Three kinds of recruiter
An in-house recruiter is an employee of the company that is hiring, and manages the process from first call to offer. An agency recruiter works for an outside firm and is paid by the employer only if a candidate is hired, usually 15 to 25 percent of the first year's salary. A retained search firm is paid in advance to fill senior roles and rarely calls anyone early in a career. A staffing agency that places temporary workers keeps you on its own payroll and bills the client by the hour. In every case the money comes from the employer. Anyone who asks you for a fee to find you a job is running something other than recruiting.
What they can and cannot do
A good agency recruiter knows the hiring manager, knows what the last three rejected candidates lacked, and can get your resume read the same day. That same recruiter is paid on placement and has a quota, so the enthusiasm is real but not personal. They cannot create a job for you, and they will stop calling when the role is filled. Silence is the industry's normal way of saying no.
The first call
Expect fifteen to thirty minutes covering your background, why you are looking, your pay expectations, your location and your timeline. Give a realistic range based on research, because a recruiter who knows your number will not waste your time on jobs below it. Many states and cities bar employers and their agents from asking what you earn now. Where that question is still legal you may decline it and state what you are looking for instead. Ask for the company's name, the pay range, the reason the role is open and the interview steps before agreeing to be submitted.
Rules of the road
- Give written permission for each submission, and keep a list of where your resume has gone.
- Never allow two agencies to submit you to the same employer, because the fee dispute usually ends with the employer dropping you.
- Tell the recruiter about your other interviews and offers, since deadlines elsewhere are the fastest way to speed a process up.
- Let the recruiter carry your salary requests to the employer, which is the one moment your interests line up almost exactly.
Note Messages from strangers offering high pay for vague remote work, or asking for bank details or a purchase of equipment before an interview, are scams. A real recruiter names the employer and never asks you for money.
