What are some questions candidates should ask the recruiter? It’s normal for recruiters to be the ones asking the questions, but there must be questions that we job seekers should be asking them. Right?
I think that is a terrific question. Before I entrusted anyone to talk with another party regarding me as a candidate, I would absolutely want to make sure that the person representing me was highly professional, and had a solid track record.
When evaluating executive recruiters, LinkedIn is a fantastic place to start. It would be highly unusual for someone working as a recruiter in this day and age not to have a strong LinkedIn presence.
Check out their recommendations on LinkedIn, and specifically what people have said in terms of recommendations, and endorsements.
Check out their website.
Remember to Google both their name and their company name.
After doing those things, you will have a general idea if they have invested the time and energy to make a name for themselves and by association those they represent.
If you are interviewing for a particular role, other good questions would be to ask if they have worked with the particular client before, and what their history is with them. It can be invaluable if your recruiter has a long standing working relationship with the company you are interviewing with. Providing in-sights into individual hiring managers, as well as people that have recently started working there, etc. is fantastic information, when you can get it.
I would also ask how much experience they had making placements within the specific industry and ideally within your type of position.
In a mere 15 minutes I think most of us can do a pretty decent cursory search and determine at first glance if they are someone we want to invest additional time.
And I cannot stress enough how important it is when dealing with your career to invest that 15 minutes!
Ask Ann,
Have a question you’d like a recruiter to answer? Write to me at AskAnn@execunet.com
