Each project arrives with its purpose, milestones and first tasks written out. Here is how the first three read.
How agency, in-house and retained recruiters differ
Most frustration with recruiters comes from not knowing how they are paid. A contingency agency recruiter earns a fee, often a percentage of first-year salary, only if you are hired and stay past a rebate period, an in-house recruiter is salaried by the employer, and a retained search firm is paid up front to fill one role.
First tasks
- Write down every recruiter who has contacted you in the last year
- Read how contingency and retained search fees work in your sector
- Label each recruiter as agency, in-house, retained or outsourced
- Ask one trusted recruiter how rebate periods affect their work
One-page recruiter briefing sheet
Recruiters work from a mental shortlist, and the candidates who get the call are the ones whose brief they can repeat in one breath. A single page with target job titles, level, pay floor, locations or remote preference, notice period and deal-breakers means every recruiter hears the same story and fewer irrelevant roles reach you.
First tasks
- List the job titles you would say yes to tomorrow
- Write your shareable pay range and your notice period
- Name up to three deal-breakers in one line each
- Time yourself reading the sheet aloud and cut anything past two minutes
- Update the briefing sheet for any change in pay, location or availability @recurring(yearly)
Recruiter contact register
After a few years in a field you have spoken to dozens of recruiters, and most of that history lives in old inboxes and call logs. One register with each recruiter's agency, specialism, last contact, roles they have put you forward for and how good they were turns scattered contacts into a usable network.
First tasks
- Search your inbox and phone for recruiter names from the past two years
- Enter each recruiter with agency, specialism and last contact date
- Rate each recruiter from one to five with a one-line reason
- Update last-contact dates and notes in the recruiter register @recurring(monthly:5)
