Rita Ashley, Career Coach. Field tested advice for executives.

Based on responses to recent blogs and LinkedIn threads I wrote, I learned there is a lot of anger and vitriol directed at recruiters.  When I was a recruiter, I was a valued member of the business community who worked with investors and executives to build their companies and departments.  They consulted with me, dined with me treated me with respect. We worked together on boards, forums and industry events.

When I hear horror stories about how some recruiters behave and conduct their business and the resulting anger their behaviors provoke, I am disheartened.

Folks in job search mode need the best resources available; that includes recruiters known to be reliable, honest and effective.  Considering the hundreds of recruiter-bashing comments I read, I decided to help folks make a good effort to weed out the good from the bad and suggest a few warning signs to help  avoid getting involved with a recruiter who will not help you cross the finish line.

Good recruiters are part of the business community and how you treat them may have an affect on your opportunities.  Always be courteous regardless of your interest in the job they call about.  Statistics vary but the estimated range of executive level placements made by recruiters is between 25% – 35%.  Learn to spot the good ones.

Ask these questions:

1. Is this a search you have been invited to conduct?
2. Who is your contact within the company?
3. Have you worked on behalf of this company before?
4. What sort of searches?  When?
5. What part of my experience tells you I’d be a fit?
6. Do you have a job description?
7. What will you do with my resume?
8. What is the name of the hiring company?
9. What is the name and contact information of your company?
10. Will you supply references to me?
11. May I see the job description with which you are working?
12. Is there a charge to me for your services?

Notice the kinds of questions the recruiter asks.  Is she fishing?  Are his comments too general?  Does she understand the job description and how your background relates?

Warnings:

1. They ask names of your bosses or direct reports
2. They charge for representing you
3. They ask for personal information not pertinent to the job
4. They have no idea what you do

If you are not satisfied with the answers, be polite and end the conversation.  If you are satisfied and want to proceed get the basics.

Your best protection against disreputable and inexperienced recruiters is to avoid the job boards; their favorite hunting grounds.

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2 Responses to “How to recognize a bad recruiter”

1. SeattleStaffer says:

   March 26, 2009 at 11:39 am

   While I completely agree with the fact that there are a slew of Recruiters that give us a bad rap I wanted to point out a couple of things per your post.

   First of all the questions you supplied to ask the Recruiter are good however can easily be fudged. There are a number of Recruiters out there that will tell you what you want to hear with very little honesty or integrity. I would first recommend asking for referrals through your network of friends. The best way to judge a Recruiter, is to have worked with them through the entire process, a referral from your network is a clear choice.

   #2. Who is your company contact?
   * If you are dealing with an agency or Independant Recruiter they should be willing to atleast give the title of the contact they are working with. If they are working with HR you can assume a longer turn-around for feedback. However I would urge you to still move forward. An experienced Recruiter will prepare you with information as to next steps, expected timeline, and what to expect (interview process for client).

   However:
   #9. Name and contact information for the company?
   * I don’t know a single recruiter (there may be some out there, but I don’t know any) that will be willing to give you this information. The reason being someone had to go out and develop a relationship with the client in order to gain access to the position they are working on. Just like not all Recruiters are honest, same goes for candidates it’s an unfortunate truth. That being said if they give you the contact information, what prevents you from going to the client directly? If you have a strong relationship with your Recruiter they may be more comfortable with providing this information. However when first starting out with a Recruiter I would not expect or base a decision on obtaining this piece of information.
2. john DiLiddo says:

   April 9, 2009 at 11:48 am

   My limited experience with recruiters on job boards is they are somewhat suspicious when there is no phone number to contact them just an e-mail address to send your resume. They all say no calls accepted. I would shy away from these people.