Start a Recruitment Agency
Companion to "The thirty-minute screen."
A thirty-minute call that screens and sells at once. Open with two minutes of human (who you are, why them specifically, what happens next), work the five blocks, close by confirming the next step and timeline out loud. Notes into the tracker before you hang up, always.
| Block | Verbatim questions | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1. What they do now (the work, not the title) | What are the big projects? What is the hardest current problem? What do you enjoy most, and least? | |
| 2. Why they are moving | What would this new company have to offer for you to leave? | |
| 3. What they want next | Title, scope, industry, company size, team shape, growth? "If you had to choose between a bigger title at a smaller company or the same title at a bigger one, which way do you lean?" | |
| 4. Timeline and process | Where else are you interviewing? Any offers outstanding, and if so, what is the deadline and why have they not accepted? | |
| 5. Compensation and logistics (on this call, in the open, phrased respectfully) | Current base, bonus, expectations, and the minimum that makes a move rational? Location, notice period, start availability, visa or license constraints? |
Not enough: "Backend engineer working with Java." Useful: "Backend engineer on the payments team, owns third-party integrations and API infrastructure, connecting e-commerce merchants to the platform."
The write-up package: the resume, your two-sentence context in the useful register, the motivators in the candidate's words, comp expectations against the role's range, and your honest read on fit. That package is the product.
| Refuses to share current compensation (makes your fee math unmanageable) | ☐ |
| "Open to anything" (converts to accepting a counteroffer at high rates) | ☐ |
| Notice period longer than a month on a role the client needs filled now | ☐ |
| Motivation purely money (any counteroffer neutralizes it instantly) | ☐ |
None of these make someone a bad person; all of them make a risky placement, and the guarantee has your name on it. Clean motivations: layoffs, completed projects, leadership churn, a stalled path. A vague itch any employer can scratch is a counteroffer waiting to happen.
Write the motivators in the candidate's own words. At offer stage, weeks from now, you close against those exact phrases; paraphrased motivators lose their power.