Is your recruiter full of bull?

I had a candidate reach out to me recently that I am actively working with regarding her search for a new position.  She had received a call from another recruiter who claimed to have found her resume online and knew that she was looking for a job.  It freaked her out a bit as she has NOT posted her resume to any boards and very few people know she is considering a move.  I reassured her that this individual likely found her on LinkedIn or a company directory and it was a pure cold call.


So how was she supposed to know this individual was "full of bull"?  For a little clarification, I have chosen this title for two reasons.  First of all I did not want to use the other half of the word commonly referred to in the shortened version - B.S.  Secondly this week is the great Iowa State Fair, so you knew I was going to find a way to incorporate that into my blog.  The photo above is of a former "Big Steer" champion.  This year's winner was quite similar to this one and weighed in just over 3,000 pounds.

Now that you have your fill of State Fair stats, here are some great ways to know if your recruiter is full of bull or knows what they are talking about:

1)  Do they really have an opening?  Oftentimes larger recruiting firms have staff that are dedicated to nothing more than casting a wide net and collecting candidate profiles.  On the surface there is nothing wrong with this idea.  The problem is that you will likely be thrown into a database with hundreds, if not thousands, of other candidates.  They may or may not code your professional experience correctly and subsequently you could get random calls in the future about openings that are not even close to a match.  Or even worse someone else in the office could send out your resume unbeknownst to you and breach your confidentiality.

2)  How much do they know about their client?  We try to know as much as possible about the details of an organization when we are partnering with them.  If a recruiter calls you up about an opportunity and struggles with the details, that is not a good sign.  They might be piggybacking off of a posting they saw online and only guessing at who the employer is.  Once they gain access to your resume, they will THEN use that information to track down a client and hopefully secure the permission to send over a resume.  It is backwards logic and again could breach your confidentiality.

3)  How did they get your contact information?  If a recruiter is initiating the contact, they should be able to tell you where they found your information.  Even if it is simply a cold call from finding you on Linked In, that is not necessarily a bad thing.  Especially if the first two questions above can be answered with confidence.  That means that some research was completed ahead of the call to ensure a good match for the potential opening.

Have you had an experience where a recruiter tried to call you and sell you a line of bull?  How did you react?