How to pick a professional recruiter

When you first start fishing the waters for recruiters, focus on finding a good trout stream. As an angler, you're looking for fish with trust and clout. Let's first consider trust.

Do you sense that you can trust a particular recruiter? Is he trusted by his client companies? The more you can answer these questions regarding a potential career partner, the better. On a personal level, your gut will speak volumes that your mind can't always absorb, so you may just need to go with this reaction. Whether employers trust him or her, however, may be more difficult to determine since many headhunters will not divulge their clients' identities until it's absolutely necessary.

Don't blame recruiters for not spilling all their proprietary information (namely, their clients) when first meeting you. After it's clear that the two of you might be a good working match, this shouldn't be an issue. Some headhunters, as in any service industry, might have on file letters from former satisfied clients or candidates. Having such endorsements isn't a must, but it might be an avenue to explore in determining a recruiter's muster.

Another simple way to assess a recruiter's trustworthiness is to turn a frequently asked interview question back on him or her: "What would your candidates say about you as a recruiter? What would your clients say?" Initially, being interviewed by a candidate might surprise the headhunter. Whatever the outcome, you win. Either:

• Recruiters are caught off guard and reveal a power-trip mentality, which says "I'm in charge, not you;"
• They reveal an interesting perspective of themselves that you can process through your own BS detector; or
• Your chutzpah and professional savvy makes an incredible impression, upping their desire to work with you.

Trust is a two-way street. Don't expect a headhunter to let her hair down and begin revealing more than the usual cryptic information unless and until you're willing to do the same.

It's also important to know a recruiter's basic fear when disclosing client information -- that the candidate will go around the recruiter, doing an end-run straight to the company, thereby bypassing the company's obligation to pay the recruiter's fee. As low-down as this seems, it happens, and the fear has been ingrained in headhunters, whether or not they've actually experienced it. Recruiters are in the information-brokerage business: They broker the information they gather on clients and candidates to make a living. If a client or candidate utilizes information gained from a recruiter to either hire an employee or get a job, that recruiter is entitled to compensation.

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