KEEP THINGS CONFIDENTIAL

Keep Things Confidential With Recruiters

There are a number of excellent medical recruiters in our industry.  Most have the utmost integrity, they service their clients well, and have the best interests of the candidate in mind.  As in all businesses however, there are many that simply cannot be trusted.  As you work with a recruiter you need to determine as to whether or not that recruiter is dealing with you honestly or is just interested in making a buck.  I often get angry and ashamed of my profession when I hear stories of recruiters who will use a candidate to secure new search assignments.  Our Search Firm has been burned by competing recruiters who have pumped our candidates with information about our searches.  To that end I would like to offer some strong advice.

If you are working with a recruiter, do not divulge any information about which company you are interviewing with.  Do not volunteer the company information, do not divulge how you secured the interview, and do not answer any questions regarding your interview history.  Many unscrupulous recruiters will ask you what companies you are interviewing with under the pretense of “Well, I just want to help you and give you advice as to whether or not to interview with that company.”  Bull.  Now they know there is another opening where they can plug their own candidate in.  It is none of their business as to whom you are interviewing with, and if they ask you, just simply say that you are going to keep your search history confidential. And after you are done, you may want to seriously reconsider whether or not you want to work with that recruiter again.

Now if a recruiter calls you with an opportunity, keep it quiet.  Don’t talk about the opportunity with colleagues, competitors, even physicians unless you can explicitly trust them. I have seen that trust violated time and again.  I can’t tell you how many times a candidate will call out of the blue telling me that they heard of an opportunity we were working on- an opportunity that was divulged only to the original candidate. That right there is a breach of confidentiality because we ask all of our candidates to keep things confidential. And by the way, if you are the original candidate, why would you create instant competition for yourself by telling others about the position?

If you are not interested in a position, just tell your recruiter and offer to help that recruiter by supplying the names of others that may be qualified.  That recruiter will remember you and will be very happy to put you on the top of his/ her list.

Remember, confidentiality is important in establishing a solid recruiter / candidate relationship.  Either side who violates that confidentiality also violates trust- and that violation can never be repaired.

Please feel free to share your experiences and comments.  We love to hear from you!