"How to Get the Most From Your Recruiter Relationship"

Hiring a recruiter doesn’t guarantee results. The companies that consistently get great outcomes treat recruitment as a partnership, not a service they’ve outsourced and forgotten about.

Here’s how to get maximum value from your recruiter relationship.

Start With a Proper Brief

“We need a marketing manager” is not a brief. Neither is forwarding a generic job description.

A proper brief includes:

Why this role exists. Is it new? A replacement? What happened to the last person?

What success looks like. What should this person achieve in 6-12 months?

The real requirements versus nice-to-haves. What’s genuinely essential versus what you’d prefer?

Salary reality. Not just your budget, but your flexibility. Is there room for exceptional candidates?

Your culture, honestly described. Not the aspirational version—the actual day-to-day.

The interview process. How many stages? Who’s involved? What’s the timeline?

Why someone should want this job. What’s the genuine appeal beyond salary?

The more context your recruiter has, the better they can represent your opportunity and screen candidates.

Provide Feedback Fast

Every candidate submitted deserves a response within 48 hours. Not eventually—within 48 hours.

Even more importantly, provide useful feedback:

Not “not the right fit.” Why not? What was missing? What didn’t work?

Not “interesting, let’s see more.” What was interesting? More of what?

Specific feedback helps your recruiter calibrate. Vague feedback leads to more misaligned candidates.

Be Available

Recruiting is time-sensitive. Top candidates have options and won’t wait around.

When your recruiter calls, try to respond the same day. When interviews need scheduling, have options ready. When decisions need making, make them.

The hiring managers who complain loudest about missing candidates are often the ones who take a week to respond to messages.

Trust Their Expertise

You hired a professional. Let them do their job.

If they push back on your salary expectations, listen—they know the market. If they recommend considering a candidate who doesn’t tick every box, hear them out. If they suggest adjusting your timeline, understand why.

This doesn’t mean accepting everything uncritically. But a good recruiter has information and perspective you don’t.

Be Honest About Problems

If there are challenges with the role or company—a difficult manager, a project in trouble, a team in flux—tell your recruiter.

They can position these appropriately with candidates. They can screen for people who might thrive in that context. They can avoid embarrassing situations where candidates discover problems mid-process.

Hiding issues doesn’t make them go away. It just delays their discovery and damages trust.

Treat Them as Partners

The best recruiter relationships feel collaborative, not transactional.

Keep them informed about company developments that might affect hiring. Introduce them to the team. Share feedback from new hires about how the recruitment process felt. Refer them to other hiring managers in your network when they do good work.

Recruiters prioritise clients who prioritise them. This isn’t mercenary—it’s human nature.

The Compounding Returns

A recruiter who understands your business, knows your team, and has calibrated to your preferences becomes exponentially more valuable over time.

The first search involves learning. The second is faster. By the fifth, they’re anticipating your needs and presenting candidates who consistently fit.

This only happens if you invest in the relationship from the start. Transactional hiring produces transactional results.