Below is an interview with Chris. He was a recruiter for a long time before he retired and now works as a CPA. Before we get started here are the facts about Chris:
- recruiter for 14 years
- retired from industry in 2015
- 20-25% of salary was recruiters cut
What are the worst mistakes that a developer can make when working with a recruiter?
Lying, misleading about salary, reason why they left, hiding that they were fired, education or years of experience.
Should a candidate tell you that they have a job offer?
Yes. It would make client work faster OR up their offer. Say if you have accepted it or not. Don’t make up an offer for leverage.
Should candidate say if they are looking for jobs.
Recruiters prefer candidates who are actively looking for candidates
How should candidate answer the reason why they are looking
Salary, growth opportunities >>> recruiter uses these to fight off counter offers
Are there anyways that recruiters mislead candidates?
- Recruiters would still advertise/sell a company that they know sucks, or where people leave
- Discuss a higher salary then make a lower offer on actual paper
- They give an unreasonable ranges of possible salaries
What is a counter offer?
When you give a 2-week notice to your company but they don't want to let you go so they give you a better deal. Recruiters anticipate this and ask questions ahead of time to fight counter offers.
What is a perfect candidate for you?
- Has the relevant skills.
- Honest with themselves.
- Knows what they want & sticks to it
- Good candidate values the role of recruiter. Knows that they can help you
What is a bad candidate?
- Over inflated self-ego
- Doon’t return calls, start contacting client directly, over inflated -self and -value.
Is there something you want to tell all candidates right now, which you could not tell when you were in the recruitment industry? Many recruiters mislead- false info on salary, client
If a candidate sees a job posting on LinkedIn & a recruiter is offering the same opportunity- which one should the candidate pursue?
Recruiter likely has a relationship with the company and the hiring manager so resume likely to stand out better via recruiter. Applying online resume might get lost
What is a common weakness among technical candidates? For example, do you find them lacking communication skills OR do they show lack of moviation?
- Don’t only work with one recruiter
How did you typically screen candidates?
- Ask about their career and recent jobs
- Did not pretend to be technical