Quote:
Originally Posted by nc17
I was never clear on the role of recruiters. I've been contacted by recruiters in the past-- they collected my information, and I never heard from them again.
I recently received an email from a recruiter representing a company I would like to work for . Are you supposed to ignore all of them, or try to verify whether they're credible?
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NOTE that this is for office jobs. I don't have much experience with labor, blue collar, lab work, etc.
"Recruiter" is such an imprecise term.
There are "internal recruiters" that work for the company they're trying to fill positions for. For example, somebody from Lockheed Martin calls you b/c your systems engineering back would be a good fit for a position at their company. This recruiter will be able to tell where he got your resume from, and also, that your resume says you're looking for something like a systems engineering position. They'll also tell you where your office will be, and if salary's concern on either side (let them bring it up), you can fire off a range. She'll get your availability for a phone screening, or if that was the phone screening, a phone interview.
These types are nice because they don't BS around. Since they work directly for the company, they're already salaried. If you get hired, they won't take a cut of your pay because there's no middleman. Then you go through the usual process here...
--1st round phone interview
--perhaps another round
--Perhaps they'll fly you in for an in-person interview (I had a legit position NOT fly me in since they wanted to save money. I ended up getting an official job offer with salary, position, who I'll report to, and where, so even though it was unconventional, it worked out)
--at some point later on, they'll ask for professional references
--if they like you, they'll send you an offer via writing.
.
Then there are "external recruiters" or "staffing agencies". These guys' main jobs are to fill positions for other companies. Some awful ones include but aren't limited Jobspring Partners, Workbridge Associates, and Aerotek. The people I've encountered didn't really appear to be anything professional. They're young, and look like they just got out of college, couldn't find a more desirable job, and decided to do this "sales position" as a means to make more money until something better comes along.
With the former 2, they ask you to have professional references available. I go into their office, they read off some cookie cutter template speech, take my references, talk some mumbo jumbo about what sort of job you'd like, blah blah blah. Ever have a bad date, and your bad date ends it with "I had fun, let's do this again sometime", but in your heart, you know that s/he's just being polite and you won't see this person again? That's the vibe I gotten with these guys and others like them. So why go through all that trouble?
--they want to collect resumes to pad their data bases
They often lure you in with the pretense that something will be avialbale, but when you ask about it, they'll say something like "it just got filled".
Somebody here on C-D did wise up to these guys. He came in, expecting an interview with the hiring company, and was told the interviewer couldn't make it, but to fill out a bunch of forms in the meantime. "When will he be in?". Tomorrow they replied. "Then I'll be in tomorrow". .... there's not anybody coming in to conduct an interview
--the professional references
They use this as leads to search for candidates and what positions needed to be filled. I had confirmation of this when my former supervisor congratulated me, saying somebody from recruiting company X said they wanted info about me. I was confused, as I told them I didn't even go through a single interview. "they why did they call?". It turns out, they also asked him if he needed any positions filled, that they have many qualified candidates.... it was a waste of time on both our parts.
--low pay
The poster who posted the $16 an hour, whereas the same one paid $25 in another case? They pocket that extra money as the middle man.
Another user on C-D shared that as a warehouse worker, he only got $10/hr, but his fellow workers got $20 plus benefits! He quit. He was living with his parents, so he could've afforded to luckily.