Recruiting Database Maintenance

Fair warning - This is a rant against both Recruiters and Candidates. Please bear with me on this.

As the Office Administrator (or the "She'll Do Anything You Need" person), one of my responsibilities is Database Maintenance. We switched to our current database about two years ago and this new one is my baby. When we switched over, I went through the entire database person by person looking for duplicates, merging them, formatting resumes properly, entering information in the correct places. Obviously I have an attachment to the database beyond most people here. Currently I try to keep tabs and make sure no more duplicates are added, I format resumes before we submit them to clients, make sure all the information has loaded in the correct spots, and ensure that each recruiter has entered the proper notes. This is not a bad job, nor that difficult, but it is extremely tedious. A lot of resumes come in every day and that's a lot of effort to keep up. Lately I've been covering some responsibilities that are not usually mine, so this has fallen by the wayside to an extent. I've been catching up over the last couple of days, and here are some thoughts I've had.

Candidates

• When I ask for a Word version of your resume, please do not send it in PDF. I know you have it in Word. Save the me the hassle of reformatting it or, worse, retyping it.
• Do not type your resume in a table format. I know that formatting resumes is frustrating. Microsoft Word has plenty of very nice, clean, professional formats that do not involve tables. Or text boxes.
• Clearly indicate which number is your home number and which is your cell phone. I would think this was self-explanatory, but evidently it is not.
• Do not send your resume from your work e-mail address. When I ask you for a personal e-mail address, do not give me your work e-mail address. It is bad business for everyone involved to correspond through your work e-mail.

Recruiters

Listen, I know that your time is money. I know you need to be on the phone with a candidate or a client to make a placement and a commission. However, it does not take long to do these things, so please just do them. If it does take you a long time to do it, you're doing it wrong. I will personally show you to do it right. Everyone will be happy that way.

• Enter all of the notes you need to enter. This is a company rule. This is not something I do to terrorize you. In fact, it makes your life easier when your notes are there. So just do it.
• Search for the name before you add it. I can almost guarantee it's already in there. You probably entered it six months ago when you had a similar search.
• Call me crazy (actually, don't), but since the candidate has e-mailed you their resume, I know that they do have an e-mail address. I also know that you have it. When I ask you for it, give it to me. We both know it needs to be in the database. Unless you don't want anybody to place your candidate. Which is fine with me.

I think that if we all work together, we can make the world a better place for our poor admins who are tearing their hair out to make your life easier. Of course, anybody who works with a database has a pet peeve. What's yours?

Why I Could Never Be A Recruiter

This may seem odd coming from someone who works in a recruiting firm. Don't get me wrong, it is fun to work here. One person's success is everyone's success. When one person makes money, the whole company benefits. Because we are such a small firm, it's easy to see everyone's connection to each other. The flip side is also true. When nobody is making money - nobody is making money. And there is where I falter. The great times are great. But I don't see myself handling the not so great times. The stress would be unbelievable. I can hardly imagine. I feel bad enough being an Administrative person, knowing that I don't actually bring in cash flow. So to be a recruiter must be that much more difficult. Our firm specialized in homebuilding. Now that homebuilding has slowed down, we're branching out, sort of coasting until we figure out the next big thing. The tension in the office is palpable. We've downsized due to people leaving. Everyone wants to make money, and nobody is. Candidates don't have jobs and they are stressed out, constantly calling recruiters. Recruiters have no jobs for these candidates and all people involved are becoming more and more stressed out. No way I could handle it! Of course this is still a great place to work, no matter how things are going.