You're about to trust someone with your career and a meaningful fee. Interview them like it. These fifteen questions — and the answers a professional gives — come from the association that certifies the field. Take the list to any consultation and you'll know within twenty minutes whether you're talking to a professional.
1. Who pays you, and whose interest do you represent?
Only acceptable answer: you, and yours. This one question filters out employer-side recruiters and lead-generation fronts instantly.
2. Are you certified, and can I verify it?
An NRRA designation can be checked in the public registry in seconds. 'Certified' claims that can't be verified aren't credentials.
3. Exactly which services are included — and excluded?
Professionals answer from a written scope: strategy, materials, outreach volume, interview prep, negotiation support. Vagueness here becomes conflict later.
4. Do you guarantee me a job or interviews?
The professional answer is an immediate no — effort, method, and reporting are guaranteed; outcomes are not. A yes ends the conversation.
5. How will you represent me to employers?
In your name with your approval of every material, or as a named agent — never by deception. Ask to see an example outreach message.
6. What does your weekly cadence look like?
Expect specifics: researched outreach touches, follow-ups, tailored applications, networking conversations — and a written weekly report.
7. How do you access roles that aren't posted?
Listen for referral mapping, direct decision-maker approach, trigger-event research, and search-firm relationships — not 'we apply to lots of jobs.'
8. What's your fee, and what are the refund terms?
A defined fee with written refund and termination terms before any payment. Pressure to pay before paperwork is a red flag.
9. Will you ever change facts on my resume?
The only acceptable answer: never. Presentation of true facts improves; facts do not change. Anything else risks your reputation, not theirs.
10. What do you store about me, and for how long?
Confidentiality by default, disclosed storage, honored deletion — and written consent before anything is ever reused.
11. Can you show verifiable outcomes from past engagements?
Anonymized, documented results in honest ranges beat glowing testimonials that can't be checked.
12. Who exactly will do the work on my engagement?
If a senior person sells and juniors deliver, you want to know — and to meet whoever runs your campaign.
13. What happens if we disagree mid-engagement?
Look for decision rules agreed up front: checkpoints, re-positioning triggers, and a clean exit clause.
14. What do you need from me to succeed?
Good practitioners demand client obligations: feedback turnaround, interview availability, honesty. Beware anyone who needs nothing from you.
15. Why might I NOT be a fit for your service?
The strongest trust signal available: professionals qualify clients out. Under the NRRA Code, selling unsuitable services is an ethics violation.
Score it simply: a professional answers all fifteen without flinching — most are covered in their standard agreement anyway. Two or more evasive answers, walk.
Put someone on your side of the table.
Learn how reverse recruiting works — or explore the certified path.
The NRRA