Do you know how to tell a bad recruiter from an excellent one? Here are a few things you should know about recruiters before you place your career in their hands.

So you’re looking for a new job and you’re a bit worried because you’re aware that it can lead to a bad experience. You’ve heard about your friends and about their friends (and their friends) that have been duped by recruiters. The internet is full of scams and get-rich-quick schemes. Stay smart and ensure that it’s not only a legit recruiter you’re dealing with, but that you’re dealing with really good recruiter too.

1. Good recruiters want to know what’s important to you.

A good recruiter puts your interests first. They’ll make sure they gather plenty of information about you and what you’re looking for in a new job. They will be very specific when deciding whether or not you’re suitable for any particular vacancy and will keep searching for a suitable vacancy on your behalf.

Bad recruiters however might simply phone you for a few minutes and try to figure out whether or not you could be a potential candidate for one specific job. If they think you aren’t, they’ll move on to the next phone call never bothering to contact you again. They work for a company and satisfy its needs first, ignoring the fact that you might be perfect for a different position.

Con artists will try to sell you the job even if you aren’t perfect for the job. They’ll try to convince you using a wonderful pitch and lure you into trusting them. They’ll try their hardest to win you over by making the process sound easy as pie, too good to be true and perfect for you.

WATCH: 5 tips to avoid job scams

1. Good recruiters know the company and industry well.

A good recruiter will make it their business to understand the finer details about the job. They’ll know:

- why the position is not filled,

- what you will be working on

- the type of clients you’ll be working for,

- how many people you’ll will be working with,

- and which personality traits are best suited for the job

Bad recruiters don’t do half as much research as they should. They’ll be unable to answer questions and be vague about the company and position. This kind of recruiter won’t know what’s best for you nor the company – not exactly. And you could therefore end up with a bad fit.

Be wary of con artists that will tailor their description of the company and position based on your likes and dislikes. They’ll smooth talk you into getting excited for the perfect role – don’t fall for it.

1. Good recruiters know the skills that are needed for the position.

A good recruiter will understand the occupations and skill sets needed in the industry they’re recruiting for very well. Companies pay a lot of money to get the best and most informed recruiters to find the best suited employees. They’ll be very specific with regards to which skills you’ll need and use and take your level of experience into consideration too.

Bad recruiters are simply looking at the job spec and comparing it to your CV. They could be wasting your (and the company’s) time by requesting an interview only to find out afterwards that your skill set might be similar to but is not matched up exactly for the particular job. That’s exactly what once happened to the Head of Careers 24, Marc Privett in London:

A recruiter set me up for an interview. After I arrived, they asked me two questions – the second one being “why are you here because you don’t have the qualifications, experience or skills needed for this job?” The recruiter got it all wrong. I thanked them, apologised, and got up and left.

A con artist will tailor the “needed skillset” to match the description to what you’ve listed. They even may offer you the job immediately whether or not your skill set matches the position. They’ll be agreeable and positive about everything you say.

WATCH: How to identify job scams

1. Good recruiters follow up with you.

A good recruiter is and acts as the middleman in the entire job hunting process. They will therefore always keep you informed and up-to-date with the process – from pre-interview to post. They will offer you the opportunity to contact them and list the many different channels of getting through to them (and they’ll all work). It is also not unheard of for a recruiter to stay in contact with you even after your successful placement, and send you new vacancies you might be interested in.

Bad recruiters will continue searching for other candidates, leaving your CV in a pile of dust in their store room. If days pass by and you still haven’t heard from the recruiter, it’s not a good sign. You will probably never hear from them again, unless you apply for a position through them again – and the same cycle begins.

A con artist will contact you, tell you that your application has been successful, and ask you to pay a starting fee. They’ll say the starting fee covers training, instruction manuals, or an access fee – all of which aren’t true. After your payment, you’ll never hear from them again. Or maybe, you’ll receive a phone call or email that has the exact same pitch, the same promises but a different company’s name…

Careers24 is committed to ensuring that all job ads on our site are for legitimate job opportunities. We have a zero tolerance policy to scam jobs. As part of our policy, Careers24 does not charge candidates for job applications or job offers. It is against South African regulation for recruiters to charge for job offers.

What should you do if you think you've spotted a scam on Careers24?

1. Do NOT respond to the ad

2. Notify us immediately by contacting us at reportads@careers24.com