You will give the stock answer: You are pretty happy where you are, but you're never averse to hearing about an interesting job, so you are willing to talk to him. You should be willing to talk to a recruiter even if you are happy where you are, and you should tell a recruiter you're happy where you are even if you're dying to get out because you will never look more desirable to a recruiter than when you are happily employed and have to be wooed away to a new position. Prospective employers, too, find this an attractive stance in a job candidate, particularly at the managerial level. Thus, you should always play a little hard to get when dealing with an executive recruiter and his client.
You also need to be somewhat guarded when a recruiter calls. There will be, of necessity, some mystery attached to your very early dealings with even the best executive recruiter (he won't tell you who the client is, for example), and you should not commit to anything until you have checked him out.
First, check out whether this is someone with whom you want to have a relationship. In other words, is this a bona fide executive recruiter, someone reliable and ethical whom you can trust, or is this a fly-by-night operator, unscrupulous and possibly unethical? The latter, unfortunately, abound in the world of job placement. The worst ones work out of telephone booths and have no real relationship with prospective employers other than a loose agreement that they will look at any resumes the recruiter submits. Such "recruiters" (if that word can be applied here) basically answer ads just like anyone else, only they submit other people's resumes. Then they expect a fee when someone is hired, usually from the employer but sometimes from the person they claim to have placed. They may have a company's okay to look for someone to fill a job, but they are not hired exclusively for a fee by a client firm to search for a list of suitable job candidates the way an executive recruiter is.
These flesh peddlers have even been known to do some serious damage on occasion. One woman reported her experience with this kind of recruiter: "A legitimate recruiter whom I had contacted had a job lead in a bank and sent them my resume. The bank called and said they already had my resume from another recruiter. Months earlier, I had contacted a recruiter by mail. I'd never heard from him even though I had enclosed a copy of my resume. Nearly a year later, he sent my resume out to this bank without my knowledge, obviously. When I called him, he gave me a lot of excuses for why he had done it, but then I found out that he always operates that way. I learned that recruiting can be a dog-eat-dog world, and that I'd have to be more careful."
Never send a resume in response to a phone call. Always wait until you meet a recruiter face-to-face to hand him your resume.
Ask the recruiter to describe the job. Then listen very carefully to what they say. Even a good recruiter won't name a company at this stage, but they should be able to describe the size of the company, its location, and its industry. Get a written description of the job from them. It should be a page or more long and should describe the duties, functions, and responsibilities of the person required, the qualifications that are sought in job candidates, and a description of the company. It should not be skimpy.
Ask to call the recruiter back at their office. Then do so, and pay attention to such things as whether a secretary or an answering service answers, whether there is noise in the background (in other words, are you calling a public phone booth or a low-rent, shared office?), and whether you are treated courteously. High-quality recruiters hire high-quality people to work for them, and you will be treated courteously and even with great respect when you call the office.
Always meet with a recruiter before deciding to work with them. A legitimate recruiter will expect to meet with you in person, and if you live in another city, will pay for your transportation and expenses to and from the meeting so you can be interviewed in person. (The client actually picks up the tab.)
See the following articles for more information:
- How to Start on the Right Foot in Your New Job
- What Are the Sources to Find the Information You Need
- The Background of Application Process
- How to Network and Take an Information Interview
