The second brief from a recruitment client is the real one

2 days ago
3 min read

Introduction

Filling a role is not winning a client. Plenty of agencies place somebody successfully, invoice, and then never hear from that employer again — the next vacancy goes to whoever happened to call that week. Nothing was built to prevent that.

The first placement proves you can find people. It proves nothing about whether you are easy to work with, whether you understood the business, or whether the hiring manager thought about you when the next headcount was approved.

Those are the things that decide the second brief. None of them appear on the invoice.

1. The second brief from a recruitment client is decided during the first

Everything is set before the invoice goes out. The decision is made long before the next role exists.

Shortlist quality matters more than fill speed

Six loosely matched CVs teaches the client that you did not listen. Volume reads as laziness. Three good ones teaches them you did. Send fewer and explain each one.

The hiring manager's experience is what gets remembered

Not the outcome. Being organised, honest about the market and easy to reach is what they describe to colleagues. That description travels.

2. Understand the business, not the job description

This is the entire difference between supplier and partner.

Visit or call properly before searching

Team, culture, why the last person left, what success looks like. Ask the last question especially. Ten minutes of this changes every CV you send. Do it before the search, not during.

Tell them what you find

If the salary is wrong for the market, say so early. Bring the data with you. Clients value being told the truth more than being agreed with. Say it once, with evidence.

3. Stay involved after the placement

The gap after the invoice is where relationships die.

Check in during the first three months

With both sides. It catches problems while they are fixable and it puts you in front of the client without selling. Three short calls is enough.

Take responsibility if it goes wrong

Rebates matter less than how you handle it. Clients judge the response, not the setback. A well-handled failure produces more repeat work than a quiet success. Ring them before they ring you.

4. Be there when the next role appears

Timing beats persuasion.

Keep light, regular contact

A relevant candidate, a market note, a call after a funding round or a company announcement. Two or three touches a quarter. Reasons to be in touch that are not "any vacancies?". Make each contact worth opening.

Ask about the hiring plan

Most managers know roughly what is coming. They will usually tell you if asked directly. Asking puts you first in the queue rather than fifth. Ask every quarter.

5. Widen inside the organisation

One manager is a fragile client.

Get introduced to other departments

A satisfied hiring manager will introduce you if asked. One sentence in an email is all it takes. Nobody offers unprompted. Ask once the placement has settled in.

Learn who signs off and who owns the supplier list

Being on the list is what turns occasional briefs into steady ones. Ask how suppliers get added.

Conclusion

The second brief is decided during the first, not after it: a tight shortlist of three teaches a client you listened, six loose CVs teaches them you did not, and what the hiring manager remembers is the experience rather than the outcome. Understand the business before searching, and tell them honestly when the salary or the brief is wrong.

Stay involved after the invoice — check in with both sides for three months and handle any failure properly, because that produces more repeat work than a quiet success. Keep light contact with real reasons behind it, ask about the hiring plan, get introduced to other departments, and find out who owns the supplier list.