It’s highly likely that your recruiter has asked you about the nature and progress of your job search. Some candidates make the mistake of hiding other interview processes from recruiters or withholding concerns about the opportunity they presented. Candidates worry that working with multiple recruiters at the same time may hurt their prospects for a given job. They worry about alienating the hiring manager. But the best way to make sure you end up with the job that’s right for you is to be honest with the recruiters you work with. It helps everyone understand how to manage the hiring process more effectively. More importantly, it protects your reputation and relationships with recruiters and firms in your field.
The Client-Recruiter Relationship
For us, our clients actively rely on our judgment when making decisions about candidates. If we perceive someone to be cagey or unreliable, we flag that to clients. Firms hire recruiters because they expect that the recruiter will bring in honest people with the right skills for a given role. If a recruiter fails to do that, the client will look elsewhere for a recruiter who can. This means that every recruiter is wary of forwarding resumes or endorsing the profile of candidates who do not seem trustworthy in their dealings with the recruiter or the client. By withholding information or misleading a recruiter, you’re actively hurting yourself in that hiring process.
Honesty is Everything
Wall Street is full of talent. There are always multiple candidates who can fill any given role well. What often differentiates one potential hire from another is culture fit and character. As a result, it’s critical to handle yourself with integrity.
Recently, we worked with a candidate who had been fired from his previous role. However, instead of informing us that he had been let go, he told us—and the client—that it had been a mutual parting of ways. Wall Street is small. The client quickly got word that the candidate had been fired from the position. During the final round of interviews, the client asked the candidate to repeat the circumstances under which he had left his previous job. The candidate doubled down and said that he had not been fired, that it was mutual. He didn’t get the job specifically because he was not honest. It’s not necessarily a problem to be fired—not everyone is a fit for every role. But it is a problem to lie about it. No one is talented enough to overcome concerns about character. Had he been honest, the job that he had so coveted would have been his.
Honesty is Easier
Being forthcoming with your recruiter is not just beneficial, it is also easier. It is hard to maintain secrecy about another ongoing process or offer. It will eventually become clear that you are not being transparent. If you say that a role is your first choice, but you drag your feet setting up your interviews, that is an immediate red flag. When candidates postpone or cancel interviews or case studies because of sudden onset laryngitis that lasts for a week and a half, that raises eyebrows.
Recruiters handle countless candidates and processes over the course of their careers. They know what is within the realm of normalcy and what isn’t. If you’re hiding something, it will be obvious very quickly.
Honesty Helps You in the Long Run
If you’re getting cold feet about an opportunity, a recruiter may be able to help resolve some of your concerns. If you feel a role might not be a fit, that is a concern that the recruiter can bring up to the client for clarification. You may not be a fit and it may be best to walk away but make that clear. Don’t ghost. Concerns about compensation can lead to negotiation. If you prefer a different opportunity to the one your recruiter represents, the client may rethink the parameters of the role or the nature of your compensation to make it more appealing.
More importantly, honesty is key for your reputation. People talk. If you say that an opportunity is your first choice and then accept a different offer, clients and recruiters alike will remember that. It could make it harder for you to pursue different opportunities in the future. The hiring manager you deceived could end up as your manager in another role later.
Being transparent with recruiters can help you get better compensation; it can help you clarify concerns you have about a given opportunity. Hiding other offers, withholding concerns, or lying about previous professional experiences can backfire on you. More importantly, being honest preserves your relationships with both recruiters and clients.
