Recruitment Needs to Be About People, Not Just Data Points

I was recently contacted by a recruiter representing this company. As someone who has worked in recruitment myself, I know firsthand how exhausting, fast-paced, and high-pressure this industry can be. I have deep empathy for recruiters — but I also know there’s a line between being efficient and being careless.

This experience crossed that line.

From the second I picked up the phone, I felt like just another number to be plugged into a spreadsheet. No greeting. No “How are you?” No “Do you have a moment to chat?” Just straight into questions about my race, gender, age, and salary. No explanation of the role, no conversation — just cold, impersonal data collection.

I get that this job comes with targets and metrics. But I’m a human being — and so is every other person you call. There has to be space for that in recruitment. There has to be basic respect.

I eventually had to cut the call short because I was heading into a meeting — something the recruiter would’ve known if she had simply asked if I was available. She said she’d call back. Three hours later, I called her back. No apology. No acknowledgement. Just more of the same surface-level questions and a “we’ll let you know.”

If this was me, someone with experience and emotional resilience, and I felt this shaken — I can only imagine how this would land for someone who’s been desperately waiting for a breakthrough. Someone hanging on by a thread. That kind of interaction could make a person lose hope completely.

We need to do better. This industry needs to remember the heart behind the hire. You don’t need to become someone’s the****** — just treat people like they matter. Because they do.