Whilst lack of feedback must always be considered unprofessional the main failing here is that you do not fundamentally understand the difference between a recruiter and a head-hunter – and therefore your expectations are wrong.

As an ex-recruiter (in the UK) and head hunter with a dozen years experience maybe I can help.

The person you describe is not a head hunter….she is a recruiter (and a poor one by the sounds of it) – if you sent your resume to a head hunter they would say thank you – but would make it clear that head hunters rarely deal with people just looking for a new job because they are unhappy (for whatever reasons) with their current employer.

They work in a different way to recruiters…..they get an assignment…i.e. find me a person with x skills, x background working in x industry who is top of their field.

The Head-hunter (a real one) then uses a set of networking and name gathering to approach people who are not even looking for a job (they do NOT use any kind of database because each search is different)…..people who are completely happy in their job – they target the highest achievers, the kinds of people who never look at job ads, never send a résumé and who are mostly not accessible to recruiters. As a head-hunter I never asked anyone for their resume (we call them CV’s over here)

A recruiter either gets jobs from clients (and is in competition with others) – and trawls through a database of people in the hope that they will find someone suitable.

They will advertise and network…..but inherently will find people who are unhappy where they are, have lost their job recently or want more money.

What she should have done is advised you that she did not have anything currently, advised you of the changes she thought would be helpful and not given you the expectation that she was immediately going to find you a position.

Most good recruitment firms will take a strong candidate with a good CV and “Market” that person to clients they know use people with that skill set – obviously this person doesn’t know how to do that and is little more than an “order taker” and database searcher…..

The only thing that will bring a smile to your face is to say that given the economic climate….there is no room for fools in the industry and she will be talking to recruiters very soon for herself.

A good recruiter or head-hunter can turn your world around….when someone like me helps you in to a new job that increases your salary by £30-50K per year….you will understand that there are some really professional people out there who do not deserve to be painted with the same brush.

The best way to judge a recruiter is to meet them face to face…..if they wont, they are not worth your time.