Insightful Questions

Are you viewed as a high priority client whose calls and e-mails are responded to quickly and needs taken very seriously or do you “fall in the bucket” with all the other clients the firm is working with?
Is the position you are looking to fill as important to the recruiting firm as it is to you?

Does the recruiting firm feel the “pressure” that you feel as a hiring manager to work feverishly to identify a qualified and interested candidate in a timely fashion?

Does the recruiting firm truly work to “partner” with you, becoming an extension of your own in-house efforts, or are you and your firm just viewed as another job order with potential revenue attached to filling a position?

Does the recruiting firm take the time to really understand your organization, its unique culture, and the specific requirements of the position you are looking to fill or do they leave it at “Title…Salary…Location…”?

Do you feel comfortable that by the time the recruiting firm makes its first recruiting call to a prospective candidate that the firm is knowledgeable about your organization and the position you have asked them to assist in filling?

Are they are a good third party extension of your own organization, presenting your firm and your open position in the same light that you would portray your organization in?

If there are issues at any point in the recruitment process is the recruiting firm’s management team accessible when you need them to discuss and resolve such issues or does the recruiter try to avoid at all costs speaking to senior management?

Or worse, does senior management of the recruiting firm train their recruiters to avoid getting them involved?

Does the recruiting firm seem to make your job of filling your open position a pleasant experience or are there constant issues with certain firms that make working with them more of a “necessary evil”?

Does the recruiting firm have ownership with a long-term, successful track record in the recruiting industry?

Do you feel that the fee you are paying is worth the overall service provided by the recruiting firm or does the recruiting firm feel that their service is really just about “sending in resumes”?

Does the recruiting firm screen candidates appropriately before presenting resumes, or do they really just “mine” the internet using key word searches and expect you to pay them a fee?

Is the recruiting firm able to maintain long-term relationships with clients or do they seem to typically place only one to two people at a client and then be off to the next client?

Wouldn’t it save you countless hours over time to be able to work with the same recruitment firm so you don’t have to constantly keep explaining everything all over again to the next firm?