You call them ‘clients’ and think they see you as a business partner.

But are they? Do they take you seriously? Treat you as a trusted advisor?

What do they really think of you?

Take this quick test and maybe… think again!

Tick each statement that applies to you.

You can apply this to a specific client or, more generally, across your client base. (Do one or the other)

1. They won’t meet you to provide a new job brief. Not even a VC or a phone call. There will be no discussion. It will be emailed, or maybe just a few lines in an email.

2. They give you jobs in competition with other Agencies. And you are not even first.

3. When you eventually arrange a meeting, IRL or via VC, they keep you waiting for ages or even stand you up altogether.

4. They don’t return your calls, emails, or texts, even though the job was ‘really urgent’.

5. They routinely don’t interview the candidates you present.

6. They won’t give you sound reasons for rejecting candidates they have declined to interview.

7. They demand urgency from you every step of the way – but are slow to come back in a timely fashion themselves.

8. They don’t give you feedback on the candidates they interview from you.

9. They arrange second interviews with preferred candidates directly.

10. They ignore your advice on salary, conditions, flexibility, recruitment process…, and pretty much everything!

11. They raise issues and information critical to the hire with the candidate (that they have never told you about).

12. They make an offer directly to your candidate without going through or telling you.

13. They haggle your fee after the deal is done.

14. They offer permanent jobs to your temps without telling you.

15. They take forever to pay your invoice. Despite promises, they are ‘following up right now, and it will be paid today’.

16. They flirt inappropriately or ask you out on a date. (This is the only one that has not happened to me!)

Score yourself here. Tick each statement that applies to you.

0-5 – Nice job, your clients are treating you as a ‘partner’.

6-10 – More work is needed to elevate your status to ‘trusted advisor’

11-15 – You don’t have clients. You have tyre kickers and users.

By the way, if you score ‘poorly’ here, don’t despair.

Everyone will in the early part of their career. More consultative relationships come over time. The key is moving the needle forward. Educating clients and moving away from those who treat you as a ‘resume jockey.’

Being great as a recruiter is a journey. But it needs to be a journey where you are moving forward! Not going in circles.

Subscribing to the Savage Recruitment Academy would help you do that.

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See you in Birmingham, UK, in October

Look, I got you a FREE ticket!

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