How to Tell a Recruiter You Want to Quit

One of the more delicate topics is quitting a job. An added layer of difficulty comes when you are dealing with a recruiter.

It’s important to let a recruiter know you want to quit, especially if it’s a job that they placed you at. If you don’t, you’re basically blacklisting your name from their agency and many other agencies moving forward.

It also might be a good idea to let a recruiter know you are quitting if you are using that recruiter to find you a new job. Why? Because if a recruiter knows that you are serious about switching jobs and are not just  wasting their time.

I’ll go into details below about the different scenarios. But the main takeaway is that if a recruiter placed you at the role, you most certainly should inform them. And if you are on the job hunt and working with recruiters, you also should let them know you want to quit.

Did The Recruiter Place You?

The first distinction I want to cover is between jobs that a recruiter placed you at and other jobs.

If a recruiter placed you at a job and you want to quit, then there’s no question you need to inform them of your intention to quit.

While it might not seem like a big deal to you, it is a significant issue for your recruiter.

It helps to understand how recruiters and staffing firms make money. If you’re unaware of that, and want to learn more, I have a more lengthy write up here. But basically, recruiter make money because their clients pay them to find people to work for them.

If you quit a job, especially if it’s within a certain amount of time after being hired, then it reflects poorly on the recruiter and recruiting firm. More than that, the recruiter won’t make any money.

All of the time they spent with you, arranging interviews, revising your resume, doing interview prep, and all of the other legwork will have been for naught.

If you are working full time at a firm and your recruiter placed you there, it’s simply inexcusable to not inform them.

It’s not so much that your recruiter is going to try and convince you to stay, though that does happen. It’s more that you don’t leave your recruiter blindsided.

If all of a sudden a client calls your firm and notifies you that a person that you’ve placed has quit, then not only will the recruiter make no money but their reputation is in jeopardy.

The obvious approach would be to give your recruiter a heads up that you are planning on turning inn your resignation.

This is also important in the cases of a temporary assignment or a temporary to perm assignment. While many people view these assignments as not important or not their “real job”, rest assured if you walk off a job or quit without notice, it does affect the recruiter’s reputation and bottom line.

In temporary assignments, it is sometimes even more pressing. Many staffing firms have on-going contracts with companies to supply temporary staff. These staff might be clerical or administrative support staff or it could be the medical staff such as nurses and other medical technicians.

But let’s make one thing clear before we close out this section. Just because you are letting your recruiter know that you are planning on quitting it does not mean that you are going to change your mind. 

You can still fully plan on quitting. The reason you contact your recruiter and let them know is because it’s proper etiquette. If you simply ghost them, you will certainly be marked as someone to be wary of. This will follow you around throughout your job search as recruiters share candidate notes and companies keep a record of candidates who behave in an unprofessional manner.

Why Do You Want to Quit?

One of the things that’s important is to consider why you want to quit. That’s a totally different topic for a separate article, but what I’d like to do here is briefly review some key issues that tend to come up.

• You want to quit because the work sucks
• You want more money
• You don’t like your co-workers
• The job sold to you was different than what it turned out to be
• You need to relocate away from work

Of those issues, some of those are things that can be addressed with your boss, others cannot. If you are moving away from work and your work is an in-person role that requires you be in the office, then obviously you cannot change those circumstances.

However, if it’s more of an issue of compensation, then that is something to discuss with your boss.

When you are leaving a job, it’s wise to consider why you are leaving. If you want to quit for a reason that you could address and solve, then it is better to try and address it before hand.

Again, if you are working with a recruiter and they placed you at the firm, it would be a good idea to let them know why you want to quit.

Even if the job is one that the recruiter didn’t place you at, it is a good idea to clue them in. In fact, it’s actually better if the job that you want to quit is not one that the recruiter placed you in. That way you can be completely transparent.

When working with a new recruiter, it’s especially true to give that recruiter as much info as you can.

Letting a recruiter know why you want to leave a role gives them more information that will allow them to help you in your next role.

Less is More

Sometimes it is better to not go into details with your recruiter. This is especially true if you are currently working someplace and thinking of job switching because of personal issues with your co-workers.

If you tell your recruiter that, they will see alarm bells. It will signal you as an unstable person. That might not be true, but nevertheless if you are just beginning to have a conversation with a recruiter, it’s best left off the table.

A better reason for wanting to quit your job would be that the work is not fulfilling, or that you are seeking a more higher paid role, or one with more growth or stability.

Leave any personal issues out of the conversation. Remember, a recruiter is there to connect you with a client of theirs and fill a role. They are not your personal psychotherapist, so do not burden them with unnecessary personal drama.

Sharing too much can actually be one of the reasons why recruiters won’t respond to you or call you back.

Reasons To Let a Recruiter Know You Are Quitting

Let’s divide this into two separate situations:

You are quitting a job that your recruiter placed you at

If you are going to quit a job where a recruiter placed you, then it’s very important to let that recruiter know. While they might want to convince you to stay, most recruiters understand that once a person wants to quit, they are not likely to change their mind.

The real reason that you should let the recruiter know is to maintain a professional relationship. It’s considered terrible etiquette to quit a job and not let your employer know. However, it’s also considered bad etiquette to not let your recruiter know that you’re going to be leaving the job.

As we covered above, if you don’t let a recruiter know then a few things happen. First, they don’t make any money. While that’s not your concern, it is something to be aware of. This is the only reason why they might try and convince you to stay.

More importantly, if you let them know that you are quitting, then they can maintain a good relationship with their client. They might be able to proactively start searching for a replacement that could fill in once you do leave the company.

You are quitting a job and working with a new recruiter

This is obviously a much different scenario. A new recruiter doesn’t care if you quit your current job as it doesn’t affect their bottom line or their rep. They might wonder how you expect to pay your bills if you’re not working (trust fund, parents, partner, government assistance) but it’s not a major issue.

In fact, if you do tell a recruiter that you are either thinking of handing in your notice or that you already handed in your notice.

Recruiters do not want to work with people who are only fishing around but want to stay where they are. A recruiter won’t make any money off of them. There are a lot of people who waste their time engaging recruiters to “see what”s out there” while having no intention of ever leaving the work place.

So, if you are serious about quitting your job then you should make it clear to the recruiter. You might say that you are ready to leave in a certain amount of time but really want a full time job lined up as career gaps on resumes are not good.

What Happens If You Don’t Tell Your Recruiter You’re Quitting

Well, it doesn’t matter much if you are working with a recruiter for the first time. If they haven’t gotten you the job that you’re quitting, then they won’t care.

But, and this is a big but, if you are working with a recruiter and take an assignment and then quit without giving them notice, well that’s another story.

In the case of people who quit a role that a recruiter placed them at, well they are basically ending their relationship with that recruiter and their search firm if they don’t let them know beforehand.

While it might seem like a non-issue, it’s actually quite a bad breech of etiquette. And in business you never want to burn bridges as that will circle back to hurt you in the end.

It’s important to remember that your actions are not just creating an issue for the recruiter, but also for the agency they work at. So, even if that recruiter doesn’t care or if they have moved on to another agency, your actions will be recorded in the agencies applicant tracking system.

Agencies all use ATS systems that keep a record of their placements. And if someone quits early, or quits without notice which cause a problem with their client, then it is recorded in the ATS so that all future recruiters will know the story.

How To Tell A Recruiter You Want to Quit: Fast and Simple

Alright, here’s the info you’ve been waiting for.

If you are dealing with a recrutier who placed you, then you need to schedule a call with them. You can either text them or message them on LinkedIn or email them. However you ususlly contact them.

But, you’re going to want to break it to them over the phone. If, by some chance, you are not 100% sold on quitting and there might be something they could do, consider asking them. Some smaller executive search firms have great relationships with their clients. If you wanted a small increase in salary and instead of asking your boss were just going to quit and go elsewhere for it, then I would consult your recruiter.

However, most firms do not hold much power with their clients in that regard, so the basic reason to call the recruiter is to keep bridges and not burn them.

If, on the other hand, you’re working with a recruiter who has never placed you, then you can just give them a heads up that you’ve put in your notice or are planning on doing so. There’s no need to go into too much detail.

Keep it professional and stay away from any personal details that might make them shrink.