Do recruiters talk to each other

[syh-0120]

So if I wanted to move to a different firm as a (summer student/articling/associate), how can one hypothetically do that without the employers noticing it? Do recruiters ever talk to each other?

[Turtles]

Can confirm: they talk.

But no doubt depends on individual characteristics of each one and the relationships between recruiters as to how open one might be with another.

[LMP]

They do indeed talk. Far more than you'd think in some cases. 

But it is a bit different when you move as an associate. Most firms will take your resume "in strict confidence" and aren't going to go blabbing about who's trying to jump ship. 

[Aureliuse]

One of the things you want to be careful of, especially as a young associate who just started out, is acquiring a reputation of being someone who never sticks around for a long time.

Some practice areas are small, and words can quickly get around that someone doesn't stay for very long at a firm. This includes recruiters.

One can draw many inferences from frequent hops:

1. Personality issue/work ethic issue/lack of commitment/can't handle adversity

2. Money-oriented at the expense of experience (you wont get to work on large files, or get trial experience from the start, if you hop too often - little achievement or experience to talk about at your next job)

3. No career plans/goals

4. Not a suitable candidate to train, because the person will likely jump ship

Conversely, you should have a list of "blacklisted" law firms in your area where, for example, they constantly experience "revolving door" issues and are almost always hiring just about anyone who is willing to try.

[utahjazz]

Can 100% confirm recruiters talk. A lot. They're friends. Regardless of what Canadian city you're in, it's a pretty small community. There is a decent chance the recruiter from your current firm is going to be collegial with the recruiters from the firms you are applying to. 

I recently went hiking with two recruiters from different BigLaw firms so I got to be a bit of a fly on the wall. Frankly, I was shocked at how many different students/candidates/lateral hires they talked about. E.g., "We weren't super high on X initially, but they have turned out to be one of our best hires." "We thought Y was going to be great, but they've been a massive disappointment." "What do you think about Z?" They even asked me who I thought were the best candidates from the school I'm at. The take home is that word travels fast. Maybe at smaller firms your chances of going undetected might be better, but I'm not sure. 

The fact that recruiters talk can work against you, but keep in mind, it can also work for you. Unless your situation is unbearable, my advice would be to put your head down, grind, do great work, get your name and face out there, and you will have no shortage of recruiters coming to you rather than the other way around. Hope the rest of your summer goes great, and best of luck! 😀