Working with a recruiter to help you find your next contract or contract-to-hire position can be incredibly beneficial. Recruiters have the amazing opportunity to help find candidates for positions that people wouldn’t know about without them. But if this is your first time working with a recruiter, you might not know all the etiquette behind working with one. So, today we’ll discuss some of the dos and don’ts of working with a recruiter.

DO: Tell the recruiter exactly what you want. Set up an intro call and tell them your pay rate, your schedule, if you want to work from home, etc. Tell them when you can start and if you have any vacations or obligations that could delay it. Tell the recruiter what’s necessary and what’s optional.

DON’T: Be vague. If you want $50 an hour but you don’t tell them, they’re not going to know what might be too low a pay rate to target for you. Remember, a recruiter won’t know what you don’t tell them, and they don’t want to waste your time on a job that’s not good for you.

DO: Tell them how your job hunt is going. Have you just started? Have you been looking for months? Is it tough finding a job you’re qualified for? Again, the more they know, the more they can help you.

DON’T: Reject a job too quickly. Sometimes job descriptions don’t cover the whole scope of what the role would entail. Sometimes, the hiring manager doesn’t know exactly what sort of person they need for a position until the interview. And sometimes, you won’t even know it’s your dream career until you’re at that interview yourself. If a recruiter submits your resume, there’s a great chance it’s going to be good a good job for you.

This one is also a little bit of a DO, too. Do consider entertaining contract-to-hire opportunities because many companies now use this process to onboard. Your recruiter can help you convert your salary to an hourly rate during the probation period and explain the benefits you also qualify for.

DO: Work on your resume with your recruiter. They will help you highlight your most salable skills and craft a portrait of you that any hiring manager would love to interview.

DON’T: Worry about your resume being long. While more than four pages is excessive, your skills and experience could need multiple pages. For example, don’t just say you’re a Business Systems Analyst, say you’re a BSA who knows Vantage. If your resume needs trimming for submittal, it’ll be trimmed.

DO: Complete a Right to Represent: This is a formal agreement between you and the recruiter stating that you have given them permission to submit your resume to the hiring manager. It also ensures you are submitted for the pay rates you expect.

DON’T: Submit yourself for the same role multiple times. You might not get an interview with one submittal, but it’s almost guaranteed that you won’t if you try to submit yourself for the same job through multiple avenues. It looks like you’re not paying attention to which jobs you’ve applied for, it can eliminate your candidacy entirely based on the agreements the recruiting firms have with clients, and it can hurt your relationship with your recruiter.

DO: Expect interview prep. A recruiter doesn’t just want you to get an interview, they want you to get the job. They’ll coach you on what to say, what skills to highlight, and more. If your interview is going to be over the phone or Internet, this blog has all the tips you’ll need to prepare.

DON’T: Worry. A recruiter wants to help you find a new job as much as you want one. Following these guidelines can help make your partnership a fruitful one for everyone.