Articles From the Team
4 reasons why you shouldn’t ghost your recruiter
Ghosting is a term that’s widely used when ending a ‘relationship’ by abruptly cutting all communication. In today’s world, there are endless ways to contact somebody, so when it becomes impossible to reach a person who you’ve built a relationship with, whether it’s personal or professional, it’s incredibly frustrating.
Getting specific to legal recruitment, there are many reasons why you shouldn’t ghost your recruiter. Here are my top four:
1. To uphold crucial relationships
As a specialist and dedicated recruiter, we take pride in our expertise. We invest time in helping you find your next dream job: from our initial phone call to helping you build your CV, and from there: helping you prepare for your interview. We care and we want you to succeed in securing the next step in your career.
Should you decide at any point in the process that the opportunity isn’t for you, simply tell us! In failing to communicate your concerns or reservations, we’re unable to advise you; likewise, we’re unable to provide a viable explanation to the client: as to why you’ve withdrawn your application or haven’t turned up to your interview. In one swift move, you risk damaging multiple relationships, including those with your legal recruiter and the hiring manager for that job.
By not returning your recruiter’s calls or emails, you might assume it doesn’t matter because there are other recruiters out there. As you’re aware, the legal industry is small: everyone knows everyone. Ghosting your recruiter doesn’t just mean time wasted, it’s the hiring manager’s time reviewing your CV and the interviewing panel’s time arranging schedules and this can leave a lasting impression. The perfect segue to my next point.
Protect your reputation and be honest – we can handle it!
2. To remain professional
In this industry, you’d like to think that acting in a professional manner comes with the territory. Ignoring your recruiter after instructing them to either submit your CV or arrange an interview demonstrates a lack of professionalism. Protect your reputation and be honest – we can handle it!
3. To support your long-term career goals
The job might not be right for now, but what about your future? You’ve made the decision to explore the job market. You speak with a recruiter and they provide you with market intelligence, you decide you want to submit your CV, and subsequently, the client wants to interview you. Then, you get cold feet and you decide you’re happy where you are and you don’t want the rigmarole of moving jobs. If you decide it’s not the right time to move, explain your decision to your recruiter and they’ll accommodate your career goals where possible; whether that’s today or next year – when you’re ready to make the move.
4. To avoid making a mistake
Most of the time a candidate backs out of an interview because of a fear of the unknown. They psyche themselves up and go through all the reasons why they shouldn’t go to an interview. A majority of the time we are privy to these reasons and we’re able to offer our advice and work together to decide if it’s the right decision.
At BCL Legal, we’re committed to provide an honest and transparent consultancy service for legal professionals who are looking for help in taking the next step in their career. Above anything, we understand. We understand if you change your mind. We understand if you lack confidence during interviews. We understand if you want to stay in your current job.
If you find yourself in a position where you’ve agreed to have your CV sent to a firm and you change your mind, tell us. We don’t apply pressure and we definitely don’t hold grudges. In fact, we appreciate honesty and transparency above anything, it allows us to feed back to our clients with honesty and helps maintain healthy relationships all round.
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