Reason #637 I dislike recruiters, esp the contract agency recruiters (interviews, application, references)

[Sharecropper]

I had a recruiter asking me today for references up front after he "passed my resume on".

Sorry dude, I am not giving you free leads. I politely told him "if after an interview there is mutual interest, I will be happy to provide them."

I've never heard of someone wanting up front reference checks for an engineering position, and my professional contacts are too important to be potentially spammed.

What's next, drug tests up front? Application fees?

[lottamoxie]

I politely told him "if after an interview there is mutual interest, I will be happy to provide them."

Very smart of you! I've gotten screwed on that one. I'm at the point where I don't want to deal with recruiters ever again. I just haven't had good experiences with them.

[MSchemist80]

That has become the modus aparandi of many staffing agencies and a few recruiters. I've pushed back on some occasions. IN some cases they are fishing for the names of hiring managers. Other's are forced to do this because their clients expect them to prevet all candidates sent to them for interviews. It is kind of a difficult position. I've obliged in a few cases but some others I told them to take a hike as they didn't even have an interest from any of their clients yet.

In all honesty I think this is improper but economic conditions are allowing companies and recruiters to be able to put candidates through all sorts of crap and be able to get away with it. I've been seeing those retarded psych tests creep into the professional positions where they were previously in only the min wage jobs. I posted that ridiculous essay assignment I was sent a while back.
HR gone wild psychobable
Also the interview are becoming more and more stupid and full of psychological gimics and less and less about qualifications and ability to do the job.

[mash123]

I was so stupid...
The recruiter asked for two references (IT job) and I gave him their numbers and asked that he will call them only after an interview with the company. Now he told me that he called them despite what I asked. Now, how can one trust those people?

[pvande55]

Recruiters are generally held in the same high regard as lawyers, used car salesmen and proctologists. But you should not overlook them. One might just have the job suited for you. Occasionally a recruiter has gotten me an interview with a client I already applied.

[lottamoxie]

Now, how can one trust those people?

You can't. Until one of them earns your trust by not being a sleaze like the others. So far I'm batting 0.00

[Tara0815]

Unfortunatly the only lady that I trusted and who was awesome, honest, and a really great person at one of local staffing agencies is retiring on Friday.. Anybody else would bs me saying of course I submitted your name for some jobs and then u didnt hear anything.. Not her... It sucks I emailed her this week told her I was gonna miss her and have fun =)

[Suncc49]

Originally Posted by lottamoxie

Yes, that would be ideal if I had connections. As it stands now, I have zero, zip, nada.

And yes, for those reading along, I know there are tax consequences and other legal considerations to incorporating, but that wouldn't daunt me because it's learnable and do-able.

You don't need to "incorporate" to work as a 1099 employee FYI....

You can just file the information under your own 1040. You will have to make estimated tax payments though.

[MSchemist80]

Originally Posted by roadwarrior101

That's why you need to incorporate yourself and contract for a company as a 1099. The trick is how to make the connections to do this. However, since you don't have to pay the overhead to the agency, your share will be very substantial.

Many companies are shy about 1099 contactors. The IRS has been cracking down on companies that force employees to masquerade as 1099 contractors to avoid payroll taxes. They have a form ss-8 for workers to fill out and a list of 20+ criteria that a person has to meet to be legally considered a contractor. The IRS rules in over 90% of cases that a person is an employee and that comes with huge penalties for the company. I filed an SS-8 last May and haven't received a determination yet.


The worker is an employee if...

You or your representative tells the worker where, when, and how to work.
You train the worker.
The business performance depends on the worker.
The worker has a continuing relationship with the company.
The worker's services must be personally rendered by the him/her.
You set the worker's work hours.
The worker works on the employer's premises.
You are paid by the hour, weeks, or month.
You furnish tools and materials.
You can fire the worker without violating a contract.
The worker has a right to quit without incurring a liability.
The worker does not offer the worker's services to the public at large.
The worker has no opportunity for profit or loss as a result of the worker's service.
The worker has no significant investment in the business.
You require the worker to submit oral or written reports.
The worker is a corporate officer.

[gobucks86]

Recruiters have been a waste of time for me and thankfully I'm in the interview process with a company about a position I came across on my own.

I've driven to different cities to meet with recruiters and it's been nothing but a waste. I came across a position on a website for what looked like a legitimate staffing place. I applied and the next day the head recruiter lady called me saying I look like a fit for the position and need to come down for an interview with them and to fill out paper work. Okay, so I drive 2 hours for all of this. Everything went great and I thought I had a good lead.

The following week, she calls to say that their client has found someone and I am not going to be considered. I was upset, but accepted it. A month later, I check their website and the position is STILL posted. So, I emailed her and asked her if it was re-open and she said "oh no, we need to update that, thanks for letting me know". For ****s and giggles, I checked their website today....seven months later, and lo and behold, the position is still posted under "open positions" on their website. They've added a few more positions and took off others, but that one is still posted.

It leads me to believe that position is fake. It doesn't exist. It's only posted on their website to get peoples resumes and references. The position says "client is willing to train" so it probably attracts a lot of people to apply hoping they can get into a job where someone will train them.

I've had other encounters with recruiters and staffing agencies and wonder why lawyers get hell for their profession when you have recruiters out there doing worse. Out of all the recruiters I've dealt with, I've walked away with nothing but wasted time and irritation. In fact, everyone I know whose dealt with a recruiter feels the same way. Maybe back in the day they were useful and respected, but now they just seem like con artists who are a big waste of time.