Prepare to Speak With a Recruiter or Head Hunter

There are many questions that an employer should ask a recruiter before they sign their contract. Whether or not the recruiter has any discounts, for exclusive contracts or multiple positions, is one cost effective way to work with a recruiter. An employer should always try to find out if a recruiter does indeed honor certain incentives.

Whether or not a recruiter operates on a contingency or retained basis are the first questions one should ask a recruiter. If a recruiter’s fee is out of a hiring manager’s range, they should always remember to negotiate before getting discouraged. There may be certain circumstances, such as being a new client, that an employer can use to talk the recruiter into lowering the fee.

Many recruiters have the resources and skills to work in multiple industries; however they all have a specialty. Whether it is upper management positions or positions in the finance industry, there is going to be an area or industry where a recruiter does especially well. Finding that recruiter with experience placing candidates in your industry is the smarter option for an employer.

One important question to ask recruiters is what their methods for sourcing candidates are. Are they pro-actively attracting passive candidates in addition to posting jobs? A recruiter who is also seeking out passive candidates is going to have access to a lot more high quality candidates.

If a company has a position that needs to be filled immediately, whether it is a replacement or a new opening, it is imperative to ask the recruiter what their typical time span from getting the job description to finding candidates. It may also help to be sure the recruiter knows that the position is urgent and needs to be filled as soon as possible, so they know to make it a high priority.