Recruiter - Everybody's Backup

When a deal goes south, who's fault is it?  That one will really get recruiters riled up because they know they ALWAYS take the blame for everything! 

But, is there some portion of that blame that you can use to make you a better recruiter?  You can take that statement and look at the re-occuring things that happen and see if you can get your crystal ball out more often and head some of them off.  Let's take a couple:

1) Candidate didn't show up for interview or new start.  The key her is communication.  When was the last time you confirmed the appointment?  Did you give them a back up plan if something happens? 

2)  Client didn't show up for an interview.  Again, what communication was there for confirmation and did you give your candidate a plan, if that happens?

3)  Candidate starts waffling or wants more money after the client said they wanted them.  Did you discuss this possibility with the candidate early in the recruiting cycle?  Did you try to do a "pull away" and how did they react?  It's better to kill a deal early enough to give you time to find another candidate and not waste time on someone you'll never place.

Beginning to see the pattern?  Sometimes recruiters don't ask the tough questions because they don't want to hear the negative feedback or they don't know how to handle it without coming across as too harsh.  Think through the call before you pick up the phone and write out what you want to accomplish.   

Yes, it is your fault if you didn't do a thorough job but of course, you can NEVER really catch every problematic candidate out there.