There are great recruiters and horrendous recruiters. There are recruiters who will hustle for you any day, any time to help you land a great opportunity and there are recruiters who will lie, misrepresent, and waste your time. Unfortunately, it’s up to you find the good ones and you will find that they can be your biggest cheerleader who will open doors you didn’t even imagine…but it takes some effort on your part, too. So, how do you build a strong relationship with your recruiter and create an advocate for yourself?

Be present

From the moment you connect with a recruiter, you need to show them that you are in the game. We are evaluating you from our first communication – your professionalism, interpersonal skills, communication skills. If you are lackadaisical in your response or our conversation about yourself and the position, we’ll probably take a pass because we question your interest level.

When you receive a call, text, or email from us, respond! If we ask for additional materials (resume revisions, thank you notes for clients, etc.), give us a realistic timeline and then deliver. Being present throughout the process demonstrates interest and reliability. These are musts if you want us to fight for you. 

Help us help you

Realize that if you’ve found a good recruiter, we want to help you. It’s the squeals of joy when we tell someone they’re getting an offer for their dream job that drive us, and nothing makes us happier than a candidate who is thrilled about their new career and a client that is gaining a tremendous asset.

So if we ask you for additional details or resume revisions, it’s with your best interest in mind. If we give you advice for attire or interview technique, follow it...we know the client. If we volunteer to do mock interviews with you, take us up on the offer!!

Be honest 

If you’ve found a good recruiter, they will be honest with you about everything. Return the favor. Not totally sold on the position? Tell us and tell us why. Have a spouse who might hold up accepting an offer or relocating? Tell us. Have other interviews going on and offers coming down the pipe? TELL US! The more we know, the better we can manage the situation before it becomes a situation.

Realize we’re people too

Recruiters, no matter how good they may be, are human. We will occasionally drop the ball or have to reschedule. We have families at home whom we’d like to spend time with. Try to be understanding when we apologize profusely for missing something (I promise, we’re kicking ourselves harder than you ever could). And no matter your schedule, please don’t demand that we make ourselves available during evenings and weekends. If you politely explain extenuating circumstances that prevent you from speaking during normal business hours (including lunch), we will offer to make ourselves available during the evening or weekend with no ill will. Just treat us like people, because, well, we are.

We’re ready to be in your corner.

this article was first published on Linkedin