You will be able to brief a recruiter clearly and check whether an agency is licensed.
Before your next call with a recruiter, write four things on one page: the roles you want, your salary range, your constraints and your timeline. Recruiters can genuinely help a job hunt, especially when your background fits the roles they fill, but getting value from them takes some management on your side, and a written brief is where that starts.
As Lesson 5.1, "Three routes in: apply, recruiter, referral", explained, a recruiter aims to match candidates to roles quickly. The clearer your brief, the better the match and the less time either of you spends on roles you would never take. Give the brief early, in the first call, and cover these four things:
Target roles, using the titles from your market sheet in Lesson 2.4, "Build a market sheet for your target role". Salary range, drawn from the low, typical and high figures on the same market sheet. Constraints, such as location, work arrangement, notice period, or roles you will not consider. Timeline: whether you are actively looking or open to the right thing.
Being plain about constraints can feel risky, as if you are narrowing your chances. In practice it makes recruiters more useful. Wei Ling, a job seeker targeting analyst roles, told one recruiter she would not consider roles with regular weekend shifts. He stopped sending her the operations roles that had been cluttering her inbox, and the two roles he sent after that were both a good fit.
Earlier in her search, Wei Ling had a less tidy experience. A recruiter messaged her on LinkedIn about "an exciting analyst opportunity with a leading regional company". She replied, had a pleasant call and agreed to be put forward. Two weeks later a second recruiter called about a very similar-sounding role, and she realised she did not know whether it was the same job. If it was, and both recruiters sent her CV to the same employer, she could look disorganised before anyone had met her.
When two agencies submit the same candidate to one employer, it can cause a dispute over who introduced the candidate. Some employers resolve this by setting the candidate aside.
Before you agree to be put forward for any role, ask which employer it is with. Some recruiters are cautious about naming the client too early, which is understandable, but you should know the name before your CV is sent anywhere. A reasonable recruiter will name the employer once you show real interest. There are three reasons to insist on the name: you may already have applied there directly, another recruiter may already have submitted you, or you may not want to work there.
Wei Ling now asks every recruiter the same question before saying yes: "Which company is this with, and have you submitted anyone else from my background there recently?" Once you have the answer, check your own records to confirm you have not applied there directly or been submitted by another recruiter. Then record who submitted you where, with the date. The application tracker from Lesson 5.4, "Set up your application tracker", has columns for this.
In Singapore, employment agencies must be licensed by the Ministry of Manpower (MOM), and their recruiters must be registered with MOM. MOM provides an online employment agency directory where you can search an agency by name or licence number to see whether it holds a valid licence. You can also search individual recruiter registrations. Checking an agency takes a couple of minutes.
Check any recruiter you have not dealt with before. Their email signature or LinkedIn profile often shows the agency licence number and the recruiter's own registration number, so look up both. If the agency does not appear in the directory, or the details do not match what the recruiter gave you, stop there and send nothing further.
Fake recruiters are a common entry point to job scams, and they often look professional at first. The clearest warning sign is being asked to pay before you can apply or be put forward. In the usual arrangement for professional roles, the employer pays the agency. If someone asks you for money up front, ask what the fee is for and check the agency on MOM's directory before you pay anything.
Other warning signs are being required to buy a training course or certification from them before they will put you forward, being pressed to decide quickly, and being asked for bank details, your Singpass login or copies of your NRIC before any interview. Pressure to move to WhatsApp or Telegram is also a warning sign when the person will not give a company email, licence number or employer name. Real recruiters sometimes use messaging apps for convenience once you know who they are. The concern is an anonymous contact you cannot connect to a licensed agency.
If you are unsure about someone, call the agency on the number listed on its own website, and ignore any number given in the message. Ask whether the person works there.
A good recruiter in your field is worth keeping in touch with even after you find a job, since the same person may bring you your next role in three years. Reply to their messages, even with a polite no. Tell them when you have accepted a role elsewhere, and recommend candidates to them when you can. Recruiters remember who was easy to work with, and that shapes who they call first when a suitable role comes in.
For the activity, pick one recruiter who has contacted you, or an agency you would like to work with, and look them up on MOM's directory.
Pick one recruiter who has contacted you, or one agency you want to work with, look them up on MOM's directory and write down what you find.
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