My mother always told me that patience is a virtue. It’s funny if you know her, because she is probably one of the most impatient people you’ll ever meet. I might be a close second. I want it yesterday - always.

Unfortunately, there’s a lot of waiting with a job search. They look at your resume. We wait. They want to interview you. Next week. Then we wait until everyone chimes in on what they thought of you. They want to meet you and they fly you out. Then we wait some more. They make the offer and then it’s your turn.

You would think after all the waiting they make you do, they’d be willing to give you some time. But that’s not ever the deal. They want a decision and they want it now. They wanted it yesterday before they even made the offer.

This is why constant communication is key between you and your recruiter. If you aren’t sure about this, you need to let me know at any stage of this process. If you’re waiting out another opportunity, let’s discuss that before the offer is on the table. I can keep the agency warm for a bit and I can feed them information on a need-to-know basis, but not if it’s information I don’t have.

We present candidates as ready to explore a particular opportunity. After that first interview, you should have a pretty good read on if it’s something you’re interested in. To do so, of course, you need to have asked the important questions while speaking with them. But if you play it right, you should come out of that knowing what you need to know.

Determine what your priorities are with a new position. Then let me know. Which fight am I fighting? Is it salary? Is it benefits? Is it title? Let’s narrow it down and move forward. But in the end, if it’s too much wrong and not enough right, then let’s move on. Knowing what you want beforehand is key. That way, you’re ready with an answer before the question is ever asked.

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