8 Lies Top Recruitment Companies Will Tell (And How to Spot Them)

When you use a so called top recruiting company to fill open positions within your company, you want to be sure that you’re getting great candidates. Unfortunately, in many cases, you may find that the recruiter isn’t completely up front with you about the candidates they’re sending. Make sure you’re familiar with these lies top recruiting companies have told their clients — and how to spot them!

I interview all of my candidates personally

While there are some recruiters who will work directly with their candidates to ensure that they know as much about them as possible, others may share that responsibility around the company — and still others make only a brief assessment of the candidate and their resume before sending their information on to you. If you want a recruiting company that sifts through candidates before sending them to you, make sure you ask about how they handle their interview process, what information they collect about the candidates, and how they go about matching them with a company.

I’ll only send you candidates that are suitable for the position

The best recruiting companies take the time to match candidates and companies so that they will only send those who are genuinely suited for the position. Unfortunately, not every company takes the time to do it that way! If you’ve had a swarm of candidates coming in for interviews who just don’t seem to be a good fit, it might be time to change your strategy from a top recruiting company to a smaller more custom recruiting company.

I’ll only send you candidates that are prepared to X

This one is tricky. When you have an open position, you often have very specific requirements. You might, for example, only want candidates who are in a specific geographic area, or you might only want candidates who are willing to take on a specific responsibility as part of their jobs. Unfortunately, many recruiters will approach candidates who are otherwise ideal and try to convince them to add in a willingness for travel or another aspect of the job that they simply aren’t interested in. That means you’ll get candidates coming in for interviews who are there to learn more about your company, but who don’t consider your open position optimal.

This candidate has everything you’re looking for!

Honest recruiters might help edit a candidate’s resume to make it look better, but they would never falsify information. Unfortunately, some dishonest recruiters are more interested in filling their quotas than they are in providing you with candidates who have all of the skills you need. Make sure to screen candidates carefully — including taking the time to ask about some of the qualifications and skills listed on their resumes. Some candidates may not even know that their information has been falsified.

There are no further candidates for this position

Most of the time, if a recruiter tells you that they’ve given you everything they have, they mean it. Sometimes, however, you’ll get a recruiter who simply wants control of your short list — and that may include offering you only a handful of candidates, even when they have more available. Consider how the options a recruiter gives you line up with the options you would have if you listed a position in another way. If they’re very different, it’s probably time for a new recruiting company.

I’m prepared to bring in clients from your industry

If you use a generalized recruiting firm, you need to prepare for the reality that they simply aren’t familiar with your industry. They may have a basic understanding of the qualifications that you’re looking for, but they can only match them to the skills the candidate actively lists on the resume. If you want a great recruiting firm that understands your industry, it’s critical that you look for a firm with experience in your specific area — for example, using a firm like Expansion Pack Search and Selection for your technical recruiting needs.

I’ll send your feedback to the candidate

In some cases, recruiters will send feedback directly to the candidate as you expressed it to them. In others, however, they may provide the candidate with only a basic response — or even none at all. If you want to offer feedback to candidates, make sure you check with your recruiting company to make sure that they’re communicating effectively following the interview.

I’ll work with the candidates to provide advice in their early days of employment

In order to get this level of advice to help with the integration and training process, you need a full-service recruitment agency. Others are interested primarily in making sure that the candidate stays for the 3–6 months necessary to uphold their end of the contract and little more.

Working with a recruiting company is a great way to free up your time and energy and get better access to candidates for your available positions. Make sure, however, that you’re familiar with these common lies and issues to ensure that you’re able to get the best possible candidates for your open positions.

Originally published at www.expansion-pack.com.