Why Top Talent Prefers Honest Recruiters Over “Know-It-Alls

Recently, one of my talent scouts messaged me in a panic.

She was working on a senior leadership role and hit a wall.

"The candidate just asked me a question I didn’t know” 

“I told them I’d find out, but now I’m worried they’ll start doubting my expertise"

My advice was simple: always tell candidates the truth.

After years in executive search, I've learned that candidates can smell dishonesty from a mile away…

They've been interviewed countless times. 

They know when a recruiter is pretending to know something that they don’t really understand.

So my scout took a different approach.

When she went back to the candidate, she gave them the answer and confessed that although she knew a lot about their industry, she’d never been asked this question before.

The candidate's response?

He opened up and spent the next 20 minutes educating her.

Now, she’s learnt something new about her industry, and the candidate knows that a human, not a robot, is representing them.

Most recruiters feel like they have to pretend to know everything. 

(They’re scared of appearing incompetent.)

But with senior talent, authenticity wins every time.

Because true expertise isn't about knowing everything.

It's about having the confidence to admit what you don't