Human Resources Blog - Spark Hire

5 Ways to Know You’ve Got a Great Recruiter

It can be hard to know if you’ve found a great recruiter or a dud.  While there are a lot of bad recruiters, don’t be fooled into thinking that all the great ones are gone.  It is still possible to find an Allstar recruiter and there are 5 key ways for you to know if you’ve got a really good one.

1. Your recruiter is consultative.

Does your recruiter call and ask, “Do you have any jobs I can fill for you?”  If so, then you have a bad one.

A great recruiter is going to have more of a consultative approach when contacting you.  Great recruiters do not just want a job order to fill.  They want to build a relationship with you, understand your needs, company culture, etc. in order to find the best talent that you need.

2. You receive more than just a resume.

If you are working with a recruiter who only forwards resumes with no further information, then it’s time for you to move on.

A really good recruiter is going to provide you with not only a candidate resume but also with her own personal thoughts and notes based on her interviews with the candidate.

The goal in the relationship between you and your recruiter is to form a partnership focused on finding the right talent for your business.  This can only be done with complete transparency between you and your recruiter. Great recruiters know this and will point out strong points of each candidate as well as any potential candidate red flags.

3. Your recruiter follows up.

When your recruiter sends you a candidate submission, you want her to also follow up with you to discuss the candidate.  Likewise, after you have interviewed a candidate, you want a recruiter who will follow up with you afterwards in order to receive feedback and help push the process along.

Great recruiters always follow up.

4. Your recruiter follows through.

Did your recruiter say she would send you three to four candidates for you to review by a certain date?  Yes, things happen and sometimes a recruiter may overestimate the candidate market for a certain job.  However, that is no excuse for not notifying you ahead of the deadline.

A great recruiter will be in constant communication with you, keeping you up to date on how the candidate search is going and informing you of any roadblocks or stucks she may be running into.

Once again, a great recruiter is going to be very consultative and will want to work with you in order to help you find the right talent.

5. Your candidates are well informed and prepared.

When you are meeting with candidates who have thoroughly researched your company, understand exactly what you are looking for, and have a good knowledge of your company’s culture and expectations – you’ve got a great recruiter.

A great recruiter is going to be thorough with each candidate submitted to you.  She will make sure that the candidate understands all of the requirements and is completely prepared for your interview.

What are some other ways you know you have a great recruiter? 

Julia Weeks
