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How to work with recruiters without wasting the relationship

Agency recruiters are an underused channel and an easy one to burn.

Recruiters are paid by employers, which shapes everything about the relationship. Understanding that makes them far more useful.

What they need from you

Clarity, mostly. A recruiter with a vague candidate cannot sell them. Give them a specific target: two or three job titles, a salary range, a location or eligibility position, and a notice period. A precise brief gets forwarded. A flexible one sits in the pile.

What to ask for

• Which client, before your CV is sent anywhere. Always.
• Whether the role is live or a pipeline advert.
• What the client has actually said about salary, not the advertised range.
• Whether they have placed someone there before.

The thing that burns the relationship

Being submitted to the same employer by two agencies. It creates an ownership dispute, and the usual outcome is that the employer drops you to avoid the mess. Keep a list of who has your CV and where it has gone, and never give blanket permission.

Be easy to place

Reply quickly, turn up to calls, and tell them when you accept something else. Recruiters remember both kinds of candidate, and the good ones will bring you roles for years.

And be realistic

Most agency recruiters work a narrow specialism and a local market. If you are trying to move country or change field, they are usually the wrong channel and direct applications will serve you better.