Seven Solid Reasons Why You Should Return Recruiters’ Calls

If I had to take a gut stab, I’d say probably less than a third of professionals answer their calls anymore instead of letting them go to voicemail.  They’re on the phone, online, on break, maybe even on the toilet.  However their time may have been occupied at the time of the ring, there will come that moment when they will look at the blinking light and check their messages – and prioritize them:  Important and/or critical; possibly relevant but not urgent; and utter garbage.   And they will respond accordingly:  Call back now; maybe call back, time permitting; and message deleted.  Of those falling into that possibly relevant-but-not-urgent, call-back-when-time-permits, and a few of those even deemed utter garbage, it’s important to not dismiss calls coming from recruiters. 

Here are seven good reasons for listening carefully for those calls and returning them.

1.  Your job should not define your happiness.  You may be happy where you are, but your job, unless it is a true calling, should not define your happiness.  The contribution you make, the compensation you get for that contribution, the people you work with, the corporate culture that is a perfect fit, the loyalty of your team, and of course your loyalty to your company and probably more importantly, your boss and mentor can all be, if not fully replicated elsewhere, certainly offset by other factors.  Don’t rule out the possibility of a great opportunity.  It’s a return call, not an obligation.

2.  The call may not be for you.  There is a strong possibility that a recruiter is calling you for a referral.  A colleague who has been overlooked for a deserved promotion, a former coworker who was not fortunate enough to leave the job from hell that you left eight months ago, an up-and-comer you’ve been mentoring but who is not likely to move up without moving on, or a friend who is good at what she does, but is just doing it for the wrong company.  When a recruiter leaves you a message you choose not to return, you may be denying a deserving associate of the advancement he truly deserves.

3.  The value of a new network relationship.  Many of our jobs, especially those in areas where we rely on the growth rather than just the stagnation of our companies, depend on expanding our centers of influence.  Most executive recruiters are relationship oriented and understand the need to reciprocate with referral business.  Typically they are not looking to take a slice of your business, but would hope that the development of their new relationship with you would be as equally beneficial to them as you may well be centers of influence for them as well.

4.  Having a resource that specializes in your market and who can provide assistance to your firm in filling crucial openings.  The likelihood of a recruiter who specializes in the packaging industry or filling positions for insurance companies calling you if you’re a banker is remote.  Fewer and fewer recruiters are generalists.  When your company has an opening, a focused recruiter who is on top of his game in your field can offer suggestions on how to enhance a job description, prioritize a candidate’s qualifications or scale the compensation.  And find highly qualified candidates.

5.  It’s a good way to keep your thumb on what’s going on in your industry.  'Nuff said.

6.  The day may come… You don’t have a crystal ball and you can never know when, for any of a myriad of reasons you find yourself pounding the sidewalks yourself.  Downsizing, management changes, merger resulting redundancies, market swings, all factors beyond your control and none of which take into account your company loyalty, your top production skills and least of all, your needs.  Contacting just any recruiter isn’t the best idea.  If they don’t have an in-depth understanding of your market you can be sure they won’t have their collective ears on where the jobs are that you’re looking for.  Knowing the top recruiters in your field because you took the time to return an occasional call, having developed a pleasant phone relationship with one or two of them and having given them the time to know your own strengths will put you at the top of their radar when they have relevant openings.  In some cases, even though you need to keep in mind that a recruiter does not work for you, she works for her client, she may have come to believe in you as being highly placeable and take it on herself to promote you to her current and potential clients as a must-hire employee.  And finally,

7.  Don’t you find it rude when your targeted (as opposed to telemarketed) business calls go unanswered?

Ya' know, you never know when an opportunity will present itself.