be reviewed and re-reviewed because as a candidate you probably have done these things at some point in your career.

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1. Candidates Talk too Much

There is nothing more exhausting to me than when a candidate talks and talks and really doesn’t give the recruiter a second to interject.

When recruiters talk to candidates, they don’t have a ton of time to chit- chat about what you did 10 years ago.

They want to know the highlights of your career.

To hear about a project that you worked on for 15 minutes makes a recruiter want to hang up the phone.

Find out what the recruiter is interested in and talk to that point.