Should I meet with a Headhunter?

Should you meet with that headhunter who just contacted you? From past experiences, you have probably dealt with many recruiters who never called you back, had the attention span of a five year old, and ended up losing that email you sent them.

Before you begin, consider the position of a headhunter/recruiter. Their job is to connect you with the employer. The relationships they want to build are with the employers since they are their ultimate clients who write them their paycheck. Hence, they will operate in the best interest of the employer, and not always the candidate seeking employment. Think of them as the listing agent and you are the prospective home purchaser going through them.

So why bother with the hassle of having to submit to the endless forms their agency requires you to fill out with personal and professional information? Why hassle with those mindless interviews they want you to come in for? Why begin to enter into an agreement with an agent who might not have your best interest in mind?

The bottom line is you have to filter them out to save you both some time. They want you as a client and broaden their database of candidates, so bringing you in begins that relationship and creates more of a connection. You should only want to build this relationship if that headhunter comes highly recommended from a colleague or if there is a job they have posted where you feel strongly about, and have not already seen. This is a critical point. If you can locate the same job on a search engine or job aggregator (such as indeed or simplyhired), you should first apply independently without using the recruiter. Why you might ask? Everything else being equal, hiring you will be costlier for the employer to use the recruiter for his/her services. Although none of this will be explicitly stated by the recruiter or employer, using the recruiter may ultimately lead to a lower offer during salary negotiations.

If you do not value building a relationship, but applied for a specific position and the headhunter requires you to meet with his/her agency first, consider asking a few key questions over the phone with the lead recruiter (not the receptionist or junior recruiter who knows very little about the position).  You will find cases where they will be persistent for you to visit their offices. You can be positive and assertive at the same time, by keeping the conversation focused on the position until you gather enough information for you to make a go/no-go decision to meet with them.

Otherwise if you get some random call asking you to come in to find out more about your background and career goals, you may want to put that meeting low on your list of priorities. This headhunter has no immediate position in mind but is hoping to find a fit for you, which will probably waste your time.