Announcement

**Irving Patrick Freleigh** · 06-20-2012, 04:55 PM

Employment agencies? Research? DOES NOT COMPUTE.

When I was looking for full-time work years ago, I went to a couple of employment agencies. I told them what my applicable skills were and took all their tests.

The one job I got a call back for was installing closed-circuit TVs. Which I had no idea how to do.

So I turned that down and probably got scrubbed from their lists. Whatev.

**aqutalion** · 06-20-2012, 07:15 PM

Weird. I worked for Aerotek a bit last year, and it was pretty much the same situation as you dscribed. They called me for a position doing XML tagging, which I only barely knew. Got the job anyway, since the company was so desperate for people, only to be let go when they realized they'd overhired.

(Aerotek and TekSystems are still the same company. Don't know about Master's Group.)

But yeah... recruiters seem to just to do keyword searches and don't actually read the resumes until they've got you on the phone.
And don't get me started about the ones who ignored the "unable to relocate" blurb on every site where I posted my resume, and were shocked- SHOCKED- that I wasn't willing to drop out of grad school, sell my house and move to another state at my own expense for a three-month position with no benefits.

**Pedersen** · 06-20-2012, 07:28 PM

I hear you both. In the end, it's better for me this way. I've told them, in no uncertain terms... Here, let me c/p the response I sent:

Quoth Me

I'm sorry to say this, but my experience with AeroTek / TekSystems / The Master's Group left a permanently bad taste in my mouth. These companies did so poorly with me that I nearly left the entire computer industry back when I was getting started on my career. Since it has been 13 years since I made the request, I can understand that the request might have been lost or not attached to the profile your company currently has on me. As such, I am simply going to make the request again.

Please do not contact me. I will not accept an offer from AeroTek / TekSystems / The Master's Group. I will not allow these companies to represent me, or present me to their clients.

Thank you.

Pretty much says it all. He was, at least, understanding about it, and just thanked me, attached the note, and we both called it even.

After reading aqutalion's story, though, I find myself actually grateful for my mortgage being underwater. It means I have a built in excuse for not selling the house, not unless they're going to provide a pretty significant signing bonus for that three month contract.

**MoonCat** · 06-21-2012, 12:25 AM

More than one recruiting agency can be dumb like that. My sister was signed up with several temp agencies for a while. She specifically told them that any job they offer her MUST be on a bus route, preferably in the city, or at least in the first ring suburbs. What did they keep offering? Jobs that were out in the sticks or the second ring suburbs....not on any bus route, or ones that she'd have to take 3 buses to get to and walk half a mile from the bus stop. In the winter, along streets that had no sidewalks.

**Merriweather** · 06-21-2012, 06:55 AM

Hubby is a Logistics expert, and speaks only English. He had one agency call him with a job working as a translater.......

**Sheldonrs** · 06-21-2012, 10:34 PM

When I first got out of college, I signed up with Kelly Employment. I explained to them that I didn't drive and would have to rely on public transport and the jobs would have to be reasonably close so i could get there on time by bus.
EVERY SINGLE JOB THEY CALLED TO TELL ME ABOUT WAS AT LEAST 40 MILES AWAY!!! I finally had enough and told them to stop calling me.
I think they are so desperate to fill temp jobs asap they just read the names and call.

**violiavampyr** · 06-23-2012, 03:24 PM

No kidding. I have a rule about not working for the same people as my ex-husband. I was trying to go through a staffing agency, just for some quick money. I was fine with a call center, I told them that.
Well they called be about a week later with a job at a certain local company that delivers mcbread products. Well, I had thought I told them previously that I would not work for that company because my ex had fairly recently worked for them. He left them under a somewhat bad cloud, and he bitched about our personal issues quite a bit to his co-workers. So no.
Although I've not much faith in this particular staffing agency. The week before they had set me up with a call center, that when I got their for training asked me if I was bilingual. Im not. Apparently they were only hiring bilingual people that week. They said they had told the staffing agency, but the agency acted like they didn't know.

**Kheldarson** · 06-23-2012, 11:03 PM

One of the school districts I was subbing for used Kelly Services. I had to go online and check for jobs first thing in the morning and accept them online, which I would.

Eventually they let me go because I wasn't putting in enough hours. Why?

Because the closest school in the district was a half hour away and often jobs would show up 15-20 minutes before the school day began. And I'd get dinged if I showed up late so...

**ADeMartino** · 06-24-2012, 12:23 AM

A lot of temporary agencies are like this - let me tell you now, many of them are crooked enough to hide behind a corkscrew.

I'll relate my own experience with AEROTEK. I saw a job listing on their website for a position at a factory that was only about 12 miles from my house, and it paid well. I immediately applied, but was told the position was 'filled'. The listing continued to show up on their website, and over the next few weeks I continued to ask about it, until one day, lo and behold, they sent me there.

I actually LIKED the job - I looked forward to going to work. I was reliable, was only late once (and that was only like a minute or two thanks to a fairly bad accident on the way to work), worked hard, and my managers told me they were happy with my work and my progress. I was looking forward to the permanent-hire offer in only a handful of days.

Then, 11 weeks into a 13-week 'temp to hire' process, the assignment mysteriously 'ended'.
No explanation. AEROTEK then offered to send me to a job clear on the other side of the city, which would be a 60+ mile daily commute, to a job at a glass factory, working practically on top of the big furnaces, for $8.00/hour. When I politely declined such an 'impressive' offer and asked if there was something a little closer to home, the 'specialist' ended the conversation in a very abrupt (and faintly rude) manner - definitely a 'don't-call-us-we'll-call-you' vibe to it. And no, they haven't called.

Interestingly enough, on their website, the listing for my original assignment has re-appeared. One of the permanent employees at the original assignment confided in me he was told I'd quit.

Did AEROTEK sabotage my 'good' assignment to send me to one of their problem accounts, hoping I'd be desperate enough to jump on their 'generous' offer, and then blackball me when I didn't want to go? I know it sounds paranoid and I'll never be able to prove it, but I really think they did. I know it would have been in their best interests if I had - the listing for the job they wanted to send me to still appears on their website as well.

Sorry, didn't mean to 'jack the thread. Just wanted to relate my experiences with this particular agency.

**ozcatbug** · 06-24-2012, 02:47 AM

I had a lot of problems with employment agencies when I was finally able to return to work. For background I have a Bachelor of Engineering and a Masters in Project Management. I've never worked as either an engineer or a project manager. Soon after graduating with the masters I got sick. Four years after that I was finally given the all clear to work, but it is unlikely with my ongoing medical issues that engineering or project management is possible for me. So working with an employment agency for people returning to work with medical issues, you would think they would have some idea of dealing with, I don't know, medical issues.

An ongoing result of my illness is some hearing loss. I have trouble understanding people while talking on the phone. In person, there is still trouble, but I can at least get visual cues. On the phone there is only so many times you can ask someone to repeat themselves before you look incompetent. So I requested work where I wouldn't have to use a phone. Of course that meant I could be put forward as a receptionist answering phones, or working in a call centre.

Then because I have an engineering degree, I am obviously good at science so would I like to be retrained? I could do a 12 week course and become a chemist assistant, cos that's science right? I did mechatronics engineering, which is mechanical and electronic, what part of that makes me ideal to be a chemist assistant? And my 4 years undergraduate and 2 years post-grad work is nothing without a 3 month course to become a chemist assistant.

I requested to see someone else after those suggestions. I am now working for the games that are EeeBee at their HQ fixing consoles. Still overqualified, but there is a chance for promotion within the company, maybe to their project management department. At least I hope.

**Shalom** · 06-24-2012, 11:10 PM

Quoth ADeMartino View Post

Interestingly enough, on their website, the listing for my original assignment has re-appeared. One of the permanent employees at the original assignment confided in me he was told I'd quit.

Can you apply to the company directly? I know that when a temp agency places you somewhere you can't take the job directly, because this cuts them out of their commission, but if they're abrogating their half of the agreement, I don't see why you need to keep to yours.

Alternatively, call the agency and inquire about this "new job" they've just posted...

**aqutalion** · 06-25-2012, 04:23 AM

Speaking of shady employment companies, has anyone worked for SetFocus? Like, an actual job with a paychek? Or know anyone who has? I've ranted on two different boards about my experience with them.

Basically, I responded to one of their postings on some job-search site. The ad was just a generic job title and a vague job description, which a bunch of extraneous info about SetFocus (nothing on the company you'd actually be working for). This should've been a red flag, but I was desperate. A rep from the company contacted me, wanting me to take an "logic and aptitude test". After I passed that, they wanted me to take another one, more technical in nature. Yes, two hoops to jump through before even a phone interview. Should've been another red flag, but, ya know, desperate. The instructions said I'd be contacted for an actual interview if I passed this, but my rep wanted to schedule it as soon as I'd told her it was done.

Then finally, an actual phone interview. The rep (a different one) said I'd done "quite well" on the code test, although he wouldn't say anything specific. I try to get him to say something more specific, but I was suspecting that he hadn't even read the test and I'd wasted my time. He never did. The questions he asked were very basic, the kind of thing you'd learn in CS101. At the end, he starts talking about admissions and class schedules. But wait, I applied to a job, not a training program, right? He hems and haws. Well, sometimes they have direct placement jobs, but primarily they offer training. What?

Then my rep (the original one) emails me that I've been "admitted", and sends me a bunch of junk about their website. I check it out, and it insists over and over how privileged I should feel because they only admit the BEST!!11!!11!!!, followed by "testimonies" from "alumni". Given that their entrance requirements were passing a couple of easy tests and a CS101-level interview, they must have a broad definition of "best".

But wait, I say again, I applied to a job ad, not a training program ad. She replies that they only send out applicants to a job if they can "hit the ground running" and my scores were "not that high" (despite that fact that they only admit the BEST!!!1!), so she's "offering me an opportunity" to train with them.

Oh HELL no. I look at the company's job postings in different cities, and they're all identical. A vague job title, a 1- or 2-sentence description and a city, followed by a long spiel about the company's training program. Shady/lazy at best, scammy at worst. Naturally, I declined their "offer", and the rep was most disappointed that I didn't care enough about my career to travel to another state and pay through the nose for training that I could have gotten at the local university for half the price, and followed up by sending another email detailing their financing options.

That company was supposed to have a rep at a job fair I went to last year, but their rep never showed. I still get emails from them every once in a while.

**ADeMartino** · 06-25-2012, 05:30 AM

Sadly, games like this are getting to be more and more common. Last year, when my current 'underemployment' situation began, I applied on one of those 'job news' type websites - only to be instantly inundated with bogus job offers, cell phone offers, etc.

The first call was from a student loan company - and scant moments after I'd filled out an online application. The person on the other end claimed my loan was guaranteed! Oh, and yeah, the fact that this call was on a Sunday night at 8pm... yeah, not even the tiniest bit shady, is it?

One call even CLAIMED they were an employment agency with a client to place me with, but the red flags soon went up when the person asked me if I'd considered returning to school - and seconds later, if I was interested in a free cell phone.

Definitely not the discussion one expects from a potential employer, is it?

Before I'd posted my application, my phone seldom rang, because only about six people on the entire planet had the number. Now the damned thing won't shut up. If I hear that fucking foghorn one more time..... (some of you in the forum probably already know about this....). And curiously, none have anything to do with a legitimate job.

**ADeMartino** · 06-25-2012, 05:45 AM

Quoth Shalom View Post

Can you apply to the company directly? I know that when a temp agency places you somewhere you can't take the job directly, because this cuts them out of their commission, but if they're abrogating their half of the agreement, I don't see why you need to keep to yours.

Alternatively, call the agency and inquire about this "new job" they've just posted...

I wish. Many manufacturing companies these days won't hire directly because they contract with staffing agencies - and if that's the case, the only avenue in is through the agency.

And I've called the agency about the new job at the company. They claim it's for a different job at that company than I had filled, and I don't meet the requirements.

Although the wording in the listing is IDENTICAL.

Lots of people think I'm paranoid. I don't think I'm paranoid ENOUGH. This whole thing just reeks of dirty play.

Announcement

Annoying Recruiter Contact Today

Annoying Recruiter Contact Today

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment

Comment