Recruiters are sales people and, unfortunately, it is the job they are selling -- not you! They get their commission when they get a placement, and oftentimes this comes at the expense of the person being placed. Having been burned in the past by recruiters, here are some things to keep in mind:
1) Get everything in writing. Being offered relo? Get it in writing. Being offered a signing bonus? Get it in writing. Vacation? Get it in writing. If you get it in writing, it's much more difficult for your employer to take it away. Also, it demonstrates that your prospective employer is cognizant of your requirements. If you just go on what a recruiter is telling you, there's a good chance the prospective employer has not been informed of these requirements and you stand to lose out. 2) A recruiter should not submit you for a job without your express, case-by-case permission. You need to keep track of which positions you're applying for. Do not rely on any one recruiter if you can avoid it. And, whenever possible, work directly with a company instead of an independent recruiter. 3) If a recruiter is messing with you, not representing you, etc., then can them. Write them a letter stating that they may not represent you any more, that they are to remove your information from their database, and that if they submit your resume for a job from this point forward, you will sue them. You may even need to print the letter out, sign it and have it delivered with a receipt signature. Read receipt can work, too, though I for one strip all read receipts. If you like the agency, but not the recruiter, appeal to a supervisor or manager. Raise a ruckus. If the recruiter isn't getting the job done, then they don't deserve to be in their position. 4) Recruiters most often are not your friend. However, they'll want you to think otherwise. They want you to go through them for everything, because then they can get a commission. Remember: they are sales people, and they make their money off of commissions. There are a few exceptions. Some recruiters do not take commissions, requiring you to pay them instead. In this case, find proof that they will help you before you sign-up. Word-of-mouth tends to be a good reference in those situations. Good luck! -ben *************************************** Benjamin Tomhave [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://falcon.cybersecret.com/ -----Original Message----- From: leon [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]] Sent: Sunday, March 10, 2002 11:33 AM To: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Subject: what to do if you get stuck with a terrible recruiter -----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- Hash: SHA1 Hi everyone, I am just beginning to look for a job but I remember from past experience some of the pitfalls and politics that happen when dealing with recruiters. I know there are alot of very knowledgable people on this list so I would like to solicit some advice from the group. What do you do if your recruiter is terrible? It has been my past experience that if you call say alta (nothing against alta just the first name that came to mind) and you talk to a recruiter you are kind of linked with that recruiter. If you feel the recruiter is doing a terrible job and not helping you, you are kind of stuck with them. Alice from Alta will say I can't help you cause you are working with Bob. "Yeah but Bob is not really helping me. I sent him my resume and I have left 3 voice messages and not only has he not gotten me any leads but he wont return my phone calls." Alice will say "again I am sorry but you are Bob's client." What do you do in this situation? How do you break out of it? Does this mean I am stuck with Bob forever??? I have met a lot of recruiters who for reason or another have proven to be shady (calling references without permission, applying me for jobs I did not ask them to, etc). Can someone help me and tell me what to do? I already contacted someone from a prominent info-sec recruiting company and she was like I will call you back in 20 minutes. Sure enough over 8 hours (not including the weekend) I have not heard from her. Now I feel if I call this company back and try to work with a more talented recruiter or someone who cares more I will run into the alice and bob situation. Can anyone help me or at least give me some guidance? Thank you, Leon (Oh and yes I am looking for a job so those interested please contact me via e-mail.) -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- Version: PGPfreeware 6.5.8 for non-commercial use <http://www.pgp.com> iQA/AwUBPIum79qAgf0xoaEuEQLI1QCfa9vjZzFF8u8VGe/b6NSe489E7FEAoLIh UKVjKWnosE1F/JdGf4MICKri =NrY/ -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----
