I wasn’t looking for a career change but got a call from a recruiter…

If you are good at what you do… expect to get calls from recruiters.  When you do get calls, here’s what you should expect.

The recruiter should be very professional and identify themselves as a recruiter.  They should not be on the phone “selling you” anything.  However, they should be taking the time to find out about you and your career and what is working and what isn’t working.  They need to get to know you “as a person” before you can be a “candidate” for anything.  Find out about their process…. If they are only looking for your resume to “flog it” out there, then chances are you will not be represented in the right light.  Expect that they will ask in depth, thorough questions… for everything including preferred work environment, to leadership questions to compensation and benefits questions.  Do they let you know where your resume is going and ask for your permission to send it or do they take that upon themselves.  Remember, your resume is your private information and YOU should be aware of where it is being sent ( unless of course, you choose to put it on a job board).  Working with a professional recruiter can be an excellent way to get the “inside scoop” on some companies you only dreamed of working for but first you need to be discerning of which recruiter(s) you want to give your resume to…