What Are Your Recruiter Red Flags

I think that this is such an important question that is not asked enough by job seekers.

Looking for a job is already a challenge, trying to navigate it with less than desirable recruiters can hold you back in your job search, costing you time, energy, and even confidence.

My goal is for you to be able to understand the below information and keep it close as you enter into your next job search and dodge those crappy recruiters:)

Here are some red flags to look out for during your job search:

One. Being Inauthentic

If a recruiter sends you cut-and-paste style messages when they first reach out to you then that is a possible red flag. It shows that they are not willing to genuinely connect with you. All of which will not serve you well during your job search. Recruiters should express an authentic interest in helping you land your next position.

Two. Being Vague

Recruiters are often your lifeline to a new career opportunity, therefore it is essential that they are transparent and share key job responsibilities, salary rates, and reveal the actual hiring company during initial conversations. When they skip past these details, you may want to pass on working with them. The job market is too hot right now to accept vague interactions with a recruiter.

Three. Being Pushy

When recruiters rush you through candidate screen calls or try to push you towards making a job offer decision quickly, then that is a red flag. As much as I hate to admit this as a recruiter myself, there are some recruiters in the industry that are only motivated by money. Recruiters should be in this industry for the long-game. Doing that takes patience and passion for helping talented candidates to get hired by the top companies in their industry.

When I asked this question on LinkedIn I received a variety of responses, check out a few of them:

“I still get messages that say they’ve read my profile and I would be a great fit, but then the role is so far off base it’s wild”

“No follow up! That’s a huge red flag in my book. Check in on your candidates frequently”

“You reply back asking about salary and benefits, and they tell you that you have to apply and/or Interview first before they can discuss it. Hard pass from me”

“Offering short contract roles to people in salaried roles”

“Spam, continuous emails ever after declining, vague about roles, makes me feel like a quota”

Feel free to follow me on all socials @ tdesseyn