A recruitment company is nothing without its candidates, there’s no two ways about it. However, the industry has had it a little bit easy in recent years, with the tough economic climate meaning there has been a huge pool of unemployed talent for firms to draw from.

That pool is shrinking now the recovery is underway and recruiters may have to work a little bit harder to attract the best candidates. One of the main ways they can do this is by ensuring they have as positive a relationship with job seekers as possible and avoid the practices that often annoy people.

We take a look at five of these issues and why you should do your best to cut them out below.

A person not a number
One of the main peeves people have with recruiters is a feeling they are being treated as little more than a number, just one of many rather than an individual. In some ways this is understandable, as firms have to deal with such a large number of candidates. However, those that do try and add a personal touch should be able to reap the rewards.

Just little things like referring to people by name and taking the time to quickly read their CV or history before speaking to them will be appreciated and help to enhance your brand image.

Failing feedback
Another major gripe is a lack of feedback. Candidates devote a lot of time and effort into job applications, but many receive no response whatsoever for their troubles. Giving detailed feedback is always the best option, but this isn’t possible in some situations. In these cases, a simple email or phone call explaining someone has been unsuccessful will still go down well with job seekers.

Mystery companies 
A lot of candidates get frustrated when they see an interesting job application only to find the company in question has not been named. It’s natural that people want to know who they are applying to and failing to disclose a business’ name could lead to individuals re-applying to a former employee or an organisation they don’t want to work for. To avoid this problem you should try and name the company in job adverts whenever possible.

Unsuitable applications 
For recruiters, there are a few things more annoying than when a candidate applies for a position they are completely unsuited for. Well, this works the opposite way too, with job seekers hating it when recruitment firms approach them with roles that are in no way related to their skills and experience.

This ties back into the issue of not being treated like an individual and can leave people feeling as though the recruiter has not taken the time to get to know them.

A sympathetic ear
If recruiters are to satisfy candidates’ desire for feedback, giving out bad news is an inevitable result. No one likes to hear they’ve been unsuccessful with a job application and this news should be delivered in a empathetic fashion, as a surprising number of candidates get annoyed by what they consider to be an abrupt or unsympathetic manner.