If you’ve partnered with a recruitment agency but your phone isn’t ringing, you’re probably wondering what’s going wrong.
You may have briefed your recruiter on the vacancy, agreed the salary and provided the job description — so why aren’t suitable candidates coming through?
The reality is that successful recruitment is a two-way partnership. While a recruitment agency is responsible for sourcing, screening and presenting suitable candidates, employers also play an important role in keeping the recruitment process moving.
At Resolve Recruitment Services, we work closely with employers across the UK to help them attract, identify and secure the right talent. Here are some of the most common reasons your recruiter may not be calling — and what you can do about it.
1. Your Job Vacancy Isn’t Competitive Enough
One of the biggest reasons a recruitment campaign can struggle is that the vacancy simply isn’t competitive in the current jobs market.
Candidates are comparing multiple opportunities, so factors such as salary, working hours, location, benefits and progression opportunities can all influence whether they apply.
If similar businesses are offering higher salaries, better benefits or more flexibility, your recruiter may find it difficult to attract the right candidates.
How to fix it
Ask your recruitment agency for honest feedback on how your vacancy compares with similar roles.
Consider:
Is the salary competitive?
Are the working hours attractive?
Is there flexibility where appropriate?
Are the benefits clearly explained?
Is there a genuine opportunity for career progression?
Does the job description accurately reflect the role?
A small change to your offer can sometimes make a significant difference to candidate interest.
2. Your Job Description Is Putting Candidates Off
Your job description is often the first impression a candidate has of your business.
If it’s vague, overly complicated or focused entirely on what you expect from the candidate, it may fail to attract the people you’re looking for.
A strong job description should clearly explain:
What the candidate will be doing
What experience is required
What the working hours are
Where the role is based
What salary is available
What benefits are offered
What makes the opportunity attractive
Avoid filling your advert with unnecessary requirements. Separating essential and desirable criteria can help prevent suitable candidates from ruling themselves out.
3. You’re Taking Too Long to Give Feedback
You’ve finally received a suitable candidate from your recruiter — but it takes several days to decide whether you’d like to interview them.
By that point, the candidate may have accepted another job.
Good candidates are often speaking to multiple employers at the same time. Delays can mean losing people you’ve already invested time and money finding.
How to fix it
Agree realistic response times with your recruitment consultant.
For example, aim to provide feedback within 24 hours of receiving a candidate or completing an interview.
Fast communication gives your recruiter the ability to keep candidates engaged and move the process forward.
4. You’re Not Giving Your Recruiter Enough Information
Recruiters can only work with the information they have.
If your brief simply says, “We need a warehouse operative,” your recruiter may have unanswered questions.
The more information you provide, the more accurately they can target their search.
Consider providing details about:
The exact duties
Required experience
Shift patterns
Pay rate or salary
Location and transport links
Required qualifications or licences
Start date
Temporary or permanent status
Overtime availability
Company culture
Progression opportunities
The better the brief, the better the chance of your recruiter finding the right candidate.
5. Your Requirements Are Too Narrow
It’s understandable that employers want the perfect candidate.
However, if your requirements are too restrictive, you could be excluding people who have the skills and potential to succeed.
For example, do candidates genuinely need five years of experience, or could someone with two years’ experience and the right attitude perform the role successfully?
Try separating your requirements into:
Must-have: Requirements the candidate genuinely needs to perform the role.
Nice-to-have: Skills or experience that would be beneficial but can be developed.
This gives your recruitment agency more flexibility when searching for suitable candidates.
6. Your Recruitment Agency Doesn’t Understand Your Business
Recruitment isn’t just about matching keywords on a CV.
A good recruiter should understand your business, your working environment and the type of person who succeeds within your organisation.
If your recruiter doesn’t understand these things, it becomes much harder for them to sell your vacancy to candidates.
At Resolve Recruitment Services, we believe communication is key. The more we understand about your organisation and your recruitment requirements, the more effectively we can represent your business to potential candidates.
7. You’re Using Too Many Recruitment Agencies
It can seem logical to give a vacancy to as many recruitment agencies as possible.
However, using multiple agencies doesn’t always result in better recruitment.
If several recruiters are contacting the same candidates about the same vacancy, it can create confusion and damage the candidate experience.
It can also make it difficult for recruiters to understand whether you’re genuinely committed to hiring.
Consider quality over quantity
Working closely with one or two recruitment partners can allow them to properly understand your business, develop a targeted candidate search and invest more time into finding the right person.
8. The Market May Simply Be Challenging
Sometimes, the issue isn’t your recruiter or your vacancy.
Certain sectors and locations can be particularly competitive, and candidate availability can change quickly.
Skills shortages, salary expectations, location, shift patterns and seasonal demand can all affect recruitment.
This is where honest communication with your recruitment agency becomes important.
Your recruiter should be able to provide feedback on what they’re seeing in the market and help you understand whether changes to the vacancy could improve candidate attraction.
9. You’re Not Selling the Opportunity
Recruitment works both ways.
While candidates need to demonstrate why they’re right for your business, employers also need to demonstrate why candidates should want to work for them.
Don’t just tell candidates what they need to do. Tell them what they get in return.
Think about highlighting:
Competitive pay
Benefits
Flexible working
Training
Career progression
Job security
Company culture
Recognition
Additional overtime
Development opportunities
Your recruitment agency can help communicate these selling points to candidates — but they need to know what makes your organisation attractive.
10. You’re Not Communicating With Your Recruiter
One of the simplest ways to improve your recruitment results is also one of the most overlooked: talk to your recruiter.
If you’re not receiving suitable candidates, tell them.
If the candidates being sent aren’t right, explain why.
If you’ve changed the salary, working hours or requirements, let them know.
If the vacancy is no longer urgent, tell them.
Your recruiter should be working with you, not simply sending CVs and waiting for a response.
How to Build a Better Relationship With Your Recruitment Agency
The most successful recruitment partnerships are built on communication, trust and transparency.
To get more from your recruitment agency:
Be clear
Give your recruiter a detailed and realistic job brief from the beginning.
Be responsive
Provide feedback quickly when candidates are submitted or interviewed.
Be realistic
Listen to your recruiter’s feedback about salary, candidate availability and market conditions.
Be honest
If you’re working with other agencies, hiring internally or have changed your requirements, let your recruiter know.
Be collaborative
Treat your recruitment agency as an extension of your hiring team rather than simply a supplier.
How Resolve Recruitment Services Can Help
At Resolve Recruitment Services, we understand that every business has different recruitment challenges.
Whether you’re looking for temporary workers, permanent employees or urgent staffing solutions, our team works closely with employers to understand their requirements and identify suitable candidates.
We support businesses across a range of sectors, including industrial, warehouse, logistics, driving, hospitality, care and commercial recruitment.
Our approach focuses on more than simply filling vacancies. We aim to build long-term relationships with our clients and provide recruitment solutions that support their wider workforce needs.
If you’re struggling to attract candidates, receiving unsuitable applications or simply aren’t getting the level of support you expect from your current recruitment agency, it may be time to review your recruitment strategy.
Final Thoughts
If your recruiter isn’t calling, don’t immediately assume they’re not working on your vacancy.
There could be several reasons why you’re not seeing the results you expect — from an uncompetitive salary or unclear job description to slow feedback or unrealistic requirements.
The best recruitment results happen when employers and recruitment agencies work together.
Give your recruiter a clear brief, provide honest feedback, respond quickly and be open to market advice. In return, your recruitment agency can focus its time and resources on finding the candidates your business actually needs.
Looking for a recruitment agency that understands your business?
Get in touch with Resolve Recruitment Services today to discuss your current recruitment requirements and find out how we can support your hiring strategy.
