The one question you should ask the recruiter who calls you

Please forgive the brief post, I'm going right to the where the meat is.

You receive a call from a recruiter and the opportunity does indeed sound exciting, they've done their homework and read your profile before picking up the phone.

Now - and this doesn't necessarily apply for some of the extremely industrialized & low paid jobs - the key thing for you as a candidate to ask the recruiter: Do you personally know the hiring manager? Have you met them? I'll let you do the thinking why this could be critical. They'll score bonus points with you if they are recruiting for the role exclusively.