IT recruitment agency

[diabolus]

The irony is, the more "corporate" or "formal" recruiting agencies all have these long forms to fill in with all kinds of "agreements", but their actual recruiting people are terrible! They literally let the paper work (which you do) do their work for the employer, making the recruiting agent a glorified PA/Secretary!

When i was going through this process last year, the best agent , and the only one which actually listened to what i wanted, was just a small agency working on a much more personal basis. I didn't have to fill in squat, we had a face to face interview, a bunch of telephonic conversations and i sent them the standard documentation i had. They knew exactly what to offer me.

In contrast, the bigger agencies (Communicate/EOH etc) all had me filling in forms and skills matrixes coming out of my ears. I had to go in for lengthy "pre-interviews" and "screening interviews" where the person looked like they understood, yet they kept sending me on positions i have specifically told them i am not interested in as it will be a step down from my current career path. Kinda like going from "Full time Systems Analyst" to "C# Developer working for 6 months on a random client site" /facepalm.

So you tend to go through all this hell ,because the bigger agencies tend to service the bigger , higher paying, companies too, but it's not a great experience though.

 

[ToxicBunny]

^^^

Thats the other thing I refuse to do now. I don't do the "pre-interviews" etc. I've told a recruitment agent straight up not to waste my time with it because I won't do it. They can get me to come in for an interview IF they have a specific position in mind for me and I've vetted the position prior to coming into the agency.

 

[krycor]

It's mostly standard I think or maybe I've felt with the agency before hahaha. Basically commission & agency costs get paid out and when you renegade on the job, hiring company doesn't pay(sometimes there is even a 3month clause & permanency signing clause).

Wrt counter offers.. I never accept it, often counters include position/role increase, extra duties etc which if you not really ready for can lead to disaster. Lastly I always think there is some bad blood in the water as its like playing poker, showing your cards to another player for a free round but playing on thinking you might win. How strong is you cards dealt really if you wanted to leave?

 

[nfbs]

IT recruiters are ridiculous. I've been to more preinterviews in my life than actual interviews.

 

[InvisibleJim]

Agency interviews are just a selling point to clients so that the agency can claim to be conducting a more thorough candidate screening process. For mid level positions, there is really not anything to them that can't be dealt with over the telephone in a few minutes.

Contracts that prevent a candidate from pulling out of an offer at any stage is the worst kind of BS and if it is legal, it shouldn't be. Inexperienced, naive or otherwise unwary candidates can be railroaded down a certain path by pushy or persistent recruitment consultants. I don't condone people withdrawing from commitments but it happens and it is part and parcel of the game. Recruitment companies who operate on a contingency fee basis should accept the risk or they should work on a retained fee basis.

Both candidates and employers should choose not to deal with agencies who employ these practices.

 

[Ancalagon]

I refused to deal with such a company, even when they said I could scratch out that portion. The company also had the cheek to have a section saying I gave them sole mandate to find me a job. For a week anyway.

From the company's point of view, would they want someone who accepts the contract only to avoid a penalty? Doesnt sound like a great motivator.

 

[diabolus]

^^^

Thats the other thing I refuse to do now. I don't do the "pre-interviews" etc. I've told a recruitment agent straight up not to waste my time with it because I won't do it. They can get me to come in for an interview IF they have a specific position in mind for me and I've vetted the position prior to coming into the agency.

Yea, that's my policy too, i ask for an actual job spec that is available before i remotely talk to an agency further . Unfortunately they are not entirely honest in this regard and will throw you a job spec that may not even be available anymore. The agent simply just tell you the employer haven't come back yet, "but let's get you in on all these BETTER job options" . So mysteriously you never hear about the original job again. (I of course had some inside info too, sometimes you can figure out who the employer is).

The agency that helped me the most , the agent CAME TO ME. We decided on a Wimpy that's convenient for us both and did the paper work right there. They also played open cards with regards the positions and the employers.

I found it very amusing how the bigger agencies are playing this cloak and dagger game about who the employer is of the job specs. Even after i've sent them my entire life history. There was one incident where i was already directly for an interview at an employer (without an agent) and then after a lot of forms and hoop jumping , the agent reveal this super employer...the same one i've been to already. /sigh