
Ask HN: How do you evaluate a recruiter? - jdowner
When you are contacted by a recruiter on linkedin or elsewhere, what are the things that are positives or negatives for you? Personally, it drives me nuts when I have to have a back-and-forth to get them to send me the job description first rather than a phone call. Conversely I am so happy when someone just provides the information up front; even if it is not a good fit, I am happy to work with them.<p>What are your positives&#x2F;negatives?
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JSeymourATL
> How do you evaluate a recruiter?

1st - Check out their profile-- do they look real? Does their firm online
presence look legit?

2nd - What's the tonality of the email exchange? Is this someone with solid
business acumen or a flunky?

3rd- Have a script ready-- "Joe, thanks for reaching out. You may appreciate,
I get several requests like yours every week. So we don't waste too many
cycles, please forward a full, detailed position summary. Also, tell me about
your relationship with the client/hiring executive. If it's not a match for
me, happy to see if I can refer some one."

That dialog should inform if it's worth going forward.

Like all salesmen, recruiters prefer to have live conversations to foster
discovery and build rapport. A 10 minute exploratory phone conversation will
tell you a lot.

