How To Identify A Good Recruiter From A Mediocre One

More often than not we have had to deal with job seekers complaining about their ordeal with recruiters. Some say they were conned into jobs that didn’t exist, others faced discrimination for being a certain type of way even when they were qualified for positions, and others cite recruiters as being rude in their phone calls and during the interviews, while others just sense a negative vibe.

The truth in the hiring process is that recruiters can either become the barriers to a successful job search or can become the saviour every job seeker is looking for. It all depends on what kind of recruiters job seekers find themselves entangled with. Bad recruiters do exist and such recruiters usually end up with the wrong hire; a situation that costs the company losses and increases frustration among worthy job seekers.

So, how can you tell a bad recruiter from a good one? Below are a few distinguishing factors to lookout for.

Traits That Identify A Good Recruiter From A Mediocre one

1. Good recruiters will treat the job seeker like a customer
While the recruiting process entails filling positions, with some being of more urgency than others, good recruiters will always make the job seeker feel wanted and like a worthy customer. They believe that job seekers are not just other candidates waiting to be picked in the market, but are special in their own way. A good recruiter will always want to know what makes the candidate unique.

Bad recruiters on the other hand will always be quick to fill the position and will have a predetermined notion of what their ideal candidate is. If you do not meet their notion at face value, then they don’t even take time to know you. Be wary of these recruiters.

2. Good recruiters take their time to do their homework
Some recruiters will only look at your CV and see that you are qualified for a position but will not take their time to do any more research on you. This is partly the reason you find candidates not making it through the first interview, as it becomes harder to convince someone who knows nothing about you that you are the best. Even in a normal conversation this would be tough.

Good recruiters do their research like job seekers do on the company. They have a glimpse of who you are as an IT professional or Communications and have a better entry into getting to know you in the interview.

3. Good recruiters will tell you when you are not the best candidate
Have you ever tried reaching out to a recruiter who tells you “just apply for the position, you never know”? Well, if you have, always be wary of such people because they are not interested in helping you out. Good recruiters do more than just fill positions for their companies or clients; they tell you which jobs are your best fit and which ones you should not waste your time on.

They will also seek to understand your background before selling you on a job, so if they seem more interested in filling the position than hearing what you can do, something is amiss.

4. Good recruiters have seen the worst and the best
A good recruiter will always be well experienced in the area of recruitment that they concentrate more on what the job seeker has to say other than what the job is about. They have experienced rude job seekers with a bad attitude and have also seen good ones who did not make the cut.

This experience makes them take time in listening to job seekers rather than focus on filling positions based on technical aspects. They know that sometimes the good candidates do not appear so at face value and hence the need to dig deeper.

For recruiters, it is time to take that evaluation and determine if you are one of the good ones or just another bad one giving job seekers a hard time.

Have you experienced a bad recruiter? What was your experience?

11 Comments

  1. I have encountered a mediocre recruiter. as she asked questions, she didn’t even give me enough time to answer, she would cut me short and ask if I seriously had nothing else to add. I didn’t have clear answers to some of the questions but i tried my best to answer. She would just frown. As I left, a part of me didn’t even want that job to begin with. Two days later they re advertised…

  2. Hello Anne, we do not have thousands of job vacancies. However, for every job you apply for through our website, you will always receive a response that we have received your email, unless you sent the application to the wrong email address. Your email to the head of recruitment, are you certain you used the right email address because you should have gotten a response.

  3. You website has thousands of job vacancies everyday yet when I apply no one gives you feedback on whether they are in receipt of your e-mail. I recently wrote to head of recruitment, still no response. I visited your office and I was told just apply you never know. I have submitted my cv to your agency and I have never even received an acknowledgement

  4. mostly have met recruiters who are willing to assist you find your preferred position rather than dumping candidates in their companies

  5. I have come across two good recruiters in the past who were very clear and focussed in handling their interviews, and above all, I really appreciated when at the end of the interviews they offered relevant feedback and advice on the sessions. One was Ms. Miriam Mukasa of African Talent Bank.

    A bad recruiter is one who handles your interview as if you are just a number to fill in the process and leave you feeling the position had already been filled with a bias and the session is kind of a formality… and as Benjamin has put it.

  6. Hey?recently a potential employer gave me an online interview that lasted half an hour yet i was still at work i found that abit out of the way as it may jeopardise one current job bearing most companies I T system and internet is blocked thus a candidate unfair ground to fully perform in the interview

  7. I love this article. I am a BBM graduate, CPA(K) , firm, honest with experience but soft spoken. When I go for an interview, only a good recruiter would understand my potential irrespective of my soft spoken nature.

  8. Halo,
    Thanks for the tips.
    I have experienced bad recruiter. I went for an interview and when one of the interviewers asked me a question that I couldn’t answer, she pouted and her facial expression was unfriendly. Just because the candidate doesn’t have the right answer doesn’t give you the recruiter the mandate to judge and belittle them!!!

  9. yea.Benjamin got it right.as an hr i also noticed the carelessness with the job profile.some do not even know how to hide their faces that the interview is just a formality.

  10. Yes I have! She asked me irrelevant questions that We’re not related to my job application. Suddenly she yawning and stretcing. I was bored and felt like walking out. But she is not the only one.

  11. Hi
    Indeed I have also experienced such a recruiter, there was once last year I went for an interview, the moment I stepped on the room the lady was already checking things on her phone she raised her head and asked “tell me about your self” then she went on to continue checking her phone, I just lost morale and felt unwanted, after the interview I received a mail that my presentation was bad and they got someone, but funny enough that post was re advertised twice.

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