More Recruiters Doesn’t Always Mean More Opportunities

Looking for a new legal position can be exciting, but it can also feel overwhelming. Once you decide you’re ready for a change, it’s natural to want your résumé in front of as many people as possible. The thinking makes perfect sense: If I have five recruiters looking for me instead of one, won’t I have five times as many opportunities?

In legal recruiting, not necessarily. Sometimes, more recruiters simply means more moving pieces—and less control over your own search.

Imagine Recruiter A calls you about a firm on Monday. You have a great conversation, but you aren’t quite ready to move forward. On Wednesday, Recruiter B reaches out about what sounds like a completely different opportunity. You agree to hear more, only to discover later that it’s another opening at the same firm. Meanwhile, six months ago, you may have applied directly to that firm and forgotten about it.

Now you have three different paths potentially converging on the same employer.

Or maybe two recruiters contact you about the exact same opening. You give one permission to submit you but forget to tell the other. Suddenly the firm receives your résumé twice and has to figure out who actually represents you.

None of this means you did anything wrong. It means legal searches can get complicated surprisingly quickly.

That’s why choosing your recruiter matters.

A good recruiter should do much more than forward your résumé. They should take the time to understand why you’re considering a move and what would make another opportunity genuinely better.

For example, an associate may initially say, “I want more money.”

But after a real conversation, perhaps compensation isn’t actually the biggest issue. Maybe she hasn’t had meaningful client contact in three years. Maybe she wants a clearer path to partnership. Maybe she loves her practice but can’t sustain her current hours. Maybe she wants to relocate but would stay for the right opportunity.

The position with the highest salary isn't necessarily the position that solves the reason someone started looking in the first place.

This is also why candidates should feel comfortable interviewing their recruiter a little, too. Ask yourself: Have they worked with this firm before? Do they know the recruiting team? Have they placed attorneys there? What do they know about the group, culture or opportunity beyond what's written in the job description?

Trust matters because a recruiter may ultimately be having conversations on your behalf about interview feedback, timing, compensation, competing opportunities, concerns and an offer.

There’s another practical reason to choose carefully: once a recruiter submits you to a particular firm, another recruiter generally cannot simply step in and represent you to that same firm for a significant period of time.

So before saying, “Sure, send my résumé,” it’s worth asking yourself two questions: Do I want to be considered by this firm? And do I want this recruiter representing me there? For many attorneys, working closely with one or two recruiters they genuinely trust is much more manageable than casting the widest possible net.

You should also remain an active participant in your own search. Keep a simple list of firms you've applied to directly, firms you've discussed with recruiters, where you've authorized submissions, and which recruiter is representing you at each firm.

Changing firms is a significant career decision. It can affect compensation, partnership trajectory, geography, family life, professional development and what your day-to-day life actually looks like.

It deserves more intention than simply getting your résumé in front of the largest possible number of people.

The goal isn't to have the most recruiters.

It's to have the right people representing you—and to make sure every move in your search is taking you toward something you actually want.