This week I’ll be covering the third tenant that should be followed by candidates in order to get the respect and create a professional working relationship with recruiters; “accuracy.â€
Accuracy – The resume and all other documents presented to the recruiter accurately depicts the experience, work history, and accomplishments of the candidate. All items will be a true representations of fact.
It is a pretty simple rule to follow and something that you as a candidate would expect from your recruiter – be honest. When the recruiter gives you information about a position you want the information provided to be accurate and truthful so that you can make an informed decision about whether or not the position is of interest to you, whether it fits your career goals, and whether or not you are qualified based upon your skill set and background. It is well explained in ItzBig Blog’s Candidate Bill of Rights series and I tweaked their response a bit in post about "accuracy" in my critique of the Candidate Bill of Rights to explain why the information presented in job postings on the Internet might be a bit thin. However, when discussing the information with the recruiter, the complete details should be revealed and accurately so.
Likewise a recruiter expects that the information that you present about yourself will be accurate and truthful. The jobs and titles that you have held are real, your career achievements are supportable, and your education is listed correctly and your diplomas can be presented if asked for. These things are essential. If you misrepresent yourself during the job search, you may get an interview, but you will certainly be caught at some point. Take the example of George O’Leary and the disgrace he brought to himself when he was forced to resign from his dream job as head coach of Notre Dame’s fighting Irish football team. He career was practically ruined forever… talk about career suicide.
If a recruiter discovers that you have lied about anything on your resume, you can kiss your relationship with that recruiter goodbye… and with any of his network of close associates. Oh yeah, recruiters talk, they tell stories, they share information. You put a recruiter’s reputation in jeopardy by lying to him or her. If they don’t discover your dishonesty until after they present you to a hiring company, then they will have egg on their face that may not be so easily washed off. Small lies count too. Don’t do it. You will be discovered and when you are, the consequences can devastate your career.
Please take notice that I have added a running list of links to each of the articles in the series so that it is easier to navigate from one to another in the series. I stole the idea from my friend Jason Alba over at JibberJobber. He has a great series going on the Job Seeker’s Creed, which is well worth checking out. So from now on, when I run a series, you will be able to look forward and backward to articles by looking for the running list at the bottom of each article.
Series – 10 Ways to Make Recruiters Love You
1) Confidentiality – Recruiters are entitled to have confidentiality and security of the information shared with prospective candidates regarding the companies with whom the recruiter is working and the positions which he is trying to fill. Any sharing of information with colleagues or co-workers should only be done with express prior permission of the recruiter. (read the entire post here)
2) Credibility – Candidates that apply for positions or express interest in a position during recruitment will do so and substantiate that he or she is willing to accept a new position based upon the criteria that is outlined to the recruiter. This means that a candidate is ready, willing, and able to commit to a job change for an acceptable offer. (read the entire post here)
3) Accuracy – (today’s post)
4) Consideration
5) Consistency
6) Follow-Up
7) Preparation
8) Respect
9) Communication
10) Information