3 Questions To Ask Every Recruiter

Let’s face it, if you’ve been on LinkedIn or had your CV on a job board for any amount of time the chances are you would have been called by a recruiter.

Lucky you ??

The more experience you gain of speaking to them/ us/ maybe even me (shock horror) the better your process of filtering through the bullshit and ending the conversation with a clear idea of the opportunity on offer.

However strong your “discovery” phase currently is I find a lot of people fail to qualify a few key points when having early discussions about roles and unfortunately it can come back to bite you on the arse.

So, here are 3 questions worth asking every recruiter that approaches you about a role.?

Is the role newly created in the business or will I be replacing someone leaving?

Think about the genesis of the role. A shiny new role means you can make your own mark from day 1 whilst replacing someone means you’re often inheriting someone’s legacy, for better or worse.

(If you're replacing someone) Why did that person leave?

There’s a perception that most recruiters won’t be forthcoming about the reasons behind someone leaving a role for fear of creating a negative impression of the business. The one’s worth working with will have explored this with the client and will be willing to share the back story. If they don’t have the answer, you’re within your rights to ask them to get it.

What does the handover or knowledge transfer process look like?

“Ummmm” “Ahhhhh” “What’s that?” aren’t acceptable answers for this one. If you’re taking over from someone else, knowing if you’ll have the chance to work or interact with that person before their departure is worthwhile. It also gives you an indicator of whether the break up was amicable.

As the old adage says, “knowledge is power” and if you’re armed with the answers to these questions you’ll be in a far better position to make an informed decision on whether the role you’re being approached about is worth pursuing.?