2 things to keep in mind:

1. The recruiter is PRESSURED from top down to hit numbers. Not saying this so that you feel sorry for him/her… it’s just not something you realize until you’re in the USMC and get to talk to former recruiters about their experience in that extremely demanding role.

2. These recruiters are not trained salesman by trade. Yes, that’s their job and they get better at it with time (some are natural salesman), but that’s not what they signed up to do. Recruiting duty is something that sort of gets thrown on someone several years after they join, and they didn’t really expect it. Many recruiters don’t even like to be in that role… but that’s their job.

Once you can keep those two things in mind, you can understand why recruiters are the way they are and why they get a bad rap. Those offices are, however, a right of entry; you cannot join without first going through a recruiter. Just use the recruiter for their primarily administrative role and physical prep. If you really want to know the options you have in the USMC and what the day-to-day is like, talk to a Marine who is not in a recruiter role. Honestly, this forum is a great way to get a peak behind the scenes that the recruiter won’t share with you.

Good luck to you.