Two versions of this question get asked, usually by the same person in the same week. What is an engineering recruiter going to ask me? And what should I be asking them?
Both are worth answering honestly, because the first call is the one that decides whether anything useful happens afterwards — and most of them are wasted by both sides.
What a good engineering recruiter will ask you
“What are you working on right now?”
Not your job title — the work. Project types, values, who you report to, what you are accountable for. A recruiter who understands engineering can tell the difference between a project engineer running a $3M municipal upgrade and one running a $60M institutional build from the answer, and everything after depends on getting that right.
If nobody asks you this, they are matching keywords.
“What would have to be true for you to move?”
The most useful question in the conversation, and the one most often replaced by “what salary are you looking for?”
Money is rarely the actual reason. Scope, the person you report to, the type of work, the commute, whether the technical path leads anywhere without becoming a manager — these decide moves far more often, and a recruiter who has not asked cannot represent you properly.
“Where are you licensed, and where are you in the process?”
P.Eng., EIT, which province, whether you have reciprocity elsewhere. It is a hard filter on many roles and it is not a formality — it changes which roles you can be put forward for at all.
“What are you earning, and what would you need?”
Fair, and you should expect it. Note that in some jurisdictions it is now unlawful to ask salary history, so a good recruiter asks what you would need, not what you are on. Either way, a range is a reasonable answer.
“Who else are you speaking with?”
This one makes people uncomfortable, but there is a legitimate reason for it: if two agencies submit you to the same employer, you can be disqualified from a role you would otherwise have got. You do not have to name firms. Saying “I am in process somewhere, do not submit me anywhere without checking with me first” is enough, and any recruiter worth working with will respect it.
What you should ask them
“Are you working directly with this employer?”
Start here. Some recruiters have a signed mandate and a direct line to the hiring manager. Others are working from a job posting and hoping to place someone into a company that has not engaged them. Only the first can tell you anything useful, and only the first can move quickly.
“Who is the hiring manager, and what happened to the last person in this role?”
The second half is the real question. A newly created role, a promotion, and a role that has turned over twice in three years are three entirely different jobs wearing the same title. A recruiter who has done the work will know. One who has not will change the subject.
“Why is it open, and how long has it been open?”
Six months open is information. It may mean the role is unrealistic, or the compensation is below market, or the process is slow — all things you would want to know before investing four weeks in it.
“What does the process look like, and how fast does it actually move?”
Number of stages, who you meet, how decisions get made. In engineering, the strong candidate has options; if a process runs to five rounds over two months, that tells you how the company makes decisions generally, not just about hiring.
“Will you check with me before sending my details anywhere?”
The single most important question on the list. Your name being circulated without permission is how confidential searches stop being confidential, and how you end up disqualified from a role by an agency you never authorised.
The answer should be an immediate, unambiguous yes. Anything hedged is your answer about how they will treat you throughout.
“Do you actually recruit in my discipline?”
Ask it plainly. A generalist will tell you they “cover engineering”. A specialist will tell you which firms in your city are growing, what the compensation range has done in the last year, and which two competitors of your employer are worth a conversation. The difference is obvious within ninety seconds.
What a first call should leave you with
You should come off it knowing more about the market than you did going in — even if that specific role is wrong for you. That is the test.
A recruiter who has spent twenty minutes selling you a job and has told you nothing about who else is hiring, what the range has moved to, or what your profile is worth right now, was not having a conversation. They were filling a vacancy.
The short version: expect to be asked about the work rather than the title, and about what would move you rather than what you earn. And ask, before anything else, whether they hold the mandate — and whether they will check with you before your name goes anywhere.
