Feedback heard from jobseekers reflect a common sentiment — they feel completely alone, a recruiter says.
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Recruitment Director Jenni Tontti from aTalent. Image: Kristiina Lehto / Yle
With long-term unemployment rising rapidly in Finland, recruiters say they are facing frustrated, distressed, and sometimes aggressive behaviour from jobseekers in their daily work.
In a tough job market, the growing number of applicants per open position means more people are left feeling dejected at the end of each recruitment process.
“People have threatened to show up and confront us, questioned the recruiter’s competence and accused them of being too young for the job. They’ve dug up the recruiter’s information online and complained about a lack of decades of work experience,” said Jenni Tontti, aTalent’s Recruitment Director.
A really lousy recruiter. Completely incompetent person for recruitment. Doesn’t understand anything.
Feedback received by aTalent
There’s been some outright swearing and insults in the feedback, but mostly the jobseekers’s comments reflect a common sentiment — they feel completely alone, according to Tontti.
She said applicants feel no one cares and their messages go unread and unanswered, noting that this shift in mood began last autumn and has worsened this spring.
In the first half of the year, aTalent facilitated the employment of 206 people out of 19,120 applicants.
“The biggest change was in the IT sector. A couple of years ago, we had to hunt for workers, but now there aren’t enough jobs for all the skilled professionals.”
Finland’s average unemployment duration hit a record 70 weeks in May, the longest period since 2007.
Recruitment consultants are a cancer and a parasite that has placed itself between the candidate and the company.
Feedback received by aTalent
Frustrated job seekers lash out
Porkkana & Keppi, a recruitment firm specialising in technical and management roles, noted that jobseekers are now increasingly challenging recruiters’ expertise.
“Sometimes applicants let out quite an outburst,” said CEO Eeva-Maija Hiekkataipale.
The firm said that for a typical single expert position, they now receive about twice as many applicants compared to a few years ago.
According to staffing firm Academic Work, calls informing job seekers they were not selected used to last only a few minutes, but now the conversations can stretch to nearly half an hour.
Applicants are increasingly seeking detailed feedback and concrete support in their job search, according to the firm’s CEO, Laura Christie.
If a single job offered through Academic Work used to attract about 40 applications, that number is now over 200.
“We haven’t encountered inappropriate behaviour, but feelings of frustration have clearly increased,” Christie said.
Vantaa hardest hit
In the Uusimaa region, more than 10 percent of working-age people were unemployed job seekers in May. The highest share was in Vantaa, where nearly 14 percent were unemployed.
At Vantaa’s employment services, customers often let out their feelings by crying and expressing their hopelessness, especially when basic needs like food and housing are at risk, said Sanna-Mari Levijoki, account manager for employment services at the City of Vantaa.
Young people applying for their first summer jobs have to compete against applicants who are highly educated adults.
“When you get the words “you were not chosen” dozens of times in a row, it hits you, even if your self-esteem is high,” said Levijoki.