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The modus operandi of (third-party) recruiters seems to be to want to get you on the phone before telling you much of anything about a role they might be recruiting for (usually they give little more than a potentially interesting job title).

I get they don't want to risk losing out on commission by giving too many details about a role too early, or there may not even be a role.

But this has led me to way too many almost-identical exhausting conversations, to the point that I can probably write down answers to all the questions they'd ask beforehand (which makes it worse, if anything). They also tend to present way too many roles I'm not interested in or well-suited for.

My attempts to get more details thus far has mostly resulted in going in circles: they ask for a call, I ask them to send more details and then they ask for a call again.

So, how can I insist a recruiter send some more details about a role before scheduling a phone call or giving them my number?

I accept they may not be willing to do this, but I'd be willing to risk losing out on the role by making this request. Of course I'd like an approach that gives me the best chance of this not happening though.

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  • I don't understand, recruiters recruit you without giving you info about role?
    – Stupid_Intern
    Mar 31, 2019 at 15:35
  • @newguy They may tell me the job title, or maybe 1-2 keywords about the role (which also happen to appear on my LinkedIn profile). This is enough to pique my interest, but still miles away from telling me what one actually does in that role.
    – NotThatGuy
    Mar 31, 2019 at 15:49

2 Answers 2

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Send them an email:

"Can you tell me more about this role? I'd like to hear more specific details."

If they can't or won't then tell them you're not interested. Then move on. It's that simple.

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  • Have you had any luck with this? As mentioned in my question, the usual response I get for something like this is them just asking to have a call (possibly for the second time).
    – NotThatGuy
    Mar 31, 2019 at 15:56
  • Have you had any luck with this? - Yes, I have. But if they can't or won't give me any details then I tell them I'm not interested.
    – joeqwerty
    Mar 31, 2019 at 16:51
  • Agreed with this approach - if they have a role - they should have a JD or PD which should have the company name and any specifics redacted for privacy. If the recruiter doesn't have this, they're most likely fishing for the job and fishing you as bait to the company.
    – C. Harley
    Apr 1, 2019 at 3:41
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So, how can I insist a recruiter send some more details about a role before scheduling a phone call or giving them my number?

I accept they may not be willing to do this, but I'd be willing to risk losing out on the role by making this request. Of course I'd like an approach that gives me the best chance of this not happening though.

They can insist all they want, but you are in control of your phone calls; they are in control of the job details.

Just ask for what you want (but not too much). An email something like "This sounds interesting. Tell me a bit more about the position [or tell me x - whatever you need to know in order to determine if a phone call is worth your time or not] and then perhaps we can talk on the phone." should work, or just ask for the job description.

Asking for the job description should usually give you pretty much all the details you can reasonably expect to get without a phone call.

If you don't ask, you won't get. You still might not get, but then you can just walk away without any exhausting conversation.

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