Red Flag #1: They Don't Understand Your Industry or Product

If your recruiter can't explain what your company does in their own words after your first conversation, run. A good recruiter should ask probing questions about your tech stack, competitive market, and growth challenges. They should understand not just what skills you need, but why you need them and how they fit into your plan.

When recruiters don't understand your industry, they waste everyone's time with poor candidates. More importantly, they can't sell your opportunity properly to top talent. Dover's recruiter marketplace lets you see each recruiter's industry expertise and track record before you even start working together.

Red Flag #2: Excessive Focus on Speed Over Quality

"We'll have 20 resumes for you by tomorrow!"

This sounds great until you realize 19 of them are completely unqualified. These recruiters only get paid when someone gets hired, so they focus on speed and volume over quality. You end up doing most of the screening work yourself.

Quality recruiting takes time. Good recruiters spend hours understanding your needs, researching the market, and carefully screening candidates before presenting them.

With fractional recruiting, recruiters are paid for their time and knowledge, not just placements. This creates a better understanding between what you need and what they deliver.

Red Flag #3: Vague Communication and Lack of Transparency

Red flag phrases to watch for:

• "Our fees are competitive" (without stating actual numbers)

• "We'll discuss pricing after we find the right candidate."

• "Trust us, we've done this before" (without providing specifics)

• "We require a small upfront investment" (with no guarantees)

Legitimate recruiters should be completely transparent about their fees, process, timeline, and what happens if things don't work out. If they're being dodgy about basic questions, imagine how they'll communicate during the actual search.

Dover provides clear pricing upfront. You know exactly what you're paying per hour, and you can see metrics for every recruiter in our marketplace.

Red Flag #4: One-Size-Fits-All Approach

Some recruiters use the same process whether they're hiring for Google or a 5-person startup. They'll send you candidates who are great for enterprise environments, but do not fit for a startup culture.

Early-stage startups need different candidate profiles than Series B companies, and your recruiter should understand this.

"Recruiting services like Triplebyte will find the first person for the job, but Dover finds the best person for the job.”

Peter Doro, Senior Solutions Manager at Memora Health

Dover's fractional recruiters customize their approach based on your stage, culture, and role requirements. No cookie-cutter processes.

Red Flag #5: High-Pressure Sales Tactics

High-pressure tactics are usually a sign that the recruiter doesn't have confidence in their ability to deliver results. They're trying to force decisions instead of earning your trust.

• "This candidate has other offers; you need to decide today!"

• "If you don't sign our exclusive agreement, we can't focus on your search."

• "This is the best candidate we'll find for this role."
  
  Good recruiters act as consultative partners. They provide honest feedback, help you think through decisions, and respect your timeline and process. Dover's model removes the pressure entirely. You can scale up or down based on your needs.

Red Flag #6: Lack of Startup Experience

Recruiting for startups requires understanding equity compensation, remote work dynamics, fast-paced environments, and the motivations of candidates. Recruiters who've only worked with enterprise clients often struggle with these ideas. Dover's network consists entirely of recruiters with 10-15 years of startup hiring experience. They understand the ecosystem and can properly sell your opportunity to candidates.

Red Flag #7: Unprofessional Behavior and Poor Organization

Basic professionalism matters:

• Showing up late to meetings or missing them

• Poorly written communication with typos and grammatical errors

• Inability to remember basic details about your company or role

• Disorganized process with unclear next steps

• Lack of preparation for calls and meetings

Dover vets all recruiters for professionalism and maintains standards throughout our marketplace. You can check a recruiter’s track record before hiring one.

Red Flag #8: Misaligned Incentives and Hidden Fees

Traditional recruiting agencies typically charge 20-30% of the candidate's first-year salary. For a $150,000 hire, that's $30,000-$45,000. These fees often come with hidden costs and complex terms.

Recruiters are motivated to place anyone, anywhere, as quickly as possible. Some agencies also charge additional fees for things like background checks, reference calls, or "rush" searches that should be part of standard service.

Dover's transparent hourly pricing model aligns incentives properly. Our recruiters succeed when you succeed, not just when someone gets hired.

Red Flag #9: Poor Candidate Screening and Assessment

Nothing wastes time like interviewing unqualified candidates. Poor recruiters send anyone who remotely matches the job title without a proper background check.

Quality screening should include:

• Technical skills review appropriate to the role

• Cultural fit evaluation based on your company values

• Motivation and interest level

• Reference checks and background verification

• Compensation expectations set

If you're consistently interviewing candidates who don't meet basic requirements, your recruiter isn't doing their job. Dover's recruiters use AI-powered tools combined with their expertise to promise thorough candidate assessment before any introductions.

"Dover makes my life as a founder much easier. Being able to outsource initial screenings (which take SO much time) is amazing. Plus, getting inbound automatically is huge. So far, we've hired two great people with Dover's help!”

Matt Shumer, CEO/Founder of OthersideAI

Red Flag #10: Limited Network and Sourcing Capabilities

Some recruiters rely entirely on job board postings and their existing database. They're not actively building new networks. The best candidates are often not even looking. They need to be identified, approached, and convinced to consider your opportunity.

Ask potential recruiters about their sourcing methods:

• Do they use LinkedIn and other professional networks well?

• Can they tap into passive candidate pools?

• Do they have relationships with relevant communities and organizations?

• Are they comfortable with modern sourcing tools and techniques?

Dover provides integrated sourcing tools, and our recruiters have extensive networks built over years of startup recruiting experience.

Red Flag #11: Inflexible Contract Terms and Long-Term Lock-ins

Startup hiring needs change rapidly. Recruiters who demand exclusive agreements, long-term contracts, or inflexible terms don't understand startup reality.

⚠️ Watch out for:

• Agreements that prevent you from using other recruiting sources

• Long-term contracts with penalties for early termination

• Rigid fee structures that don't account for role changes

• Requirements to commit to a minimum number of hires

Red Flag #12: No Track Record or References

Any recruiter worth working with should be able to provide references from recent startup clients, case studies of successful placements, specific examples of roles they've filled, and data on their success rates and time-to-fill metrics. Be suspicious of recruiters who can’t provide examples of their work or who seem evasive.

Dover's recruiter marketplace provides performance data for each and every recruiter.