How to stop working with a recruiter? Forum

[Anonymous User]

I was working with a recruiter I thought was competent, but later realized is really disorganized and doesn’t really know anything about the market.

How do I stop working with this person? Do I just stop responding to their emails (kind of like how recruiters do when there is an applicant they aren’t too hot about)? I know they are technically working for the firms, so I’m not contractually obligated to work with this person, but I am afraid that if I say something to the recruiter, it will anger them, and they’ll try to screw me over (like sending out my resume everywhere or something).

Has anyone dealt with this situation? I think just not responding to emails is the best route, but how did you handle this?

I am looking for another recruiter in the market to work with, so I feel weird saying that I’m no longer looking in the market.

[Guchster]

I was working with a recruiter I thought was competent, but later realized is really disorganized and doesn’t really know anything about the market.

How do I stop working with this person? Do I just stop responding to their emails (kind of like how recruiters do when there is an applicant they aren’t too hot about)? I know they are technically working for the firms, so I’m not contractually obligated to work with this person, but I am afraid that if I say something to the recruiter, it will anger them, and they’ll try to screw me over (like sending out my resume everywhere or something).

Has anyone dealt with this situation? I think just not responding to emails is the best route, but how did you handle this?

I am looking for another recruiter in the market to work with, so I feel weird saying that I’m no longer looking in the market.

I wouldn't worry so much about them spamming your resume somewhere or doing something shady--if this happened, this recruiter's reputation would be tarnished and they'd lose their good will (and hopefully you will out them).

I had a similar experience with my recruiter, and unfortunately I did not speak up, partly out of the fear you mentioned, but mostly because I didn't want to make any more waves in a process already stressful and overwhelming as the lateral hunt. I regret my decision to continuing working with this person, but hindsight is 20/20 I guess. I ended up having to do a ton of my own heavy lifting.

If I had to do it over again, I would politely tell them that I was going in a different direction in my job search and no longer need their services as soon as the opportunity came up. If they pressed, I would just be consistent in saying you don't feel like you're a good match and wish them the best

I would NOT ghost. It's unprofessional and rude and would leave a sour taste in my mouth instead of a polite, professional phone call or email.

[Anonymous User]

I dealt with a similar situation recently. I would just say that, in light of the market so far, you want to take some time to reevaluate your position and that you'll reach out to the recruiter when or if you're ready to re-engage them. There's no need to go into more detail than that. Ghosting will waste their time and is unprofessional. Further, if you ghost they might keep sending you listings, which could trigger a dispute down the road if your second recruiter also gives you the same listing and you end up at that firm.

[Anonymous User]

I dealt with a similar situation recently. I would just say that, in light of the market so far, you want to take some time to reevaluate your position and that you'll reach out to the recruiter when or if you're ready to re-engage them. There's no need to go into more detail than that. Ghosting will waste their time and is unprofessional. Further, if you ghost they might keep sending you listings, which could trigger a dispute down the road if your second recruiter also gives you the same listing and you end up at that firm.

This recruiter is lazy. The only jobs I ever get are postings that have been up for months that I mentioned to them. So I don’t really fear the second part about the dispute down the road.

I think I should add that this recruiter ignores me when there is nothing available. Like months on end.

[Anonymous User]

I am in the same boat since January. An associate recommended a recruiter the associate had worked with in his search. So far the recruiter has not done anything but recommend publicly available postings.

What expectations should I have for the recruiter? How often should the recruiter and I have a status check on my job search? How can I monitor which jobs the recruiter has sent my resume?