Why Executive Recruiters Can Be Rude — Ghosting and Rejection Explained

I recently met with an Executive Recruiter at a Fortune 250 company for a CMO role. The interview lasted six minutes. When I joined the call, he told me I wasn’t a fit for the position, but that he wanted to learn more about me. That took six minutes. He told me my profile was sourced from their research group. I never got an answer on why he called me for an interview to begin with if he had read my resume.

I later learned that this recruiter, who hires VP level and above candidates, has a very short attention span, and prefers emails that are three bullets or less. I learned this from a former manager of his that is in my network. This was weird and rude, but given the recruiter is the gatekeeper, it’s his choice on how to operate. Not fair but this is the reality.

Years ago, there was a lot more class and elegance in executive recruiting. Today, it appears to be a numbers game. Despite excellent credentials, I have been ghosted and rejected more times than I’d like to admit. I’ve written this piece to help you understand how executive recruiting works, how to work the system, and how to not get your feelings hurt.

Recruiting is a Business

Recruiting is a business, and unless you have a special skill set, you are not the customer. You are selling a product — YOU. You must keep in mind that you’ll have to kiss a lot of frogs before you find your prince, and today, you may have to apply for more than 100 positions…