Don’t Make this Mistake when Working with a Recruiter!

I’m a recruiter. Unfortunately, I’m not a mind reader. Sometimes, I wish I could read minds because it would help candidates avoid the one big mistake they make when partnering with recruiters. Always be completely honest and upfront with your recruiter.

How Holding Back Information Can Hurt Your Job Search

Let me give you two examples of how holding back can hurt your job search. First, job seekers sometimes fail to tell their recruiter when their company, position, or compensation preferences change. Second, job seekers hurt themselves by not telling recruiters about personal obligations and other things that might interfere with their job search. Let’s talk about these issues so you don’t cost yourself a job by making the same mistakes.

Changed Preferences Mean a Changed Job Search

Recruiters try to match the right candidates with the right job. I’m not going to waste your time by talking to you about positions that don’t fit your personality, skills, and compensation preferences. When you tell me that making a certain salary is important to you, I’m not going to send you jobs below that compensation level. For example, I spoke with one of my job candidates the other day about his job search. We reviewed his preferences, and he informed me that he decided about month ago that he could take a lot less in compensation. The result? A month worth of job opportunities had passed him by. When things change, tell your recruiter first. Why? If you don’t tell me first, you might miss out on opportunities that fit your new preferences. The same lesson is true about your personal obligations.

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Katy Keogh is a Principal of Winter Wyman’s New York Financial Contracts division. Katy blogs to provide strategic job search advice for candidates as they make their next career move. To Learn more about Katy and the contract finance and accounting jobs she is working on visit www.winterwyman.com. Winter Wyman is one of the largest and most recognized staffing firms in the Northeast, currently serving clients in the New England and metropolitan New York job markets.