Armageddon

Enterprise Account Executive

recruiters refusing to tell you the company name.. What the heck?

I recently had a recruiter reach out to me and said they were unable to share the name of the company they are searching for. I get it, they need to make sure you don't go direct.. So I asked if they would tell me on the initial on the call and they responded that I would be informed of the company name on a secondary call with the hiring manager.. am I crazy to thing this is nuts??

Why would I spend over an hour of my time just to find out if this is a place I would even want to work for?

Anyone else have experiences like this?

🤝 Interviewing/Offer

23 comments

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jefe

Arsonist

🍁

I might entertain a screen without a name, but I'd better know who they are before the end of that.

CuriousFox

WR Officer

🦊

They can

Kosta_Konfucius

Politicker

Sales Rep

There are two reasons they do that.

1) They signed an NDA

2) Typically companies have a posting up for x days before they outsource it. So the recruiting agency does not want you to apply to the companies' posting since they want credit

FinanceEngineer

Politicker

Sr Director, sales and partnerships

This is what I have seen as well. There is a third though - they don’t want anyone to know that they are hiring for that position. Either internal strife or the market can use it against them.

pirate

Big Shot

🦜☠️ Account Executive

They sometimes need to talk to you then go back to the company and ask what they thought and then tell you the name. Or they might be recruiting for multiple positions so they're seeing what could be the best fit for you

Pachacuti

Politicker

They call me Daddy, Sales Daddy

Those become a hard pass for me. It means they don't have an exclusive arrangement with the client and may just be submitting your resume blindly. So beware.

oldcloser

Arsonist

💀

I’m not having the chat.

CuriousFox

WR Officer

🦊

How the hell did Trebek get downvoted 🤣

oldcloser

Arsonist

💀

🤷🏻‍♂️ fucking gremlins - but I will take marketing spies for $300 Alex

HVACexpert

Politicker

sales engineer

In the end they are getting paid to bring potential hires to their client, by making you wait until a meeting is scheduled they can keep those KPIs looking good

braintank

Politicker

Enterprise Account Executive

If they can't tell me who it is I don't bother

Diablo

Politicker

Sr. AE

I recently had a similar experience. I ended up not speaking with them.

ElectricType

Valued Contributor

Sales Manager

That is a red flag. If the recruiter is not willing after a few screening questions, they didn't do there job or have no relationship with the company. If they signed an NDA with the company and the company tells the recruiter not too use their name that is another red flag. Think about this Skunkworks will allow recruiters to say their name so realistically if they are willing, then come on something ain't right.

GDO

Politicker

BDM

I hate it but I get why they do it

Sunbunny31

Politicker

Sr Sales Executive 🐰

Nope. Not getting on a call with a hiring manager at an unknown company. You're right to ask the question of "why would I spend my time?"

Enterprise Customer Success Executive

I haaaaaaaate when they do that.

Beans

Big Shot

Enterprise Account Executive

It's so you don't go around them and they lose their fee.

TommyShelby

Good Citizen

Account Exec

have worked in recruitment before - some good points here below, maybe I can elaborate a bit. They may have an NDA with their client but it is unlikely unless they are replacing someone currently in the role who might find out. Usually see this on the executive level. During the initial call they should be able to share the details with you - good recruiters understand hiring is a two way street and they have to make sure you are interested the same as they are trying to do for their clients.
Realistically, they may feel that they trust you enough during the screening call to share the name during that call. If they don't, you can still fairly easily figure out the company with generic questions they will be able to answer (ie. industry, org size, hq location, etc).

It is fairly common to not reveal details prior to the recruiter call, but less common to obscure that info when they want to move forward to the hiring manager. You should know where you're applying and who sees your resume.

snafu_sales

Catalyst

SaaS Sales

How did they expect you to do interview research without knowing the company?

SonnyVaccaro

Good Citizen

Growth Lead

They don't want you to go around them - this holds true especially for Exec roles. The thing about Exec roles is they aren't always advertised so I wouldn't have found them without the recruiter so no need to keep it a secret.
Someone hurt this person in the past, that's why they aren't telling you. They could easily just let the company know that they talked to you and it would register under their team and prevent them from losing credit, but they are lazy.

pcaliii

Personal Narrative

Account Executive

Suss, probably dealing with a 3rd party staffing agency. They typically do this in order to avoid other staffing agencies from stealing their clients.

Sales Coach

My guess is they do not have the "exact fit" for you, and rather are getting your preferences and then checking the current job openings they have with a client

Fairly common practice as recruiters want to have great candidates already screened so that, when the right role does match your preferences, they can quickly tell you about the role and submit your resume

ApocalyBoom

Politicker

Account Executive

Sometimes they want to talk to you and come back to the company to ask what they think and give you a name. Or they are looking for a position, see what would be the best fit for you.

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Armageddon

recruiters refusing to tell you the company name.. What the heck?

23 comments

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