The Three Questions You Should Always Ask Your Recruiter
There are many benefits to working with a recruiter, for businesses and candidates alike. But for many people who haven’t worked with a recruitment agency before, it can be overwhelming.
We often hear job-seeking graduates ask questions about the trustworthiness of recruiters, whether it’s worth working with one vs going it alone and expressing concern about the process, so we’re here to clear all these worries up.
While we can’t speak for every business, on the whole, you should be able to trust that a recruiter is on your team. We’ll level with you; it’s in a recruiter’s best interest to keep you happy.
Recruiters should always protect your interests and exercise confidentiality – they certainly won’t contact anyone for references unless you give them permission to, nor would they let it slip to your current manager that you’re in the market.
At next level Recruitment, trust, transparency and openness are our key values, and that’s why we have candidates for life – they trust us, and so do the companies we work with.
It's also very worthwhile working with a recruiter. So much so, we wrote a whole blog about why. The short version is that recruiters provide vital links between employers and candidates, building bridges between you and the industry by pulling on the connections they already have established.
This is certainly the case at next level Recruitment, as we know the region and the industry like the back of our hands. Choosing to work with us is similar to choosing a matchmaker to find a long-term partner for you rather than going it alone on dating apps *shudder*. We’re dedicated to finding you your DREAM role and will do the tedious work for you.
Now that’s cleared up, we can move onto what you need to know when working with a recruiter. At next level Recruitment we’ll be in constant communication with you throughout the process, checking in on what you love doing, what you don’t like as much, what kind of culture you’re looking for and ensuring you don’t sell yourself short. Once we know what you’re looking for we’ll match you with a company that we know you’ll thrive in and even if there’s no job opening, we’ll get in contact.
However, not all recruiters are created equal! So, to make sure your needs are being looked after you need to ask questions.
Don’t panic! We’re on hand to share our top 3 questions that you should always ask a recruiter.
- Can you tell me more about the company?
Perhaps one of the best things about using a recruiter is that they can provide greater detail and insight to a job, role and company than anything you can find on the internet.
When first told about a role, you need to get a good feel for the company to make sure it’s a match and that means asking about their performance, growth, culture and values.
When you ask this question, your recruiter should be able to tell you whether they encourage flexible working, if they are passionate about diversity and inclusion, wellbeing and what employee benefits they offer. It’s also important to understand more about their growth, turnover, training and development and what the team you’ll be working with looks like.
In essence, this is one of your only chances to ask anything you really want to know – not only does this help your recruiter find better matches for you, it’ll save you having to ask any awkward questions at interview!
- What is their turnover like and why?
To know if a company is going to fit with your culture non-negotiables it’s crucial to find out about their turnover. While websites such as Glassdoor already allow a bit of insight into what the general feeling is towards a company by allowing ex-employees to review them, a recruiter can fill in any gaps.
It's also important to understand the origins of the role you may be interviewing for. If it’s a brand-new role, this will likely be explained when you ask for more information about the company and is likely a result of business growth. If you’re stepping into a vacant position then asking how long the role has been open for and what happened to your predecessor can be really helpful. For example, were they promoted? Move to another department? Or did they quit – if so, why?
This will give a behind-the-scenes peek into the business; how happy the workforce is, how desirable to work for the company is and what the team you’ll be working with are like.
- Why do you think I’m a good fit for this role?
A great way to discern between a recruiter that wants to fill roles and a next level recruiter that genuinely cares is to ask them this question.
A good recruiter will be able to tell you how the job requirements match with your skills and previous experience. But a great recruiter will rattle on for ages about their culture, how they value the same things as you do, how they are looking for someone with the skills you actually enjoy the most and why their team is so brilliant.
This will also show you how well the recruiter knows the business – another indication that they’re a great company who have been through various stages of growth. You could also use this opportunity to ask your recruiter how long they’ve worked with them and what their experience is with them personally.
There are loads of questions you should ask during the recruitment process, but these three questions can really create a perfect picture of the role you’re applying for, signal any red flags about the job and give your recruiter a much better idea about what you’re looking for.
Sold on working with one? Become a candidate with us today for access to the best marketing, creative, PR, social, digital and executive roles in the region!