Often candidates get calls from recruitment firms for interviews but they are confused whether to go ahead or trust these agencies. Truth is that you can trust them only after getting answer to few important questions.

1. 8 QUESTIONS TO ASK
TO A RECRUITMENT
AGENCY
A GUIDE FOR CANDIDATES ON
MAKE SURE YOU HAVE ASKED THESE
IMPORTANT QUESTIONS BEFORE
APPEARING FOR THE INTERVIEW

2. What company are they
recruiting for?
(If you've already applied directly to that same company,
they would usually not be able to represent you there.) Find
out everything the recruiter knows about that company. If
they cannot tell you the name of the company, ask why. (If
it’s truly a “confidential” search, OK … but more often than
not it’s a trust issue, and failure to identify the client could
be a red flag for a job-seeker.)

3. What are the job
requirements?
Ask them to send you a job description. Help the recruiter
see how you fit those requirements, if you do. Be honest
about any requirements that you really don’t have.

4. What is the salary range
defined for the position?
Ask them to send you a job description. Help the recruiter
see how you fit those requirements, if you do. Be honest
about any requirements that you really don’t have.

5. What is the salary range
defined for the position?
You should be honest and upfront about your own salary
history and the salary range you would accept going
forward. If your salary history and expectations do not
match the job’s defined range (or seem unrealistic) most
recruiters will not consider it a match worth pursuing. Like
it or not, it’s a primary factor recruiters use to decide who
they'll represent to their clients.

6. What is the history of this
position?
(New or replacement … and if the latter, what happened to
the person who left?)

7. Who is the hiring
manager, and how well
does the recruiter know
that person?
What is their management style? What is the company
culture like? Can you get any inside intelligence?

8. How many other
candidates is this recruiter
representing to this job?
Are there other agencies that are also sending candidates,
or is this an "exclusive?"

9. What is the client's hiring
timetable?
What steps are there – how many phone interviews and in-
person interviews will there be, and with whom? When do
they want someone to start? How long has this position
been open? How high is their degree of “urgency” to full it?

10. What is the next step?
Will the recruiter definitely be sending your information to
the client – and if so, when? How soon should you expect to
hear back from the recruiter?

11. Conclusion
Good recruiters should be able to answer almost all of these
questions and more. If they can’t answer those basic
questions … then they probably don’t know their clients
very well, and I would question whether or not you want
them to represent you.

12. Conclusion
Good recruiters will also be able to help you tweak your
résumé to better fit the job specs, prep and coach you on
how to successfully interview using their insider
knowledge of the company and the decision-makers, and
they will help you negotiate the best salary if and when an
offer comes.

13. Conclusion
Good recruiters will also follow through with things they
say they will do, and will be good about keeping you
informed with updates and progress reports. Expect good
communication and beware of anyone who suddenly stops
returning your calls or emails — that’s a telltale sign of
unprofessionalism that is certainly not limited to recruiters!

14. Conclusion
Also, always verify that the recruiter will never submit your
résumé to any companies or jobs without your knowledge
and approval. Believe it or not, that happens quite
frequently.

15. About
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Source data: Blog by Michael Spiro