How to Tell If Your Recruiter is Lying to You (A Must Read for Anyone Who Plans on Looking for a New Job Again)

How to Tell if Your Recruiter is Lying to You (A Must Read for Job Seekers)

Here is a fact: it’s a given that at some point in your professional career, you have probably had to deal with a Recruiter.

Here is another fact: if you’ve dealt with more than one Recruiter in your career, then it’s safe to say that your experience probably wasn’t a good one. As someone who has represented the staffing industry for a decade, I’m deeply sorry about this.

I’m fully aware of what the public’s perception is of most Recruiters. If you’re part of the one percent that has no idea of what I’m talking about, consider yourself extremely fortunate.

If you’re actually curious about why most staffing agencies deliver such a cringe-worthy user experience, let me quickly explain why:

• The barrier to entry to the staffing industry is virtually non-existent. There is a misconception that all you need is an e-mail address, a phone number, a LinkedIn account, and boom, you’re in business.
• With staffing “companies” popping up almost daily, our industry has become very saturated
• Unlike the cell phone industry in the US, that only has two major players (Apple, and Samsung), we have over 2000 companies representing the Staffing industry
• The more Recruiters in our industry, the less emphasis is placed on customer service. And in a recession — you can kiss customer service goodbye.

Now here is the funny thing. Ready for it? If ALL any staffing agency did was focus on improving customer service, they would probably be much further along than their competitors.

But what do I know? At its peak, TrueBridge Resources (my former company) was only growing at a rate of, 16% annually, when the rest of the industry was growing at, 5.5%.

How you ask? (Drum roll please) We gave a shit about people’s career aspirations.

So without further ado, if you’re in the job market right now, or plan to be in the future, watch out for these lies that most Recruiters are taught to tell you. And if you’ve heard even one these by your current Recruiter, GET RID OF THEM NOW!!!

1) “Can you stop by at our office, so we can share all the opportunities that we have with you in person?”

Recruiters working for staffing agencies such as Aerotek, or Robert Half are notorious for this. They are taught to tell job-seekers to come in and fill out paperwork, and only then can the Recruiter discuss all the job openings that they have (which in and of itself is a lie).

Do not fall for this one. There is absolutely zero reason for you to go in and meet with a Recruiter if it’s only to learn about the open jobs that they have. If they want to coach you for an interview that you’ll be having with one of their clients, that’s a different story.

Why can’t they tell you about it over the phone? It’s a complete waste of your time, and (funny enough) their time.

Why they do it: They ONLY want to meet with you because their company has policy that they MUST meet with a certain amount of candidates per week to build their pipeline. With the technologies we have today such as, Skype, FaceTime, Google Hangouts, etc. there is absolutely no need for you to have participate in this outdated practice.

2) “I’m not sure what the salary is, there is no set amount.”

Are you joking? One of the main criteria that Recruiters use to determine whether or not they will work on a specific job is how much that job pays. They will always know what the max dollar amount their client is willing to pay. This allows the Recruiter to calculate exactly how much margin they will make (and selfishly they want to know what their commission check looks like).

How They Get Paid:

· Example #1: If it’s a full-time job (one that has an annual salary), then they will work in your interest to get you the most money as they possibly can, because they in turn charge a client a set percentage of your first year’s base salary.

If their fee is, 20% that the staffing agency charges the client, and you make a base salary of, $100,000, they stand to make, $20,000.

· Example #2: If it’s a contract job (one that has a set end date), then chances are that their client has shared their max bill rate (the rate that an employer pays a staffing agency regardless of what the staffing agency pays the job seeker).

If a client is willing to pay an agency, $100 per hour for a Financial Analyst, and the Recruiter pays the job seeker, $50 per hour, then they are making a 100% mark up.

In this scenario, it’s in the Recruiter’s best interest to find the lowest paid, and yet most qualified candidate on the market, so that they can make a larger margin.

Either way, they always know what the job pays, and if they aren’t willing to share it with you, then don’t be willing to share what you make with them, because you will lose all leverage.

3) “We haven’t received any feedback yet.” — (This is post interview)

This one depends on how much time has passed since you last interviewed. If it’s been two to three days, then I would give the Recruiter the benefit of the doubt.

If it’s been over a week, then chances are that your Recruiter is lying to you.

Here is a little secret: Recruiters wants to close every job they work on as fast as they can. Their bonuses and commissions are directly tied to making placements. That’s the only metric that truly matters.

Therefore Recruiters are trained to follow up with their clients every 24 hours after their candidate has interviewed. With that sort of persistence, they’ll inevitably hear something from the client within a week (max).

Why they do it: The reason most Recruiters are afraid to tell candidates the exact reason the client passed on them is because their scared of potentially getting sued, and/or they are not brave enough to be transparent with you. This is such a disservice to you as a job seeker. This is helpful feedback that the candidate can use to prevent the same mistakes in future interviews.

4) “I’m not sure who the hiring manager is.”

So this could be true, or it can be a lie. Either way, if you hear this, you should immediately stop working with that Recruiter.

If they are truthful about not knowing who the hiring manager is, it means one of two things:

• They are working with human resources — and do not have access to the decision maker.
• Your resume is being filtered through an automated vendor management system (also known as a VMS). This is basically a database which some larger companies use when working with multiple staffing agencies to make them aware of when new jobs are open, and when certain jobs close.

Usually there are about 10 to 15 vendors, all of whom are working the same job. When a new job opens up, the hiring manager will enter into the VMS, and all the vendors will receive an automated e-mail notifying them of the opening.

From that point onward, it’s pretty much a race to the finish line. Every staffing agency that received this e-mail is competing with one-another to fill that one opening.

The problem with your Recruiter dealing with a VMS system is that all communication must go through this VMS, meaning, it’s a rarity that they are actually communicating directly with the hiring manager (the person you will ultimately interview with).

In both scenarios your Recruiter is not working with the decision maker. So that prompts the question: why work with a Recruiter who doesn’t even know the person whom you will be interviewing with? That would be the same as me cooking you dinner, but not knowing anything about the ingredients I plan on using. Okay, not quite the same, but you get it.

Now, if they are not being truthful, then it’s simple — why work with someone who is lying to you?

5) “You’re the perfect fit for this job” or “I have a great opportunity for you”

If any Recruiter you speak with starts off their first conversation with you like this, tell them, “I’m not interested.”

This line is as cheesy as it gets. How can anyone tell you what is perfect for you, without ever having talked to you in your life? They should first try to understand your likes and dislikes, career aspirations, commuting preference, cultural preference, salary, reason for looking, current company benefits, or perks, etc.?

If your Recruiter starts off the conversation like this, it can only mean one of two things:

1) They aren’t very seasoned (1 to 2 years of work experience).

2) They probably haven’t done that well in their career so far. Look them up on LinkedIn, I’m willing to be they haven’t stuck around any of their recruiting jobs for more than one to two years. They’ve probably jumped around as soon as they could sense that their employer was beginning to figure out that they weren’t very good at what they do.

Conclusion:

A call between a Recruiter, and a Job Seeker, should never be rehearsed. It shouldn’t be forced. It should be organic.

This is YOUR career, and YOUR career matters. If you’re getting the feeling that your Recruiter isn’t looking out for your best interest, then you’re probably right. They should begin their conversation with you by first understanding who you are, what your current situation is, and what has you considering a new opportunity.

Your Cheat Sheet:

To help you distinguish between working with a good recruiter from a bad one, I’ve created a cheat sheet of sorts of everything your Recruiter must know if they plan on pitching you a job opportunity. Feel free to call them out of any of these things if they don’t know them. Remember: It’s your career, and it’s not something to take lightly.

Job Seeker Cheat Sheet:

• They must work directly with the hiring manager(s) or key decision makers.
• They should be able to tell you about the hiring manager’s personality and background.
• They must know the salary requirements.
• They must know the interview process so that you know what to expect going forward.
• They must know the tangible and intangible qualities that their client is looking for in their ideal candidate.
• They must know why the role is open (is it newly created? Was someone let go? If yes, why?)
• They must know how big the team is that you will be working with.
• They must be able to articulate the company culture.
• If it’s a contract job, they must know the duration of the job, and whether or not there is any possibility of it being turned into a full-time role.
• If it’s a full-time role, they should be able to tell you about the growth potential and what’s required for a promotion.
• They must be able to provide you with the full benefits package (if any are offered).
• Bonus potential and criteria to hit bonus.
• How long will the entire interview process will take?
• How many additional candidates are currently in play? How many candidates has the employer passed on, and why?
• Where is the location? Will there be any travel required?
• Is there an opportunity to work remotely?

I sincerely hope this helps you when you inevitably find yourself working with a Recruiter. I also wish you much success in your career and achieving all of your aspirations. Please share your experiences of working with Recruiters below.

Gaurav Valani is the Founder, and CEO of CareerSprout, and the Chief Product Officer for June, a platform that allows today’s top tech and creative talent to connect with the top 10% of Recruiters from our vetted Recruiter pool.

To learn more, follow him on Twitter @gauravvalani, or on Snapchat, @gauravvalani. You can learn more about CareerSprout at, www.careersprout.net, and June at, www.joinjune.com.