Recruiters need to be careful not to become "database terrorists" and should be more courteous to candidates — not least because of the marketing benefits, recruiters were told at the recent Global ERE Expo 2006 in Amsterdam.

Marc Drees, founder of consultancy Matchsupport, said: "Recruiters can do many things wrong with technology. I call it database terrorism, and it means that candidates are treated terribly."

Keith Robinson, partner at consultancy Engage, urged attendees to focus on improving the recruitment experience for applicants and said firms should remember that recruitment is a kind of marketing.

"Candidates are consumers of our products and services. It's not a recruitment process, it's an experience, and candidates will share their experiences," he said.

Robinson added that some recruiters need to be more responsive to applicants. "Job boards give individuals hope, the hope of a new job, and with that comes responsibility," he said. "The sites have to deliver on this hope, even if it's a no thank you you're not quite right for the job, but so many sites do not reply, which is offensive."

Robinson cited a well-known British company as a firm that could improve the way it deals with applicants. According to research, a typical candidate for this firm will tell 11 people they have had a bad recruitment experience, he said.

Robinson added that recent Engage research showed that jobseekers expect to be treated as if they were customers. They want a personal service, and to feel respected and cared about.

Matthew Jeffery, head of recruitment at Electronic Arts, agreed: "It is a candidate-driven market. It's frightening, we have had cases of candidates re-living interview experience in blogs."

Peter Went, chief executive of software provider WCC Smart Search & Match, warned that recruitment systems should assist the process but never take over: "It's not all about gathering CVs — recruitment must go beyond that."