"I'm a banking recruiter and I'm horrified by the treatment of candidates"

efinancialcareers.com:

I'm an in-house recruiter for an investment bank, and I would like to apologize for the actions of my peers.

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I talk a lot to candidates, and I've come to realize that a lot of recruiters are quite brutal in their approach. Ghosting candidates seem to have become the norm in the banking industry. 

I had no idea it was this bad. I knew that ghosting candidates happened, but not that it was the norm. In fact, candidates tell me that unless they have a stellar (read: sellable) profile, all that recruiters want to do now is to have an initial conversation. Once they realize a candidate's profile may not get anywhere, they simply stop replying to the candidate's emails! 

I'm not sure why this happens, but apparently it's standard. I hear that all recruiters do it, from leading headhunters to major firms. 

It didn't use to be like this. When I worked at a recruitment firm a while ago, I always made sure to go back to the rejected candidates and drop an email to say they didn't fit — even if just a one-liner. It's not difficult. 

I feel sorry for candidates, but I'm not sure how to change the status quo. In recruitment, the human-connection is really a key factor! One candidate even suggested that the recruitment industry needs to be regulated to prevent such rampant ghosting of candidates.

Let me know if you have suggestions in the comments box below.

Matthew Hart is a pseudonym.

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