You've been approached by a recruiter... now what?

In a world where we are bombarded daily on LinkedIn by offers of service – some genuine (we like to believe!) and others.... not so much – it can be challenging to tell which are the genuine ones.

The recruitment industry is no different. Cold calls are one of those inevitable side effects of the job, but if you’re one of those professionals being approached by many, and frequently, how do you tell they’re a good recruiter who has your best interests at heart or are only in it for the placement fee?

Less address this part straight away: It’s no secret that the placement fee is largely how recruitment agencies earn their income (unless they diversify, which is a whole other conversation). They’re in business, so like any other business, of course that’s going to be important. There’s no denying that.

Yet, there’s something that’s even more important. That is the satisfaction of those we work with, whether it be the hiring company client or the candidate we place. If they’re not happy, we either need to re-do the job (not ideal) or the dissatisfaction of those involved seeps into their willingness to work with us again.

So it’s in a recruiter’s best interest to make sure the client and candidate experience is a genuinely positive one.

Now that that’s been said, how do you tell if they’re a good recruiter for you to work with as a professional?

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Enthusiasm and wanting to do the right thing by you is just as important as experience in the industry.

So as a bit of a ‘what not to’ dismiss, this is key. A recruiter can be brand new AND super valuable to you as a candidate if they bring this, because chances are they’re working with someone who does have that experience. If a recruiter is relying on their years of experience but not actually giving you an experience of feeling heard and valued when you’re talking with them, consider further.

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Are they asking you what your ‘why’ is?

One of the reasons professionals work with recruiters is to partner with a person that asks the questions, almost coaching you through it, to help you get clarity in your career trajectory. They’re not trying to be argumentative or shut you down – so you if you feel like they’re doing this even when you put this lens on it, again, it’s time to question. They’re trying to give you perspective so that your decisions are made from the most informed position possible.

For example, if you’re wanting to go to a bigger firm simply because you desire to work with bigger clients, you’re presupposing that the bigger firm is a) the only place that has bigger clients, and b) that you’ll actually get a hand in the pool of those bigger clients. We see this in the accounting space particularly. If a recruiter is genuinely trying to help, they might point out risking being a small fish in a big pond, where a medium-sized firm with bigger clients may have more experiences for you.

If a recruiter is giving you information and options that deliver on what you want, even if it might look a bit different to the options based on the information you originally assumed, it’s worth considering.

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In line with this, are they being open with you about where or what might NOT be the best move for you?

Or are they pushing ‘yes’ for everything? Remembering that recruiters know of more jobs that exist beyond what’s advertised on traditional job platforms, a decent recruiter isn’t going to recommend putting forward as an applicant for 20 different roles. They’ll want to hone in on THE role or couple of roles for you, and make sure it’s quality over quantity. This means less time-wasting on your part for orles that might not fit you or fit the hiring company = the less unnecessary rejection you’ll experience. We want you feeling confident and capable in your skills! Not trying to make you swim when you’re better at climbing.

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One last one (for now); are they getting back to you when they say they will and letting you know where things are at, even if there isn’t an update?

You ever apply for a role and wait (and wait, and wait) to hear something, even a rejection, just to feel like it’s disappeared into the ether?

A good recruiter should keep you posted on progress, even when that progress is “we still haven’t heard anything yet. I’m following up.”

There’s nothing worse than feeling like you’re one of so many that your experience (and often related – emotional and mental wellbeing) isn’t important. Like any human, recruiters aren’t perfect and may make mistakes. But if they’re making an effort to follow through on what they say they’ll do, this is a positive sign.

What others would you add to this list?