If you don’t take anything else away from this article, remember: work with a recruiter who is an expert in your industry.  Every successful recruiter is just that, successful, because they focus all their energy in one niche.  It doesn’t make sense to work with one who “brags” about working in advertising and accounting and [...]

So, how do you find a recruiter who is so narrowly focused?  Simple, just ask.  Ask a trusted colleague.  Ask your boss.  You could even ask a recruiter.  If that recruiter is not in your specific field, they should be able to refer you to one that is.  Another way is to use one of [...]

Before you start working with a recruiter, you should interview them as much as they interview you.  Make sure you have good chemistry with that recruiter.  You’ll want to have someone you feel you have mutual respect.  But, there are a couple of things you need to keep in mind:  a recruiter is paid to [...]

Be totally honest with the recruiter.  Tell them everything.  Good and bad.  It’s not our place to chastise you, but we need to know the truth about everything.  Whether it’s your base salary, your potential bonus, your education, your job description, your dates of employment — be sure to share it all (even why you [...]

Also, no recruiter should demand exclusivity from you.  In fact, I recommend that every candidate have two or three recruiters that they have complete trust in.  I would love to be the sole recruiter in Account Management recruiting, but I would be severely naive to believe no other recruiters can do what I do.  The [...]

When we discuss an opportunity that is of interest to you, tell me.  Don’t play hard to get.  Believe it or not, ad agencies are paying more for candidates that show a genuine interest in their company. If you think by playing the “well, if the money is right, I’ll take the job” game is [...]

That leads me to my last point:  once I place you in a company, I cannot and will not pull you out of that company. Ethics are of paramount importance to a recruiter. If a company pays me a handsome fee to hire you, I cannot take you — or anyone else at the company [...]