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Hello everyone,

I have an interview with a third party recruiter for a middle management position. My question is would I still close her, even though all she can do is pass me along to the actual company?

Thanks,

BBundy

asteriskrntt1's picture

Absolutely close her.

I use a slightly different close "If you were the hiring manager, you know what I would say to you?"

"What?"

"You should make me an offer and here is why...."

Again, it shows your interest at a very high level, which the recruiter can pass on to the client. If the recruiter says something like "well, that is not my decision or I am not the person you want to close", you can respond with something like this (I don't recall the exact wording from the podcast)"

First, put a big smile on your face, pause, then say "Jennifer, I know you can't. I just want you to know how serious I am about wanting this position."

Hope this helps.

*RNTT

wendii's picture
Admin Role Badge

What * said.

Wendii

(thanks mate for saving me all that typing!)

asteriskrntt1's picture

My pleasure Wendii

I am a team player (an unemployed team player but a team player nonetheless!) :wink:

*RNTT

WillDuke's picture
Training Badge

[quote]I am a team player (an unemployed team player but a team player nonetheless!)[/quote]
Interesting that we all strive so hard to create teams in our work environment, but have had it happen here. Way to go M&M!

tomas's picture

BBundy,

What I have done in the past is to close the recruiter in terms of what they actually have control over. They can't make an offer, but they can definately decide whether or not to put you forward for the role, so you could close on that.

"I absolutely want an interview with ACME LTD, because ..blah blah blah..."

My understanding of closing is that you want to clearly communicate your enthusiasm for the role. I personally think it would be a bit odd asking a recruiter for an offer at such an early stage, although thats not really what the close is anyway. Telling someone that you want a ferrari doesn't necessarily mean you expect THEM to give it to you.

I am interested to see what others think.

jwyckoff's picture

[quote="tomas"]They can't make an offer, but they can definitely decide whether or not to put you forward for the role, so you could close on that.

"I absolutely want an interview with ACME LTD, because ..blah blah blah..."
[/quote]

You [b][i]are[/i][/b] interviewing for ACME when you talk to the 3rd party recruiter. I would stick with "I want an [b]offer[/b] from ACME, and here's why..."

tlhausmann's picture
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Man, this is good stuff.

I was about to ask the question "Do you close a recruiter?"...and it was already covered.

pmoriarty's picture
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I used Tomas's method in closing a 3rd party recruiter. It worked! My interview is tomorrow.

tomas's picture

pmoriarty,

Congrats on getting the interview. Now the hard work really begins! :)

I woud like to clarify my earlier comments. I see nothing wrong with closing a third party recruiter by expressing the desire for an offer in the later stages of the process. My comments about closing for an interview rather than an offer apply to the early stages. At this point you have spoken to a third party recruiter and possibly reviewed a position description. It just seems to me that I usually don't know enough to honestly express the desire for an offer at this stage. I haven't spoken to someone from the actual company and the position may be quite different to what the recruiter has expressed.

To my mind, it would come across as both desperate and naive to say that I want an offer at such an early stage.

Now, once you have interviewed and the recruiter calls you to get some feedback, by all means close them for an offer.