Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Need some advice/insight on a particular situation:
About 3 weeks ago, I submitted my resume to a staffing place and they said that they had an
opportunity available and would submit my information to the company. As of 2 weeks ago, the position
has been placed on hold (no reason given). The recruiter told me that if i see any postings, to let him know so that they could try to help (?). Last week, i sent my resume to 3 places, not using the staffing
place. Today, i received a phone call for an interview and scheduled it for tomorrow. I saw the
job posted on friday on linkedin and i sent my resume to them the same day. me being the nice person
that i am, emailed the recruiter and let him know that i have an interview scheduled for tomorrow and that i noticed he was connected to interviewer via linkedin. His response to my email was:
"if you applied directly to them, we cannot get you in the door. we are working with the client directly.
did you apply to them directly? please do not apply directly to places unless we connect about them.
i am just working out the details on that role. did you already apply though?"
I had no idea that they were working with them already. In the documents I signed with recruiter, I do not see anywhere that I cannot look for other employment, nor that they own me.
Am I in the wrong here? Why do I feel bad for applying to places and not waiting for the recruiter to find me work?
Need some advice/insight on a particular situation:
About 3 weeks ago, I submitted my resume to a staffing place and they said that they had an
opportunity available and would submit my information to the company. As of 2 weeks ago, the position
has been placed on hold (no reason given). The recruiter told me that if i see any postings, to let him know so that they could try to help (?). Last week, i sent my resume to 3 places, not using the staffing
place. Today, i received a phone call for an interview and scheduled it for tomorrow. I saw the
job posted on friday on linkedin and i sent my resume to them the same day. me being the nice person
that i am, emailed the recruiter and let him know that i have an interview scheduled for tomorrow and that i noticed he was connected to interviewer via linkedin. His response to my email was:
"if you applied directly to them, we cannot get you in the door. we are working with the client directly.
did you apply to them directly? please do not apply directly to places unless we connect about them.
i am just working out the details on that role. did you already apply though?"
I had no idea that they were working with them already. In the documents I signed with recruiter, I do not see anywhere that I cannot look for other employment, nor that they own me.
Am I in the wrong here? Why do I feel bad for applying to places and not waiting for the recruiter to find me work?
Be nice to your friends and family, the recruiter is not your friend.
The only one really concerned with you getting a new job is you.
You made a mistake doing that, don't do it again. I knew before you even posted what the recruiter said what it was going to be, that the company you have the interview with is a client of theirs.
You're not an indentured servant, you have the right to apply on your own.
I am afraid you have a problem now, because the recruiter is going to butt in and this will most likely ruin your chances for getting this position.
You are allowed to apply directly to employers. I would forget the staffing agency. Unless they advertise for a specific position that you are interested in, your resume gets thrown in a pile and forgotten about. That's why, if the company with the job you applied and were qualified for were using the staffing agency, the agency didn't call you.
Staffing agencies make sales calls to tons of companies, a lot of times based on job listings. They will offer to find someone for them. Many times the company will say sure, if you find someone first, we'll go through you. If we find someone first, oh, well.
I used to manage a staffing agency, so I know how it works.
I'm a recruiter myself - your loyalty is to you. That's it.
Don't even tell them what you're doing on your own in looking for work and certainly don't let them guilt you into anything. It's really none of their business.
Those are the recruiters that give the rest of us a bad name.
You should not have told the staffing agency unless they contact you and ask to submit you for a position that you already applied to. They have no hold on you. Typically when a staffing agency submits you for a position they make you sign an contract that says they have exclusive right to represent you for that specific position. However, that does not mean you cannot apply elsewhere directly even companies that the agency does business with.
You should never wait on a recruiter, they often lie about open positions that are available. They will also try to manipulate you and prevent you from applying for other jobs, or they will try to get you to tell them where else you have applied.
When you tell them about other jobs you have applied for, they will contact those businesses and try to pitch many other people to them by sending them resumes for that open position. This can hurt your chances at getting those jobs. Some recruiters will demand and threaten people to tell them about other jobs they have applied for. I used to tell them, "oh, guess what, I actually haven't applied anywhere else at all".
And no, a recruiter can't "stop" you from looking for work in your own free time. It is entirely none of their business.
The agency will definitely not do much for you once they get your name in their database. So feel free to go out and do your own thing but for the love of whatever it is you find holy, do not tell the agency your every move. Most of them just want to get you counted as another warm body and you will never hear from them again unless you approach them with something like this.
When you tell them about other jobs you have applied for, they will contact those businesses and try to pitch many other people to them by sending them resumes for that open position. This can hurt your chances at getting those jobs. Some recruiters will demand and threaten people to tell them about other jobs they have applied for. I used to tell them, "oh, guess what, I actually haven't applied anywhere else at all".
The agency will definitely not do much for you once they get your name in their database. So feel free to go out and do your own thing but for the love of whatever it is you find holy, do not tell the agency your every move. Most of them just want to get you counted as another warm body and you will never hear from them again unless you approach them with something like this.
Indeed the agency recruiters have contact quota that are their performance metric. They also like to harvest manager's reference's and where you have been applying (so they know who is hiring) for their sales purposes. They will also contact your references prematurely and bother them when there is no job on the table.
I'd only use them if I had time to waste and desperate. Otherwise you are better off finding work on your own. Most of their clients are as sleazy as they are so they are not a source for desirable jobs anyways.
I'm a recruiter myself - your loyalty is to you. That's it.
Don't even tell them what you're doing on your own in looking for work and certainly don't let them guilt you into anything. It's really none of their business.
Those are the recruiters that give the rest of us a bad name.
Best of luck!
Ditto. I'm a recruiter myself and *hate* how some give us such a bad rep.
OP- keep applying to jobs and don't let them know you're applying on your own. It's none of their business.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Excellent point!
