Recruiters are in the trenches with you, holding the same goal as you: Landing the perfect job. But that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t extend similar courtesies to them as you would a potential employer. The rules are little more lax, but here are the big no-nos.

Typos and Bad Grammar

The problem with typos and bad grammar is that they show either a lack of interest or sloppiness. This gives recruiters very little comfort in forwarding you to the clients whose trust they’ve worked hard to gain. Reread your email after you’ve written it. You don’t have to obsess, but look at it as if you were the one receiving it. It won’t take long.

Bro-Dude Tone

Again, it’s OK to be casual with recruiters, but you can’t let formalities fly completely out the window. It’s important to demonstrate good, courteous behavior, and a more refined style is better than a slouchy one.

Being a Pest

Give your recruiter time to do their job. No one likes a stalker. It’s OK to remind a recruiter about goals and deadlines, but constantly asking Did I get it? Did I get it? Probably won’t help your case. Actually, it’ll likely hurt your case.

Going AWOL

Some conversations (like the really important ones) are time-sensitive. You have to be able to respond quickly when offers come through. That means you have to be really responsive when it gets to crunch time. Your recruiter will not be a fan of the playing-hard-to-get game.

Lack of Respect for Current Employer

Recruiters understand you’ll need to ask for time off and you can’t exactly be forthcoming when it’s about interviewing at another company. But doing little things like using your work email for conversations with a recruiter is completely inappropriate.

Most good recruiters are pretty easy to get along with. That’s part of their job, but it’s important to show professionalism and mutual respect throughout the process. No matter how friendly you feel with your recruiter.

About NextGen

NextGen is the brainchild of longtime telecom professionals with nearly 50 years of experience and millions of dollars in Telecom Recruiting Services. We focus on establishing long term relationships with our clients and candidates so we can recruit the best and the brightest in the telecom industry. This ‘quality over quantity’ approach is at the heart of everything we do and has resulted in successful job placements at Fortune 1000 firms worldwide.