u/ericalockwoodjcp

Genuinely curious what others are seeing across the recruiting/staffing world right now. What actually makes a recruiting firm GOOD to work for long-term? Not just compensation-wise, but operationally/culturally.

Things I’m curious about:

• base salary vs commission structure
• realistic commission percentages
• draw/no draw setups
• remote flexibility
• PTO expectations
• tech/resources/support
• recruiter burnout
• internal culture
• leadership accessibility
• turnover rates
• non-competes/non-solicits
• expectations around after-hours responsiveness

And one thing I’ve REALLY noticed lately… Are companies seriously expecting recruiters to fully operate from their personal phones now without reimbursement?

I’m seeing situations where recruiters are expected to download:

• Outlook/email
• Teams/Slack
• ATS systems
• LinkedIn
• internal phone apps
• MFA/security apps
• scheduling software
• etc.

…all onto a personal device that the company neither pays for nor reimburses. Is that just considered normal now in recruiting?

Feels like the lines between “personal device” and “company infrastructure” have gotten REAL blurry.

My Reddit bio says I “read job descriptions like crime scene reports,” which honestly feels more accurate by the year.

But I’m genuinely curious about something from both the candidate and hiring side:

What actually makes a recruiter GOOD? Not “sent me 14 LinkedIn messages calling me a rockstar ninja” good. Not “ghosted me midway through the process and vanished into the fog like a Victorian child” good. I mean legitimately trustworthy. The kind where if they called you 3 years later, you’d actually answer.

Have you ever worked with a recruiter you genuinely respected or trusted? What made them different?

And on the flip side… what immediately makes you think: “Oh this person is absolutely full of shit.”

I work around the homebuilding/construction space, and one thing I’ve noticed is people remember the really good recruiters FOREVER. But wowwwww do they remember the bad ones too.

Curious what stands out most to people. I'll grab my popcorn and tea! 😄

I’m not even talking about ghosting after interviews. I mean basic human communication.

I’ve been in recruiting for over 25 years and the shift over the last few years has been WILD:

• unanswered calls
• unopened voicemails
• texts treated like malware
• people applying for jobs and then vanishing into the forest

At this point I half expect carrier pigeons to outperform LinkedIn InMail. Curious if recruiters across different industries are seeing the same thing.