The Ultimate Cheat-Sheet for Working with a Recruiter
Vincent Benjamin

We’ve written before about the best ways to work with an executive recruiter to help you find a job. We wanted to boil down some of these tips and more into an easy to follow cheat sheet that can help you establish a great relationship with a staffing service and work with them to find your next job opportunity. Here are 8 quick reference points to help you get started.

  1. Keep a list. You may be working with multiple recruiters as well as applying to jobs on your own. You need to keep track of every job you’ve applied to or been submitted to maintain order in your job search.
  2. Know the right time to call. Yes, not getting a call back can be frustrating but recruiters are people too. Sometimes they make imperfect decisions. If you’re looking for feedback, contact them in the morning before their busiest time of the day.
  3. Remain professional. Treat your phone calls and your meetings with the recruiter just like you would an employer. Don’t be late and don’t be rude. They will appreciate this and respond in kind.
  4. Be your own advocate. It is important that you don’t put all your eggs in one recruiting basket. Use each recruiter as an additional resource to enhance your already robust job search.
  5. Don’t blow them off. If you don’t want to be blown off by a recruiter it is important that you extend the same courtesy. Even if you’re not interested in the job, be polite.
  6. Do your research. You also can’t rely on the recruiter to do your job for you. Before you go to an interview, do your own research on the company and the job.
  7. Your resume, your rules. It is important that you set clear boundaries with the recruiter about the use of your resume. Ask them if they plan to use it as a marketing tool and if you’re uncomfortable with that, tell them so.
  8. Don’t place blame. Finally, the most important thing you can do when working with a recruiter is realize the final decision is out of their hands. Their clients are the ones to choose who they hire, not the recruiter, and blaming the wrong person will affect your professional relationship.

Are you interested in working with a recruiter to enhance your job search? VincentBenjamin has expert local recruiters located in Phoenix, Denver, LA and Orange County

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