How do I get a recruiter to give more details about a role before scheduling a phone call with them?

manpreet Best Answer 2 years ago

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.

manpreet 2 years ago