How to Turn Recruiters Off

Currently, we are recruiting for administrator and nursing supervisory positions. We are awash in resumes and a surprising number of them are terrible—they are headed directly for the trash can.

Here are a few guidelines for physicians and administrators who are poring over a mountain of resumes, and for people applying for jobs that are wondering why they haven't found the perfect fit.

1. If you asked for a cover letter and they didn’t send one. DO NOT read on. This person just revealed something interesting about themselves: they can not follow instructions.

2. If you asked for salary requirements and none were included—STOP. Again, if they can't follow instructions, what makes you think this will improve? We try to avoid wasting time talking with people who are out of range of the position.

3. Spelling is an essential skill, and often overlooked. We are particularly amused by people who assure us that they can run a 3 million dollar entity yet can't spell the specialty. Simply using spell check, which makes its own mistakes, is not the answer! You would think that a known poor speller would ask their Mom, roommate, spouse, friend, or the local librarian for help so that their sales piece would be perfect. Do you really want to cringe when you read correspondence? We don't.

4. Job jumpers beware. It may be in vogue among the 20-something's to change positions every 18 months, but we take a dim view of this. We believe that there is no reason the behavior will change, so we pass.

5. Liars: If more doctors were as particular as professional recruiters, they would find out that amazing number of applicants lie about degrees, qualifications, positions and the like. Many people who very badly want to handle the practice finances are unable to handle their own and are deeply in debt. Lesson: background checks are a must. Reference checks are not optional.

KZA recommends SelectSmart for this. Go to: www.selectsmart.net.

In short, we hope that the economy picks up and that deserving, thoughtful candidates all find great positions.

Do you have your own recruitment horror story? Send it to us at: Email it to KZA!