“Canvassing will lead to automatic disqualification.” …but what is Canvassing?

Job recruiters and most Job descriptions will include “canvassing will lead to disqualification” at the end, but what does it mean to canvass for a candidate??

Let’s say you see some vacancy from a company that a friend or family is a big shot there, and you really want the job but on seeing the application procedure, you think why don’t I just ask the person to put in a word for me to be shortlisted without going through the hustle of applying?

What is Canvassing?

There are two types of canvassing;

Direct canvassing, cold calling or a speculative application, is when one approaches a company they’re interested in directly requesting for employment without them advertising for a vacancy.

This will most probably work for you and it’s ethical, plus it shows you have interest in working for the company you are contacting.

Canvassing after job has been posted: This is an attempt to unfairly further your application by contacting the recruiting team or other employees of the company recruiting with the intention of them influencing your selection for the said role.

Why Canvassing is discouraged

Recruiting is supposed to be fair to all applicants. The person picked for a role is supposed to be the best among the pack based on their qualifications, not who they know.

That’s why Recruiters discourage job seekers from trying to influence the recruitment process either externally or internally.

In some cases, canvassing can also include spam applications. Let’s say CampusBiz is recruiting for 10 vacancies in different departments and you as an applicants looking to increase your chances of being picked, you send 10 different applications for all the available vacancies.

This might lead to your automatic disqualifications since it shows you are not interested in a specific role that you might excel in and benefit the company, rather you’re just looking for any job, regardless of your qualifications/expertise.

There you go folks, now you know what canvassing is, basically it’s an integrity test,  a key value for any employee.

Leaving the recruitment process to the recruiters shows you believe and trust the process as well as your suitability for the role.