A friend got double-submitted by two staffing firms and ended up in a dispute after an offer last week for a performance gig. The details were vague, client name was shared, a canned job description was used, but there was no req ID, R2R or hiring manager listed. That made it almost impossible to track at an active enterprise bank.
We walked through the scenerio and came up with a simple set of questions candidates can use to understand how a firm actually operates and how transparent their process is.
1) Req ID or approval status
- “What is the req ID for this role?”
- If there is no ID: “Where is this role in the approval process?”
2) Hiring context
- “Can you share the hiring manager or at least the team or business unit?”
- “If not, can you give more detail on the project or scope beyond the job description?”
3) Relationship depth
- “How long have you supported this client and this specific manager?”
- “Do you currently have anyone on payroll there?”
4) Submission process
- “How is my resume submitted and presented?”
- “Do you hop on a call with the manager, or submit directly via email? Or does it go through a coordinator, or vms portal?”
- “Do you personally present candidates or is it handled by an account manager?”
5) Submission volume
- “How many submissions is your firm allowed for this role?”
- “How many other vendors have this role?”
These are not meant to be combative. They simply help clarify how the process works, reduce ambiguity, and surface how transparent the relationship really is. It’s very easy to bake these into conversations.
You know what they say…clear process upfront usually means fewer surprises later.
Don’t know why these questions are important, or have one of your own you want answered? DM.