Recruiter Playbook: Be the One They Call First with Akanksha Verma

Recruiters and headhunters can open doors to roles you’ll never see advertised, or quietly rule you out without you ever knowing why. Most candidates don’t understand how they’re paid, what they need, or how one wrong move (like being sent to the same employer twice) can end an application.

The Recruiter Playbook shows you how UK recruitment really works and gives you the tools to work with recruiters confidently:

1. Know who you’re dealing with: agency recruiters, headhunters and in-house recruiters compared side by side. Who pays them, what they work on, what they need from you, and how to work with each.
2. What they won’t always tell you: four truths that change how you approach every recruiter conversation.
3. Your recruiter brief: one page with everything a recruiter needs to put you forward: target roles, salary expectations, notice period, must-haves, deal-breakers and the three achievements to mention every time. Example answers are included.
4. Your recruiter tracker: keep track of every recruiter, what you’ve discussed, and exactly where your CV has been sent.
5. Your first message: an example message to a recruiter, plus a fill-in version that’s short, specific and easy to say yes to.
6. On the call: six questions to ask them, and example answers to the tricky questions they’ll ask you, including “What are you earning now?”

It ends with two simple rules that protect your applications.

What you get:

• A 3-page fillable PDF with examples throughout
• Works on screen in any PDF app, or printed

Created by Akanksha, a career coach with experience in HR and workforce strategy. I’ve worked on the side of the business that plans hiring and works with recruiters, so I know what makes a candidate easy to put forward.

Want help preparing for recruiter calls? Book a 1:1 career strategy call with me here on Topmate.