I reached out to a candidate on LinkedIn last week about a role I was actively recruiting. Great profile, strong background, exactly what my client was looking for. His response surprised me.
He wouldn't send his resume until he'd spoken directly to the hiring manager to confirm I was actually engaged on the role.
His outplacement firm had given him this advice after his redundancy. And I respect where it comes from, but here's the thing. That advice, followed to the letter, would bring the entire recruitment process to a standstill.
Think about what that model actually looks like at scale. If every candidate expected a direct call with the hiring manager before engaging with a recruiter, those managers would be fielding hundreds of verification calls a week. It's not practical. It's not how hiring works. And any recruiter worth dealing with will tell you the same thing.
The instinct to protect yourself is right. The mechanism is wrong.
The legitimate first step isn't a call with the hiring manager. It's asking for the job description.
A genuine recruiter will send it, or give you a clear reason why they can't yet — new role, confidential replacement, brief still being finalised. Those situations exist and they're common. What doesn't exist in real recruitment is a consultant who needs your resume urgently, can't tell you anything about the role, and then goes quiet the moment they have your details.
That's the pattern to watch for. Resume requested. Nothing shared in return. No follow up. No outcome. That's not a recruiter protecting a confidential search — that's someone who was never working a real role in the first place.
There are bad actors in this industry. People who misrepresent roles to generate leads, who send your resume to clients without your knowledge, who treat candidates as data points rather than people. The concern is real and it's valid.
But staying so guarded that you disengage from the process entirely — that has a cost too. The best roles move quickly. They go to candidates who are in the conversation, not the ones running background checks on the recruiter while the shortlist fills up.
The goal isn't to trust everyone. It's to know what legitimate process looks like and hold recruiters to it. Ask for the JD. Ask who the client is. Ask what happens next. A good recruiter answers all three without hesitation.
If they can't — that's your answer.
We'll tell you who the client is. We'll share the position description. And we will never send your resume anywhere without your explicit permission.
Not because it's policy. Because it's the only way to actually build trust with the people we work with.
If you want a recruiter who earns that trust rather than just asking for it — reach out. We're happy to start with a conversation.