A good recruiter has your back in a surprising number of ways, but only if you're honest with them. Hear one unconventional example, and learn why honesty is ALWAYS the best policy.

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Hi, this is Stephanie Maas, partner with Thinking Ahead search firm.

I specialize in commercial banking and commercial finance search here in the mid Atlantic.

One of my colleagues specifically asked me to talk a little bit about why be honest with your recruiter.

And of course, if they ask, I'm going to do it.

But my first thought was, really, we got to talk about this.

Are you kidding me?

But I do understand not everybody does business like we do business.

And quite frankly, unfortunately, the recruiting industry is filled with yahoos, and a lot of them are extremely self serving.

Now, don't get me wrong.

I've got a family to feed too, but I would never put my situation or myself in a situation where my livelihood is dependent upon.

One candidate getting one particular job.

Statistically speaking, and I'm not being arrogant, if I'm put on assignment, I'm going to fill it.

It's going to be filled with two, three, four, or five, one of five different people that I present.

Chances are, I'm not going to lose that.

Whether it's you or one of the other two, three, four, five candidates that I present.

So I don't ever have to, and this is a luxury, put pressure on any one person.

To take a job for my livelihood again, I know that not everybody operates that way.

So here are a couple thoughts on why be honest with your recruiter.

First and foremost, let me clarify.

Recruiters in our industry are being paid compensated by the hiring organization.

To find you and if you are the right fit to get you from where you're at today to their organization through a process called recruiting, recruiting is not, Hey, here are 10 names, your 10 resumes.

Good luck.

Hope it all works out and see you on the other side when you get my fee.

This is a different process.

This is what we get engaged for.

So candidates, when I call you again, knowing I don't need you to take this job, and I know that sounds arrogant.

I don't mean it that way.

It should release you from any pressure.

But if you want the job, I am your advocate.

I will do everything I can to help my client see that you are the best fit.

But if you're not honest with me, if you're not letting me know where your head's at, what's really important to you.

The different factors of your compensation, your life situation, whatever it is I need to know, and I'm only going to ask you things I need to know.

I mean, I'm curious by nature, but I got plenty of other things to be worried about.

If you can't be honest with me, there is absolutely no way I can truly advocate for you.

Interestingly enough, I actually had a candidate one time tell me, Thank you, Stephanie.

This is not my top choice, but I need to get this offer so I can take it back to another bank that I really do want to go work for and get a better offer.

You know what I did?

I helped him.

Now, he didn't actually get a written offer.

That would be very, very misleading to my client, but I gave him enough ammunition that he could go to the bank that he really wanted to work for and say, Hey, here's what I think my offer should be and why.

And guess what?

He got it again.

I was out.

a fee on that person.

I filled the search with somebody else who did really want the job.

That was perfectly fine.

But if he had not done that, if he hadn't been up front with me and I continued to advocate like he really wanted this job, got an offer from that client only to take it to another organization, get the offer he really wanted and then said no over here, that doesn't hurt my reputation.

It would hurt his.

Just some food for thought.