Recruiters - and their lack of communication with potential candidates

Recruiters will not tell you this and probably will deny everything I say. BUT I've been working directly with recruiters for the past 8 years and I know what they give me and what I use to make basic decisions and I know what I tell them to do with the reqs.

So, you just applied to a job. Your resume matches all the qualifications and skills and you meet all the requirements and many of the preferred. Now you wait. First you get the "canned" e-mail saying thank you for your interest in XXXXXX position and blah blah blah. As we all know the only thing we are concerned about is keeping this e-mail to track what jobs you applied for. 

Many companies have no intention of ever calling you back and probably have opened this job requisition as a legal requirement to say they advertised it. SO a lot of companies open these "reqs" for 3 days they already may have a preferred candidate and it is a formality that job is even open.  BUT lets say, you get lucky and you get a call back from the HR screener.  Now you start feeling good, you talk with them, they are friendly and then they always ask that question on what is your salary requirement? This is 80% of the time the factor that puts you in a pile either the circular filing cabinet or the "potential candidate" files. SO here is a little tip. Go Low. BUT always base your salary requirement on the amount of information you "currently' know. This is not the official offer so it is irrelevant other than moving you from one pile to another, based on more information about your responsibilities you will negotiate your salary. If you have read any of my previous posts then you will know that you will find out details of your job as you are interviewed and throughout the interview process.

This isn't about those strategies so I will keep my negotiation talk to a minimum. This is about why they don't call you back. If you just read the previous section, 80% of the reason is you are out of their price range. 15% is all based on the job, the companies need, your qualifications, skills and experience and how desperate they may be to fill the position.  The last 5% are factors that are just straight related to the Recruiter themselves and their skills.

1. Too Busy. So many candidates and they may be the only recruiter screening hundreds of candidates.
2. Lack of organization.  They may not be the most organized and may have even lost your resume and contact info. (So follow-up e-mails are always good, maybe even attaching your Resume for reference)
3. Fear of confrontation. They don't want to tell you your not hired.
4. Personal Bias. Maybe you have a long last name, or an accent, or your Linked In profile isn't good, or you name it you can imagine it. As long as they keep it all to themselves you will never know BUT I know it happens.
5. Personal Favorite. Maybe they know you, maybe they got a recommendation, maybe a friend of a friend said this guy or that girl is good.
6. Lastly just plain lazy. They scanned the first few found one that meets the requirements of the job and that becomes their candidate.

In any case if you get that call, Don't put yourself in that 80% "delete" file and give a fair price for what you know, even if it is below your current salary. When you are in the interview take notes, identify the other areas that are not in the req and take into consideration the "work till you get it done" attitude then when negotiation  comes. That is when you negotiate with power and confidence, only after the interview can you truly understand the position and even know what salary is fair.