Working with Third-Party Recruiters: The Dos and Don'ts
Having someone else source opportunities and schedule interviews while you stay focused on your career is appealing, and when it works, it works well. The key to working with third-party recruiters is understanding one fact: they are hired and paid by the employer, not by you, so the smart move is to vet them carefully, be transparent about your situation, and manage your own candidacy alongside theirs. Here are the dos and don'ts that get candidates called back first.
- Recruiters are paid by employers; a fee request aimed at you is a red flag, full stop.
- Vet the recruiter like a two-way interview: track record, sector focus, candidate references.
- Four direct questions quickly separate the recruiters who deliver from the ones who talk.
- Transparency about compensation, timeline, and competing offers makes the recruiter effective for you.
- Prompt responses and professional follow-up are how recruiters decide whose candidacy to prioritize.
How does third-party recruiting actually work?
A recruiter engaged by an employer, on a retained or contingency basis, to find and present candidates for that employer's open roles. Their primary obligation runs to the client organization, not the candidate, and in both models the candidate pays nothing.
Understanding this does not make the relationship adversarial. A good recruiter advocates for strong candidates, provides feedback, and prepares you for interviews. But they are matching talent to opportunity, not acting as your personal agent, and the better you understand that, the more effectively you can work within it. Recruiters are also one of the best routes into the hidden job market of roles that never get posted.
Excelon Associates works on the retained side and is proud to have been recognized on ResumeSpice's list of top US staffing agencies by specialty.
Retained vs contingency recruiters: what it means for you as a candidate
The two models shape how a recruiter works, not what you owe.
| Factor | Retained firm | Contingency firm |
|---|---|---|
| Who pays | The employer, in stages | The employer, on a hire |
| Engagement | Exclusive on a specific search | Often competing with other firms |
| Typical roles | Leadership and hard-to-fill seats | Broader professional roles |
| Pace | Deliberate, deeply vetted | Fast, volume-driven |
| For you | Fewer, deeper conversations | More activity, less depth |
| Your cost | Nothing in either model. A fee request aimed at a candidate is a red flag. | |
The employer-side view of the same split is in our guide to retained vs contingency search.
How do you vet a recruiter before engaging?
A good recruiter is a genuine asset. A bad one wastes your time and can damage your reputation with employers you actually want. Treat vetting like a two-way interview:
- Track record. How long have they been in business, and do they specialize in your sector or work as generalists?
- Website depth. Organized and content-rich, or thin and generic?
- LinkedIn presence. Does the recruiter's background align with the roles they claim to fill?
- Candidate references. Ask for references from past candidates, not just employers. A firm that places people well has plenty.
- Recent placements. Not just volume: ask about fit, timeline, and whether placed candidates stayed.
Don't sign on with the first recruiter who reaches out. Inbound outreach does not mean they fit your sector or career stage; the full selection process is in our guide to finding the best recruiters near you.
What questions actually matter?
A recruiter worth working with will welcome direct questions. Ask these four before you commit:
- What is your process from initial contact to offer? A real process gets explained clearly. Vague answers here usually mean a vague experience ahead.
- How many active searches are you running in my sector? Too many and you become one of hundreds. Too few and the network may not have the depth your search requires.
- Can you share recent placements similar to my background? Results are the proof. No relevant placements usually means they are not operating in your actual market.
- How do you handle a candidate being considered by multiple clients at once? The answer shows how they manage conflicts of interest and whether they will be transparent with you throughout.
Just because someone calls themselves a recruiter does not mean they can deliver results. The good ones will prove it quickly when you ask the right questions.
What should you be transparent about?
Your recruiter can only work effectively with accurate information. Be honest about:
- Compensation. Your current numbers and realistic expectations for the next role.
- Timeline. Actively searching, passively open, or somewhere in between.
- Constraints. Relocation, travel, and start-date limits.
- Exclusions. Employers, industries, or role types you want to avoid.
- Competing activity. Offers or active conversations already in progress, and any changes as they happen.
Working with multiple recruiters at once is fine, as long as each knows your status. What is not fine is overstating your qualifications or availability: recruiters talk to each other, and misrepresentation surfaces at exactly the wrong moment.
How do you stay engaged without becoming a nuisance?
There is a version of candidate engagement that works and a version that backfires:
- Do follow up proactively when things go quiet. A short professional check-in after a few weeks signals seriousness without pushiness.
- Do respond promptly to messages and scheduling requests. Speed of response directly affects how recruiters prioritize their time.
- Don't contact the employer directly while your recruiter manages the relationship. Raise concerns with your recruiter first.
- Don't assume the recruiter works exclusively for you. Manage your own candidacy, keep your own notes, and follow up on your own timeline.
The candidates recruiters remember most positively communicate clearly, respond promptly, and treat the relationship professionally. That reputation follows you to the next search too.
Working with third-party recruiters: frequently asked questions
In retained and contingency search, the recruiter is paid by the employer, not the candidate. If a recruiter asks you to pay a fee for placement services, that is a red flag worth taking seriously.
Retained firms are engaged exclusively by an employer on a specific search and paid regardless of outcome, typically for leadership roles. Contingency firms are paid only when a candidate they submit is hired. In both models the candidate pays nothing; the difference shapes how the recruiter works, not what you owe.
Yes, as long as you are transparent with each about your search status. There is no exclusivity arrangement on the candidate side. Just be clear about where you are in conversations to avoid being submitted to the same employer by two firms, which gets awkward for everyone.
Ask about their recent placements in your sector, request references from past candidates, and look at the depth of their firm's presence in your field. The good ones prove themselves quickly when asked direct questions.
Be honest. A recruiter cannot effectively position you for the right compensation level if they are working with inaccurate numbers. Inflating your current salary or target will create problems later in the process.
Raise concerns with your recruiter first rather than going around them. Contacting the employer directly while a recruiter manages the relationship undercuts the process, confuses the client, and usually reflects poorly on you rather than on the recruiter.
Work with a recruiter who welcomes the hard questions
Third-party recruiters can be one of the most effective tools in a job search when you approach the relationship with clarity, honesty, and the right expectations. Excelon Associates has run retained executive search since 2007 across higher education, healthcare, financial services, and government, and we are happy to answer every question on this page about our own practice. Ask us.
Ready to work with Excelon?
Whether you are a candidate exploring your next opportunity or an institution looking to hire a senior leader, Excelon Associates has been doing retained executive search since 2007.